Goal types
The six kinds of goal a category can carry, and what each one targets each month.
A goal gives a category a monthly target. It never moves money on its own: it drives the row’s indicator and what Fund goals would assign.
Set one in Edit Categories. Refer to Set a goal for an envelope.
The six kinds
| Kind | Targets | Fields | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed amount | The same amount every month | Amount | Rent, subscriptions, any known monthly cost |
| Up to (refill) | Whatever brings Available back up to a cap | Cap | A category kept topped up rather than added to |
| Save by date | A total by a target month, spread over the months remaining | Amount, target month, repeats | A trip, a known bill on a known date |
| Linked schedule | Whatever the linked schedule’s occurrences need this month | Schedule | A bill that already exists as a schedule |
| Average of N months | The trailing average of what you actually spent | Months back | Variable spending with useful history |
| Percent of income | A share of recent income | Percentage, months back | Saving a proportion, especially on irregular income |
How each one behaves
Fixed amount asks for the same figure every month regardless of what is in the envelope.
Up to (refill) asks for the difference between Available and the cap. A 200 cap asks for 200 in the first month, then only what you spent in each month after.
Save by date divides what is still outstanding by the months remaining, recalculated each month. Miss a month and the remaining months each carry a little more. Repeats rolls the deadline forward a year for annual bills.
Linked schedule follows the schedule, so changing the bill changes the target. This is the goal to use for anything already scheduled.
Average of N months negates the trailing average of your activity over the months you choose, which turns your own history into the target.
Percent of income applies a percentage to income actually received over the trailing months, not to income you expected.
In tracking mode
Every kind works, with one difference.
There is no carryover, so an envelope’s Available is just the month’s own activity. That changes two kinds:
- Up to (refill) refills against the month’s own activity.
- Save by date re-spreads the whole remaining amount every month, because there is no carryover recording what you already put in. Use Fixed amount for a strict monthly contribution in tracking mode.
Income categories never carry goals in either mode.
Next steps
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