Spend Versus Save For Retirement Calculator

Should I Spend Now Or Save For Retirement?

What will an expenditure today cost me in terms of retirement savings tomorrow? Every purchase decision is a tradeoff between delayed gratification and immediate gratification, and this calculator will help you measure that tradeoff so you can make smarter financial decisions. This calculator takes the amount spent and compounds the earnings lost on that money to provide the total cost to your retirement savings from spending versus saving the money. The further you are from retirement the more dramatic the results will be.

A few things to keep in mind:

  • Some people like to use 10% as an estimate for the long-term return from stock investments as an approximation for "interest". Others prefer 6-8% as an estimate for bond returns.
  • Number of years can either be calculated based on your expected retirement age (most liberal interpretation), or you can use your expected lifetime (more realistic) as that is how long the money would likely be earning a return for you.
  • Be sure to include any sales taxes that might apply when entering expenditure amounts.
  • Some items you buy come with additional costs of ownership — such as repair and maintenance costs, operating costs (gas, electricity, etc.), insurance costs, storage costs, etc..
  • The calculations do not account for inflation.


Enter the dollar amount of any expenditure you are contemplating:

Enter the annual interest rate (%) you feel you could earn if you were to invest the money rather than spend it:

Enter the number of years you would allow your investment to grow (number of years until retirement, or expected lifetime):

Forgone interest earnings:

Real cost of expenditure:


We have many more financial and retirement calculators for you to use – all for free. Click these links for our directory of financial calculators or retirement calculators.


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