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How to work out how long to reach a savings goal on a TI-84 Plus CE, TI-84 Plus or TI-83 Plus

By E-Code · updated

Open the TVM Solver (APPS, ENTER, ENTER) and fill in I%, PV = 0, PMT as a negative deposit, FV as the goal and P/Y = 12. Put the cursor on N and press ALPHA, then ENTER (SOLVE): 100 a month at 4% reaches 5,000 after N = 46.32 months.

Step by step

  1. Open APPS. APPS Press APPS.
  2. Open Finance. ENTER Press ENTER for Finance.
  3. Open the TVM Solver. ENTER Press ENTER for the TVM Solver.
  4. Skip N for now. ENTER Press ENTER to move past N: the number of deposits is what you'll solve for.
  5. I%: yearly interest. 4 ENTER Type 4 and ENTER: the account pays 4% a year.
  6. PV: start from 0. 0 ENTER Type 0 and ENTER: nothing saved yet.
  7. PMT: each deposit. (-) 1 0 0 ENTER Type (−) 100 and ENTER: 100 dollars a month. It's negative because the money goes out of your pocket.
  8. FV: the goal. 5 0 0 0 ENTER Type 5000 and ENTER: you want 5,000 dollars at the end.
  9. P/Y: 12 deposits a year. 1 2 ENTER Type 12 and ENTER: one deposit a month. C/Y changes to 12 with it.
  10. Back up to N. ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ Press ▲ six times to put the cursor on N.
  11. Solve for N. ALPHA ENTER The cursor is on N. Press ALPHA, then ENTER (SOLVE).
  12. How many deposits. N = 46.32: 47 monthly deposits of 100 dollars at 4% reach 5,000 dollars, just under 4 years. The square next to N marks the solved value.

What the screen shows

N = 46.32: 47 monthly deposits of 100 dollars at 4% reach 5,000 dollars, just under 4 years. The square next to N marks the solved value.

Look for =46.32 on the screen.

Try it with the keys lit up

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Try “Work out how long to reach a savings goal” on the TI-84 calculator

Related

Finance programs for the TI-84 Plus CE:

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