Savings Rate Calculator
Enter your monthly take-home pay and what you save or invest, including pre-tax retirement contributions. You'll get your savings rate, how it compares to benchmarks, and what it means for your years to financial independence.
What lands in your account after taxes and deductions
Savings accounts, brokerage, IRA, extra debt principal
401(k)/403(b) contributions taken from your paycheck
Refines the years-to-independence estimate
After inflation. 5% is a common long-run assumption
Your savings rate
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Enter your income
Saved per month
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Years to financial independence
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At this pace, spending covered by a 4% withdrawal rate
The number that outranks your salary
Two people can earn identical paychecks and end a decade in completely different financial positions, because wealth is built from the share of income kept, not the amount earned. A $200,000 earner saving 2% builds less than a $60,000 earner saving 20%. That argument is made in full in net worth vs. income and what's a good savings rate; this calculator puts your own number on it.
Why the years-to-independence table bends so hard
Raising your savings rate does two jobs at once: more money goes into investments each month, and the lifestyle those investments must eventually fund gets cheaper. That double effect is why going from 10% to 20% doesn't halve the timeline, it cuts it by around 14 years in the table above. The FIRE calculator runs the same math from a spending-first angle.
How to actually raise it
A savings rate is an output: it moves when the inputs move. The 50/30/20 calculator gives the paycheck split, a subscription audit usually frees the first $50-150 a month, and automating transfers on payday protects the rate from decision fatigue. Tracking it monthly (the job Stoia was built for) is what keeps it honest, because a savings rate you don't measure quietly drifts down.
Frequently asked questions
What is a savings rate?
The share of your income that you keep instead of spend: everything saved or invested in a month divided by your total income that month. Someone taking home $5,000 and putting away $1,000 has a 20% savings rate. It's the single best predictor of how fast your net worth grows.
Should I use gross or net income?
This calculator uses take-home pay plus pre-tax retirement contributions added back in. That counts the money you actually control while still crediting 401(k) contributions as savings, which a pure take-home calculation would miss.
What counts as savings?
Anything that builds net worth: transfers to savings accounts, brokerage or IRA contributions, 401(k) payroll deferrals, and extra principal payments on debt beyond the minimum. Regular minimum debt payments and normal spending don't count.
Does my employer 401(k) match count?
Purists differ. The simplest defensible approach: leave the match out of both income and savings, and treat it as a bonus that makes your real rate slightly better than the number shown. If you'd rather include it, add it to both the pre-tax contribution and your income.
What's a good savings rate?
The traditional guidance is 10-15% of income toward retirement. 20% matches the 50/30/20 budget. People pursuing early financial independence often push past 40-50%, because the years-to-independence math responds dramatically at those levels.
Does this calculator save my numbers?
No. Everything runs in your browser and disappears when you leave. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
Want this to update itself?
Stoia connects your real accounts and keeps the full picture current: net worth, budgets, and goals. Launching in 2026.