Emergency Fund Calculator
Free emergency fund calculator. Determine your ideal emergency fund size based on monthly expenses, see your savings gap, and create a plan to reach your target.
Savings Withdrawal Calculator
Free savings withdrawal calculator. Model periodic withdrawals from a savings balance earning interest and find your time to depletion or sustainable withdrawal rate.
$
%
$
Savings Last
2 years, 8 months
Without interest: 2 years, 6 months
Total Withdrawn⧉
$64,000.00
32 payments of $2,000.00
Interest Earned⧉
$3,322.36
During drawdown
Extra Months from Interest⧉
2.00
Versus zero interest
Monthly Interest (Start)⧉
$200.00
Declines as balance drops
Balance Over Time
| Month | Balance | Total Withdrawn | Total Interest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | $60,000.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| 1 | $58,200.00 | $2,000.00 | $200.00 |
| 2 | $56,394.00 | $4,000.00 | $394.00 |
| 3 | $54,582.00 | $6,000.00 | $582.00 |
| 4 | $52,764.00 | $8,000.00 | $764.00 |
| 5 | $50,940.00 | $10,000.00 | $940.00 |
| 6 | $49,110.00 | $12,000.00 | $1,110.00 |
| 7 | $47,273.00 | $14,000.00 | $1,273.00 |
| 8 | $45,431.00 | $16,000.00 | $1,431.00 |
| 9 | $43,582.00 | $18,000.00 | $1,582.00 |
| 10 | $41,728.00 | $20,000.00 | $1,728.00 |
| 11 | $39,867.00 | $22,000.00 | $1,867.00 |
| 12 | $38,000.00 | $24,000.00 | $2,000.00 |
| 13 | $36,126.00 | $26,000.00 | $2,126.00 |
| 14 | $34,247.00 | $28,000.00 | $2,247.00 |
| 15 | $32,361.00 | $30,000.00 | $2,361.00 |
| 16 | $30,469.00 | $32,000.00 | $2,469.00 |
| 17 | $28,570.00 | $34,000.00 | $2,570.00 |
| 18 | $26,665.00 | $36,000.00 | $2,665.00 |
| 19 | $24,754.00 | $38,000.00 | $2,754.00 |
| 20 | $22,837.00 | $40,000.00 | $2,837.00 |
| 21 | $20,913.00 | $42,000.00 | $2,913.00 |
| 22 | $18,983.00 | $44,000.00 | $2,983.00 |
| 23 | $17,046.00 | $46,000.00 | $3,046.00 |
| 24 | $15,103.00 | $48,000.00 | $3,103.00 |
| 27 | $9,234.00 | $54,000.00 | $3,234.00 |
| 30 | $3,307.00 | $60,000.00 | $3,307.00 |
| 32 | $0.00 | $64,000.00 | $3,322.00 |
Planning notes, formulas, and examples
About the Savings Withdrawal Calculator
The Savings Withdrawal Calculator models what happens when you draw down a savings balance over time. Enter your starting balance, interest rate, and monthly withdrawal amount to find how long your savings will last, or set a target duration to find the sustainable withdrawal amount.
This calculator is essential for anyone spending down savings — retirees withdrawing from accounts, people living on an emergency fund, or anyone funding a gap year or sabbatical. It accounts for the interest earned on the remaining balance, which extends the duration beyond simple division.
The year-by-year breakdown shows how your balance declines and when you can expect to run out, helping you plan adjustments before it is too late. A well-structured withdrawal strategy can extend your savings by years compared to haphazard spending. Factors like withdrawal frequency, remaining balance growth, and the timing of large expenses all play a critical role in long-term sustainability.
When This Page Helps
Simply dividing your balance by your monthly spending gives a misleading estimate because it ignores interest on the remaining balance. It gives a depletion timeline by modeling monthly withdrawals against a declining but still interest-earning balance. The difference can extend your savings by months or even years. This awareness can be the difference between comfortably funded retirement years and running out of money prematurely.
How to Use the Inputs
- Enter your current savings balance.
- Enter the annual interest rate (APY) on the account.
- Choose your mode: find depletion time from a withdrawal amount, or find sustainable withdrawal for a target duration.
- Enter either the monthly withdrawal amount or the target duration in years.
- View the depletion timeline and remaining balance month by month.
- Adjust withdrawal amount or explore different rates to optimize your strategy.
Formula used
Months until depletion: n = –ln(1 – PV×r/PMT) / ln(1 + r)
Sustainable withdrawal: PMT = PV × r / (1 – (1+r)^–n)
where PV = starting balance, PMT = withdrawal per period, r = monthly rate (APY/12 simplified), n = number of months
If PMT ≤ PV×r, the balance never depletes (interest covers withdrawals).Example Calculation
Result: Savings last ~32 months (2 years, 8 months)
Starting with $60,000 at 4.0% APY and withdrawing $2,000 per month, the balance lasts approximately 32 months. Without interest, simple division gives 30 months ($60,000 / $2,000). The 4% APY extends the duration by about 2 months, and the total interest earned during the drawdown is approximately $2,085.
Tips & Best Practices
- If your monthly withdrawal is less than the monthly interest earned, your savings will never deplete.
- The higher the APY, the longer your savings last — even small rate differences matter during drawdown.
- Consider reducing withdrawals by 10–20% to significantly extend your savings duration.
- Review and adjust your withdrawal rate quarterly as balances and rates change.
- Keep 1–2 months of expenses in a checking account to avoid frequent savings transfers.
- For retirement planning, combine this calculator with inflation projections for more realistic modeling.
The Math Behind Drawdown
When you withdraw from a balance that earns interest, each month the interest partially offsets the withdrawal. In the early months, the interest is larger because the balance is higher. As the balance shrinks, interest decreases and more of each withdrawal comes from principal. This creates a non-linear decline that simple division cannot capture.
Planning for Gap Years and Sabbaticals
A common use case is funding a career break. If you have saved $40,000 and plan to spend $3,000 per month, you might think you have 13 months of runway. But with a 4.5% HYSA, you actually have about 14 months. This extra buffer can make the difference in your planning. Run the calculator at multiple withdrawal levels to find the sweet spot between comfort and duration.
Emergency Fund Drawdown Scenarios
Knowing how long your emergency fund lasts at various spending levels helps you plan for job loss or unexpected expenses. Model your essential expenses only (rent, food, insurance) to see the maximum duration, and your full spending level for the minimum. The range gives you a realistic planning window.
Sources & Methodology
Last updated:
Methodology
This worksheet applies standard time-value-of-money math for deposits and cash savings. Depending on the page, it solves for future value, required monthly contribution, time to goal, withdrawal runway, or the effect of inflation on nominal savings. It is a planning aid, not a guarantee of account performance.
The result assumes the stated rate, compounding frequency, and contribution schedule remain unchanged unless the page says otherwise.
Sources
- Compound interest (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) — Compound-interest and APY concept context.
- Consumer Price Index (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) — Inflation context for real-return calculations.
- Saving and managing your money (FDIC) — Savings-account and deposit-planning context.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on three factors: your starting balance, the interest rate, and your monthly withdrawal. For example, $50,000 at 4% APY with $1,500 monthly withdrawals lasts about 36 months. Use this calculator for your exact scenario.
A sustainable withdrawal rate is the amount you can withdraw each month (or year) without depleting your savings within your target timeframe. For savings accounts, this is typically calculated so the balance reaches zero at exactly the end of the period, with interest covering part of the withdrawals.
Yes, it matters more than many people expect. On a $100,000 balance with $3,000 monthly withdrawals, the difference between 0% and 4% APY is about 4 extra months of funding. The interest on the declining balance provides a meaningful buffer.
If your monthly withdrawal is less than or equal to the monthly interest earned, the balance will never deplete. For example, $500,000 at 4% APY earns about $1,667 per month in interest. Withdrawing $1,500/month means the balance actually grows. This is the principle behind perpetual income.
This calculator models simple withdrawal from a savings account at a fixed rate. Retirement calculators typically model variable investment returns, inflation adjustments, Social Security income, and tax implications. Use this for savings-specific drawdowns and a dedicated retirement tool for comprehensive retirement planning.
For drawdown periods over 2–3 years, yes. Inflation means you may need to increase your withdrawal amount over time to maintain the same purchasing power. A 3% annual inflation rate means your $2,000 monthly withdrawal buys about $1,880 worth of goods after just 2 years.
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