What is a sinking fund?

A sinking fund is money you deliberately set aside, a little at a time, for a known future expense — a holiday, a car, an annual insurance bill, Christmas, or an emergency buffer. Instead of being surprised by a large cost, you spread it across the months leading up to it so the money is ready when you need it.

How does the planner work out the monthly contribution?

For each goal it subtracts what you have already saved from the target to get the remaining balance, counts the whole months between today and your target date, then divides the remaining balance by that number of months. The weekly and daily figures use the exact number of days left, so they stay accurate even for short deadlines.

Can I plan several goals at once?

Yes — that is the point. Add as many goals as you like, each with its own target, date and priority. The planner sums every monthly contribution into one combined figure so you can see the full monthly cost of all your savings plans together, not just one in isolation.

What does the monthly budget check do?

If you enter an optional monthly savings budget, the planner compares it against the total of all your goal contributions. It shows green with the spare amount if your budget covers everything, or red with the shortfall if it does not — a quick reality check before you commit to dates you cannot meet.

Does it account for interest earned on the savings?

No. This planner uses simple, flat contributions and assumes no interest or investment growth, which keeps the targets conservative and easy to hit. For interest-bearing or invested goals, pair it with a compound interest calculator: any growth you earn becomes a buffer that helps you reach the target sooner.

Is my financial information private?

Completely. Every figure is calculated in your browser and your goals are saved only in this browser using local storage. Nothing is ever uploaded to a server, and you can clear everything with one click at any time.

Sinking Fund Planner

A sinking fund planner turns big future expenses into small, predictable monthly amounts. Add every savings goal you have — an emergency fund, a holiday, a new laptop, next year’s car insurance, a wedding, a house deposit — give each one a target amount and the date you need the money by, and the planner works out exactly how much to set aside per month, per week and per day for each goal. It then adds them all together so you can see the true combined cost of your saving plans in one place.

This is for anyone who saves toward several things at once and wants the numbers to be honest. It’s far more useful than a single-goal calculator because real budgets juggle competing priorities: the holiday and the emergency fund and the new boiler all want a slice of the same paycheque. By laying every goal side by side, with a running total and an optional budget check, the planner shows whether your ambitions actually fit the money you have — before the dates arrive and force the answer.

How it works

Each goal has four inputs: a target amount, the amount you’ve already saved, a target date, and a priority. The planner subtracts what you’ve saved from the target to get the remaining balance, counts the whole calendar months between today and the target date, and divides:

monthly contribution = (target − saved) ÷ months remaining

The weekly and daily figures use the exact number of days left rather than an average month, so a short, urgent goal isn’t understated. A progress bar shows how funded each goal is, and the colour-coded left border reflects its priority so high-priority goals stand out at a glance. Fully funded goals are flagged, and goals whose dates have already passed are marked overdue with the amount you’d need immediately.

At the top, a summary band totals your target, your savings so far, what’s still to save, and — most importantly — the combined monthly contribution across every goal. If you enter a monthly savings budget, the planner compares it to that total and tells you whether you’re comfortably covered or short, and by how much.

Example

Suppose you’re saving for three things. A 6,000 emergency fund needed in 12 months, with 1,200 already saved; a 2,500 holiday in 8 months with 400 saved; and a 1,400 laptop in 5 months from a standing start.

Emergency fund: (6,000 − 1,200) ÷ 12 = 400/month
Holiday: (2,500 − 400) ÷ 8 ≈ 263/month
Laptop: 1,400 ÷ 5 = 280/month

Combined, that’s about 943/month. If your savings budget is 800/month, the planner flags that you’re roughly 143/month short — so you’d push the laptop date out, trim a target, or accept the holiday slips. Adjust any field and every figure recalculates instantly. You can export the whole plan to a CSV file for your spreadsheet or bank, and everything stays saved in your browser for next time. No numbers are ever uploaded.