Short answer
Take the price, subtract what your child has already saved, and divide what's left by what they'll save each week. Round up to whole weeks. A $20 toy is $22.60 with Ontario's 13% HST, so at $2 a week, starting from nothing, it takes 12 weeks. Use the planner below with your child, and let them try different weekly amounts to see how the wait changes.
Only if it’s ordered online.
Assumes the price stays the same and the same amount goes in every week, rounded up to whole weeks. Includes Ontario’s 13% HST.
How the planner works
The planner does three things:
- Finds the totalThe price plus sales tax for the province you choose (it starts on Ontario), and shipping if you add it.
- Takes off what's savedWhat your child already has toward this goal.
- Divides by the weekly amountThen rounds up, because they can't buy it until the money is all there. 9.2 weeks means week 10.
It assumes the price stays the same and the same amount goes in every week. Real life is messier: a sale, a birthday gift or a week they save nothing all change the answer. That's fine. Run it again when something changes.
If the weekly amount is $0, the planner asks for a saving amount instead of giving a number. With nothing going in, the goal never gets closer, and that's worth saying out loud with your child.
Include tax, and shipping if it's online
The price on the shelf usually isn't what your child pays. Sales tax depends on your province: in Ontario, HST is 13%. If they're ordering online, check the shipping too. Tax usually applies to shipping as well, and the planner adds it.
Here's how it adds up for a $45 board game in Ontario, with $10 already saved:
- $50.85with 13% HST
- $40.85still to save after $10
- 14 weeksat $3 a week, about three months
- 9 weeksat $5 a week, about two months
Without the tax, the plan would come up $5.85 short at the till. Adding it from the start avoids that surprise.
Use it with your child
The planner is most useful when your child does the typing. Sit down together and:
- Look up the real price together and enter it
- Count what they've saved toward this goal and enter that
- Ask how much they want to put in each week
Let them choose, then try one amount higher and one lower.
- Talk about the trade-off
A shorter wait means less to spend now. A longer wait keeps more for other things. Neither is wrong.
- Write the number of weeks next to the goal
On the jar or a sticky note, so they can count down.
How to help kids save for something they want covers the rest: choosing the goal, the weekly check-in and what to do if they change their mind.
When the wait feels too long
Sometimes the answer is a number of weeks that feels like forever. Don't hurry to fix it. You can ask:
- "Is it still worth it, if it takes that long?"
- "Could you put a bit more in each week? What would you give up?"
- "Is there a smaller version, or a used one?"
If they decide to wait, a long goal is a real achievement. If they decide it isn't worth it, that's a good money decision too. If the goal is a year or more away, it may be long-term saving rather than a Save goal; see our spend, save, give and grow guide.
Adapting it by grade
- FocusYou do the math. Draw one box per week on paper and let them colour one in each time money goes in.
- FocusUse whole dollars and goals a few weeks away. Count the weeks out loud together.
- FocusAdd tax. Let them try two weekly amounts and choose.
- FocusThey enter the numbers themselves. Add shipping for online orders and talk about prices that change.
- FocusLonger goals, such as a phone or a trip. Ask them to check the plan after a month and adjust it themselves.
A regular home for the allowance — two minutes a week.
Monty runs this calculation every week. At Monty O'Clock, the two-minute weekly check-in, your child splits new money across their Spend, Save and Give jars, and money in Save goes toward their goals. Each goal shows how close it is.
Monty is the record
- Tracks each jar, allowance and gifts
- Weekly, bi-weekly or monthly
- Bonuses with a note saying why
Not the bank
- Doesn’t hold money
- No card issued
- Never connects to your bank
First four Monty O’Clocks free, every feature, no credit card. Then $10/month or $99/year, plus applicable tax.
If your child has a goal they're saving toward, each Monty O'Clock also spotlights one. If they added to it that week, Monty shows about how many more Monty O'Clocks it will take at that pace, and asks: Still want it?
See how saving goals work in Monty, or see how Monty O'Clock works.
Questions parents ask
Does the planner include tax?
Yes. It starts on Ontario's 13% HST. Choose your province or territory from the list, or switch on "No sales tax" for things that aren't taxed. Add shipping if it's an online order.
Why does it round up?
Your child can't buy the thing until all the money is there. If the math says 9.2 weeks, the money is ready in week 10.
What if the price changes?
Run it again with the new price. A sale shortens the wait; a price increase lengthens it. That's a useful conversation in itself.
What if my child saves different amounts each week?
Use the amount they'll usually save, then check again in a few weeks with what they've actually saved so far.
Does my child need Monty to use this?
No. The planner works for any goal, with a jar or a bank account. Monty keeps track of it for you every week if you want that.
Sources (6)
- Teaching children about money — Financial Consumer Agency of Canada · checked Oct 23, 2026
- GST/HST rates — Canada Revenue Agency · checked Oct 23, 2026
- GST/HST Info Sheet GI-202: Delivery services involving platforms — Canada Revenue Agency · checked Oct 23, 2026
- Saving goals — Monty · checked Oct 23, 2026
- How Monty O'Clock works — Monty · checked Oct 23, 2026
- Monty pricing — Monty · checked Oct 23, 2026
Monty publishes this guide. Financial education, not financial advice.
