Reviewed by Finin2min Editorial Desk · Last reviewed 11 August 2026
Inflate a goal cost, project current savings and calculate the one-time or monthly investment needed.
Fund a future goal
Choose expected return based on the time horizon and risk, not the return needed to make the goal appear affordable.
Future goal cost
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Projected funding gap
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Measure
Amount
Projected value of current plan
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Required one-time investment today
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Required total monthly SIP
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Additional monthly SIP
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How This Is Calculated
This calculator projects the future cost of a financial goal (adjusted for inflation to the target year), then computes the monthly SIP amount needed — at your expected rate of return — to accumulate that inflation-adjusted target by the goal date.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the goal amount get inflated before calculating the SIP?
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Because the goal is in the future, its cost in today's rupees understates what it will actually cost by then. Inflating the goal amount to the target year first ensures the SIP calculated is enough to cover the real future cost, not today's cost.
What return rate should I assume for a goal-based SIP?
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The assumption should match your goal's time horizon and risk tolerance — a long-horizon goal (10+ years) can typically assume a higher equity-oriented return, while a near-term goal (1-3 years) should assume a more conservative debt-oriented return to avoid market-timing risk right before you need the money.
Should I increase my SIP amount over time instead of keeping it fixed?
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Many investors do — a step-up SIP (increasing the monthly amount annually, e.g., in line with salary growth) can reach the same goal with a lower starting SIP than a flat SIP. See the site's Step-Up SIP Calculator to model that approach.
Compare two separately funded goals, step-up SIPs and a downside scenario.
Illustrative planning tool. Investment returns and inflation are user assumptions, not forecasts. Each goal is separately earmarked.
Goal-funding decision file
Assumption
Review test
Goal cost
Use a current written estimate and include tax, travel, contingency and currency exposure where relevant.
Inflation
Use a goal-specific range; education, healthcare and property can diverge from headline inflation.
Return
Use a conservative, post-cost and post-tax scenario consistent with horizon and risk capacity.
Existing corpus
Include only assets genuinely earmarked and available on the goal date.
Monthly amount
Stress missed contributions and step-ups; keep emergency liquidity separate.
Define Amount, date, priority and acceptable shortfall.
Inflate Project a range rather than one precise future cost.
Fund Match contribution and asset risk to time remaining.
Review Recalculate annually and de-risk before the spending date.
Practical example
A Rs 20 lakh education goal is eight years away. At 8% education inflation it becomes about Rs 37 lakh. Planning at an assumed 12% return may produce an attractive SIP, but a 9% return and one year of missed contributions reveal the needed buffer. Use the more resilient contribution, not the return required to make the plan look affordable.
Advisory case
A three-year house down-payment is invested entirely in equity because the calculator accepts a high return input. The model has not assessed suitability. A near-term essential goal usually requires a capital-protection and liquidity plan even if that increases the monthly contribution.
This is an assumption model, not an investment recommendation or a promise of return. Consider regulated advice for suitability and product selection.
Methodology, assumptions and sources
Scope: Computes the monthly SIP amount (or lump sum) required to reach a specific financial goal by a target date, given an expected rate of return and the goal's future cost after inflation.
Required monthly SIP = solved using the standard SIP future-value formula, FV = P × [((1+r)n − 1)/r] × (1+r), rearranged to solve for P given the target FV (the inflation-adjusted goal cost), monthly return rate r, and number of months n.
Where a lump-sum alternative is shown, it is computed as Goal cost ÷ (1 + r)years, i.e., the present value of the future goal at the expected return rate.
Inputs and assumptions
Return convention: the expected annual return is treated as an effective annual rate, so the monthly rate is (1 + r)1/12 − 1 and 12% a year compounds to exactly 12% over a year. Calculators that divide the annual rate by 12 give slightly higher results for the same input; the SIP calculator uses that convention.
Expected return rate is a user-entered planning assumption for the asset class selected, not a guaranteed or predicted return.
Inflation rate applied to the goal cost is a user-entered assumption and may differ meaningfully from general CPI inflation for goal-specific costs (e.g., education inflation typically runs higher).
Exclusions and edge cases
Does not model step-up SIPs (increasing contribution over time) unless the user separately uses the step-up SIP calculator for that scenario.
Tax on investment gains used to fund the goal is not netted out of the required SIP unless the user adjusts the expected return to a post-tax figure.
Sources
No specific external regulatory source applies beyond general market-linked instrument mechanics.
Review status: reviewed and approved by CA Nikhil Gupta on 14 July 2026.
Guides on this topic
Background, worked examples and the rules behind these numbers.
Finin2min is not registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) as an Investment Adviser or as a Research Analyst. This tool performs an arithmetic calculation on the figures you enter and is published for general information and educational purposes only. It is not investment advice, it is not personalised to your financial circumstances, objectives or risk tolerance, and it is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security, scheme or product. Projected values are illustrative and follow directly from the assumptions you supply; actual returns will differ, and past performance does not indicate future results. Consider consulting a SEBI-registered Investment Adviser before acting on any investment decision.