Sometimes you just need a quick answer to a basic question. How much will this grow to? What rate do I need? How long will it take?
The Time Value of Money calculator handles the classic financial math that comes up constantly in planning conversations. It's not fancy. It's fast.
How I think about it
This is the calculator I pull up when a client asks something straightforward during a meeting. "If I put $10,000 in a CD at 4.5%, what's it worth in 5 years?" "How much do I need to save monthly to have $100,000 in 10 years?" "What interest rate turns $50,000 into $200,000 over 20 years?"
These questions don't need a full projection. They need one number. The TVM calculator gives you that number in seconds.
How it works
Five variables:
Present Value — what you have now
Future Value — what you want to end up with
Interest Rate — annual rate of return
Payment — regular annual contribution or withdrawal
Time Period — how many years
Pick which variable you want to solve for, fill in the other four, and the calculator gives you the answer. You can set payments to hit at the beginning or end of each year, and choose between annual or monthly compounding.
It opens in a side panel so you don't have to leave whatever you're working on. You can run multiple calculations back to back for quick comparisons.