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Financial Goals

Setting and Achieving Your Financial Goals

The Financial Goals feature helps you set, track, and achieve important financial milestones in your life.

What are Financial Goals?

Financial Goals are specific objectives that you want to achieve with your money. They can include:

  • Building an emergency fund
  • Saving for a down payment on a home
  • Paying off credit card debt or student loans
  • Saving for retirement
  • Setting aside money for a vacation
  • Funding education for yourself or your children
  • Building a specific investment portfolio value
  • Making a major purchase (car, appliance, etc.)
How to Access Financial Goals

You can access the Financial Goals page by clicking on Goals in the main navigation menu.

Benefits of Setting Financial Goals
  • Provides clear direction for your financial decisions
  • Helps you prioritize your spending and saving
  • Gives you a sense of progress and accomplishment
  • Increases your chances of financial success
  • Makes abstract financial concepts more tangible and personal
  • Helps you stay motivated with visual progress tracking

Step-by-Step Guide to Adding a Financial Goal
  1. Navigate to the Financial Goals page and click Add New Goal button
  2. Fill in the required information:
    • Name: Enter a descriptive name for your goal (e.g., "Emergency Fund")
    • Description: Provide details about what you're saving for and why
    • Target Amount: Enter the total amount you need to reach your goal
    • Current Amount: Enter how much you've already saved toward this goal
    • Target Date: (Optional) Set a deadline for achieving your goal
    • Priority: Choose between High, Medium, or Low priority
    • Category: (Optional) Select a category for the goal
    • Status: Usually set to "In Progress" when creating a new goal
    • Notes: (Optional) Add any additional details about your goal
  3. Click Save to create your financial goal
Tip:

When setting your target date, be realistic but ambitious. A goal that's too easy won't motivate you, but one that's impossible to achieve might discourage you. Consider what you can reasonably save each month and set your timeline accordingly.

Goal Status Indicators

Each goal in your list will have one of these status indicators:

  • In Progress - You're actively working toward this goal
  • Completed - You've reached your target amount
  • On Hold - You've temporarily paused progress on this goal
Priority Levels

Goals can be assigned different priority levels, which are indicated by the card header color:

  • High Priority - These are your most important financial goals
  • Medium Priority - Important but not urgent goals
  • Low Priority - Nice-to-have goals that aren't urgent
Progress Tracking

For each goal, you can track your progress in several ways:

  • Progress Bar: Visual representation of your progress toward the target
  • Percentage Complete: Shows exactly what percentage of your goal you've reached
  • Current Amount: Displays how much you've saved so far
  • Target Amount: Shows your ultimate goal
  • Days Remaining: If you set a target date, shows how many days you have left
  • On Track Indicator: Shows whether you're on pace to meet your goal by the target date
Goal Actions

For each goal, you can perform these actions:

  • Edit - Modify any details of the goal
  • Delete - Remove the goal completely
  • Update Progress - Update the current amount saved toward the goal

How to Update Your Goal Progress

As you save money toward your goals, you'll want to update your progress:

  1. Find the goal you want to update on the Financial Goals page
  2. Click the Update Progress button for that goal
  3. In the popup modal, enter the current amount saved toward your goal
  4. Click Update Progress to save your changes
Tip:

For savings goals that are kept in specific accounts, you can simply update the current amount to match your account balance. For goals that involve paying down debt, enter the remaining balance as your current amount, and your progress will increase as the balance decreases.

When to Update Goal Progress

Consider updating your goal progress:

  • After each deposit to your goal savings account
  • On a regular schedule (weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly)
  • After receiving extra income that you've allocated to a goal
  • When making a debt payment for debt reduction goals
  • When you receive interest or investment returns on goal funds
Automatic Progress Tracking

In future updates, Cognito Money will support automatic goal progress tracking by:

  • Linking goals to specific tagged transactions
  • Connecting to savings accounts via bank integration
  • Automatically calculating progress based on transaction history

SMART Goal Framework

When creating financial goals, use the SMART framework to make them more effective:

  • Specific: Clearly define what you want to achieve ("Save $10,000" instead of "Save money")
  • Measurable: Include a way to track progress (dollar amount, percentage, etc.)
  • Achievable: Set realistic goals that you can actually reach
  • Relevant: Choose goals that align with your broader financial plan
  • Time-bound: Set a target date to create urgency and focus
Goal Prioritization Strategies

When deciding which goals to focus on first, consider these approaches:

The Financial Foundation Method
  1. Emergency Fund (1 month of expenses)
  2. High-interest debt elimination
  3. Emergency Fund completion (3-6 months of expenses)
  4. Retirement savings (at least enough for employer match)
  5. Other goals (home, education, vacation, etc.)
The Balanced Approach

Work on multiple goals simultaneously, allocating different percentages of your saving capacity:

  • 50% to high-priority goals
  • 30% to medium-priority goals
  • 20% to low-priority goals
The Debt Avalanche/Snowball Methods

For debt repayment goals:

  • Avalanche Method: Pay off debts in order of highest interest rate first (saves the most money)
  • Snowball Method: Pay off debts in order of smallest balance first (provides psychological wins)

Short-Term Goals (0-1 year)
Goal Type Example Typical Amount
Emergency Fund (Phase 1) One month of essential expenses $1,000 - $5,000
Vacation Fund Summer family trip $1,000 - $3,000
Holiday Savings Christmas/holiday gift budget $500 - $1,500
Major Purchase New computer or appliance $500 - $2,000
Medium-Term Goals (1-5 years)
Goal Type Example Typical Amount
Full Emergency Fund 3-6 months of expenses $5,000 - $30,000
Vehicle Purchase Down payment or full purchase $2,000 - $20,000
Debt Elimination Pay off credit cards or personal loans Variable
Home Renovation Kitchen remodel or bathroom update $5,000 - $30,000
Long-Term Goals (5+ years)
Goal Type Example Typical Amount
Home Down Payment 20% down payment on a house $20,000 - $100,000+
Retirement 401(k) or IRA contribution goal $500,000 - $2,000,000+
College Fund Children's education savings $20,000 - $150,000 per child
Starting a Business Capital for a new venture $10,000 - $100,000+

Tips for Financial Goal Success
  1. Automate contributions - Set up automatic transfers to your goal accounts
  2. Track progress regularly - Update your goals at least monthly
  3. Start small and build - Begin with achievable goals to build momentum
  4. Celebrate milestones - Recognize when you hit 25%, 50%, 75% of your goal
  5. Review and adjust - Life changes, so should your goals; review quarterly
  6. Visualize success - Add images or vision boards to your goal descriptions
  7. Share selected goals - Tell others about your goals for accountability
  8. Use windfalls wisely - Dedicate tax refunds, bonuses, and gifts to goal progress
Balancing Multiple Goals

Most people have several financial goals at once. Here's how to balance them:

  • Focus on one high-priority goal at a time for fastest progress
  • Make minimum progress on all goals while prioritizing 1-2 key goals
  • Divide your savings by percentages based on goal priority and timeline
  • Use separate accounts for different goals to avoid mixing funds
  • Align goal funding with income timing (e.g., use bonus for annual goals)
Tip:

Remember that financial goals should serve your life goals, not the other way around. Occasionally revisit why each goal matters to you personally. This helps maintain motivation and ensures your financial plan aligns with your values and priorities.

Common Issues and Solutions
Problem: Progress bar isn't updating correctly
Solutions:
  1. Make sure both the current amount and target amount have valid values
  2. Check if you've entered the current amount correctly (as the amount saved, not the amount remaining)
  3. For debt goals, try setting the target amount as 0 and the current amount as the current debt
  4. Try updating the goal by editing it rather than using the Update Progress button
Problem: On Track status shows incorrect information
Solutions:
  1. Verify that your target date is correctly set in the future
  2. Check that your current amount and initial amount make sense given the timeline
  3. For goals that have just started, you may need to make several updates before the on-track status becomes accurate
  4. If your goal has a very short timeframe (less than 30 days), the on-track calculation may not be meaningful
Problem: I want to track a goal that isn't purely savings-based
Solutions:
  1. For net worth goals, enter your target net worth as the target amount and your current net worth as the current amount
  2. For debt reduction, use the total debt as your target amount and the remaining debt as your current amount
  3. For investment goals, include both contributions and growth in your current amount updates
  4. For percentage-based goals (e.g., "Save 15% of income"), set the target as the annual total and track progress monthly