Time does more of the work than the amount does
Two things drive the projection above, and only one of them is you. The money you put in grows in a straight line. Growth on money already there accelerates, because each year's growth earns growth of its own the year after - which is why the two bands on the chart start almost indistinguishable and then separate. Doubling your monthly amount doubles the result; doubling the number of years does considerably more, because the extra years compound against the largest balance.
Where Canadians hold this kind of saving
This calculator is account-agnostic - it projects a balance, wherever you keep it. In Canada the usual homes for long-term contributions are a TFSA, an RRSP, an FHSA if you are saving for a first home, or a taxable account once the registered room is used up. We have written up how the three registered accounts differ in TFSA, RRSP or FHSA: which to fill first, and Cadence Money tracks all of them as first-class account types alongside your budget. Nothing here is investment advice, and Cadence Money is not a financial adviser - for guidance on your own situation, speak to someone licensed to give it.
From a number you typed to a number you have
The honest limit of any calculator like this one is the first input. You guessed the monthly amount, and whether it is realistic for you is the actual question - not one a blank field can answer. That is the part Cadence Money does: it reads your real income and spending, works out what is genuinely left over in a typical month, and runs this same projection against that figure, updating as your spending changes. If the question runs the other way - what a balance costs while you clear it - the debt payoff calculator runs the same kind of schedule in reverse, and if the balance you are building is a down payment, the rent vs buy calculator weighs it against carrying on renting. The rest are collected on the calculators page.
Frequently asked questions
It compounds your balance monthly. Each month your starting balance grows by one twelfth of the annual rate you chose, then your monthly contribution is added on top. That repeats for every month in the horizon, and the chart plots the total at the end of each year, split between the money you put in and the growth on top.
That is your call, and this page deliberately does not recommend one. The slider opens at 8%, which is roughly where the long-run North American stock market averages have sat and where comparable calculators start, but you can put it anywhere from 0% to 15%: 0% for money left in cash, a few percent for a savings account or a GIC, or your own figure. Whatever you pick is an assumption about the future, not a return anyone can promise you.
No. The figures are before tax, before any account or fund fees, and in today's dollars with no inflation adjustment. That means the end balance is a gross figure - what it will actually buy in 30 years is less. Fees in particular compound against you the same way growth compounds for you.
Yes. This page runs the same projection module as the Imagine tab inside the Cadence Money app, and a build check compares the two files so they cannot drift apart. The difference is what feeds it: here you type a monthly amount, whereas Cadence Money works out what is actually left over from your real income and spending.
No. The calculator runs entirely in your browser and nothing you type is sent anywhere. Cadence Money itself is a paid subscription with a 14-day free trial, but this page is open to anyone.