Goals & Timeline

Give your savings a name and a deadline. See exactly when you'll get there.

What the goals section does

Goals give your savings a reason to exist. Without them, that 20% savings allocation is just a number collecting dust. With goals, it becomes "14 months until my emergency fund is full" or "8 months until I'm on a beach in Barcelona." Every dollar you save, and every dollar you spend, moves these timelines.

Goals pull their funding from your savings budget. If savings is 20% of $5,000, that's $1,000/month to share across your goals. Three goals split that $1,000. The savings allocation bar shows you exactly how the split looks.

Here's the cool part: every wants expense you log shifts your top goal's projected date. The synergy engine recalculates within 250ms, so you see the impact before you've even put your phone down.

Name your goals like they matter

Financial planners say naming your goals is one of the most powerful motivation tricks. "Savings Account #2" means nothing. "Barcelona Trip 2026" makes you think twice before ordering UberEats.

🎯 Savings Target

The classic goal. You pick a target amount, set a monthly contribution, and Cashfox calculates when you'll get there using compound growth. This is the default goal type and the one most people start with.

When to use it

Use a Savings Target when you know exactly how much you need and want to see a projected completion date. House down payments, car funds, wedding budgets, emergency fund targets — anything with a finish line.

Knowing the exact amount turns saving from a vague intention into a concrete plan with a projected date you can hold yourself to.

🏠 House Down Payment — Target: $50,000 | Contributing $500/month at 7% annual return | Projected completion: October 2028

How it works internally

When you create a Savings Target, Cashfox auto-creates a recurring expense in your savings bucket with the goal name as the category. Your monthly contribution compounds each month at your chosen return rate. The projected date recalculates whenever your contribution, return rate, or current balance changes.

Because the expense is created automatically, your budget allocation bar and reconciliation warning stay accurate without any manual tracking.

Savings Target lifecycle

Set target amount + monthly contribution

Recurring savings expense auto-created

Compound growth projects completion date

Milestone celebrations at 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%

Return rate matters more than you think

At $300/month with 0% return, $10,000 takes 34 months. At 7% return, it takes 30 months. That's 4 months saved just by putting money in a basic index fund instead of a checking account.

🛡️ Open-Ended Savings

Open-Ended goals have no target amount and no finish line. You set a monthly contribution and just keep going. The focus is on building the habit, not hitting a number. Think of it as a savings practice rather than a savings race.

When to use it

Use Open-Ended when you don't have a specific dollar amount in mind but want to build consistent savings momentum. Emergency funds you want to grow indefinitely, general investment contributions, or 'rainy day' savings where the point is the habit, not the destination.

Not every financial goal has a finish line. Open-Ended gives you structure and motivation without forcing you to pick an arbitrary target.

🛡️ Emergency Fund — $500/month | No target | 8-month streak 🔥 | Total accumulated: $4,200

How it works internally

Creates a recurring expense in your savings bucket, just like a Savings Target. The difference: there's no progress bar (nothing to measure against), no projected date, and no completion state. Instead, Cashfox tracks your savings streak (consecutive months contributed) and celebrates round-number milestones at $500, $1k, $2.5k, $5k, $10k, $25k, $50k, and $100k.

Open-Ended goals never 'complete' — they're designed to run forever. The streak counter and milestone celebrations keep motivation alive without an arbitrary finish line.

Open-Ended lifecycle

Set monthly contribution (no target)

Recurring savings expense auto-created

Streak counter tracks consecutive months

Confetti at $500, $1k, $2.5k, $5k, $10k+

When Open-Ended beats Savings Target

Your emergency fund. Financial advisors say 3-6 months of expenses, but that number keeps changing as your life does. An Open-Ended goal lets you save $500/month without agonizing over whether your target should be $10k or $15k. Just save. The streak badge does the motivating.

🔓 Debt Payoff

Debt Payoff goals track what you owe instead of what you're saving. You enter your starting balance, interest rate (APR), and monthly payment. Cashfox calculates your freedom date — the month your balance hits zero — using real amortization math, not simple division.

When to use it

Use Debt Payoff for any debt with a known balance and interest rate. Student loans, car loans, credit card balances, personal loans. If it has an APR and you're making monthly payments toward it, this is the right goal type.

Debt isn't savings in reverse — interest works against you. Tracking it as a goal with real amortization math gives you an honest freedom date instead of wishful thinking.

🎓 Student Loans — Balance: $25,000 at 6.8% APR | Paying $300/month | Freedom date: March 2029 | Total interest: $4,180

How it works internally

Unlike savings goals, debt payments create a recurring expense in your needs bucket with the category 'Debt Payment' — not in savings. This is intentional: debt payments are obligations, not discretionary savings. The progress bar runs in reverse (starts full, drains to zero). Each month, interest accrues on the remaining balance before your payment is applied. The freedom date recalculates whenever you change your payment amount.

Because debt expenses go under Needs, your savings budget stays clean for actual savings goals. The budget reconciliation warning checks debt goals against your needs budget separately.

Debt Payoff lifecycle

Enter balance, APR, and monthly payment

Recurring needs expense auto-created

Amortization calculates freedom date

Milestone celebrations at 25%, 50%, 75%, 100% paid

Interest rate matters a lot

If your monthly payment barely covers the monthly interest, your freedom date could be decades away — or never. Cashfox will warn you if your payment is too small to make progress. Even $50 extra per month can shave years off high-interest debt.

Manual payments count too

Got a bonus or tax refund? Use the "Log Payment" button on your debt goal to record extra payments. Each one recalculates your freedom date immediately.

📅 Deadline Savings

Deadline Savings flips the Savings Target formula. Instead of "when will I get there?", you ask "how much do I need to save each month to get there by this date?" You set both a target amount and a deadline, and Cashfox calculates the required monthly contribution to stay on pace.

When to use it

Use Deadline Savings when you have a hard date AND a specific amount. Weddings, tuition payments, planned moves, lease deposits — anything where both the amount and the date are non-negotiable.

When the deadline is real, you need to know if your current pace will get you there. Deadline Savings removes the guesswork and tells you exactly what's required.

💍 Wedding Fund — Target: $15,000 by June 2027 | Required contribution: $625/month | Currently on pace

How it works internally

Creates a recurring expense in your savings bucket, same as Savings Target. The key difference is the pace tracking: Cashfox calculates where you should be right now to hit your target on time and shows whether you're ahead, on pace, or behind. The required monthly contribution updates as your balance and remaining time change.

When the date is fixed, the contribution becomes the variable. Deadline Savings tells you exactly what that variable needs to be, and whether you're keeping up.

Deadline Savings lifecycle

Set target amount + deadline date

Cashfox calculates required monthly contribution

Recurring savings expense auto-created

Pace indicator tracks ahead/behind status

Ahead of pace? Don't relax — accelerate

If you're ahead of schedule, you have two options: lower your contribution and redistribute to other goals, or keep the pace and hit your target early. Both are valid — Cashfox shows you the tradeoff.

⏳ Deadline Target

Deadline Target is the most flexible goal type. You set a monthly contribution and a date, and Cashfox projects how much you'll have when the deadline arrives. There's no fixed target — the outcome depends on your contribution and return rate.

When to use it

Use Deadline Target when you have a date in mind but not a specific amount. Travel funds where you'll spend whatever you've saved, year-end bonus savings, or 'save as much as I can before [life event]' goals.

Sometimes you don't know how much you'll need — you just know when you'll need it. Seeing the projected total helps you plan around a real number instead of a guess.

🏖️ Travel Fund — Saving $200/month until December 2026 | Projected total: $4,420 (with 5% return) | That's 3 weeks in Southeast Asia

How it works internally

Creates a recurring expense in your savings bucket. Instead of calculating when you'll reach a target, it projects what your total will be at the deadline using compound growth. The projected total updates whenever you change your contribution or return rate. No progress bar (there's no target to measure against) — just a growing projected number and a countdown.

Sometimes the question isn't 'when will I get there?' but 'how much will I have by then?' Deadline Target answers that question clearly.

Deadline Target lifecycle

Set monthly contribution + deadline date

Cashfox projects total at deadline

Recurring savings expense auto-created

Countdown shows days remaining

Turning a Deadline Target into a plan

You're saving $200/month for a trip in 18 months. Cashfox projects $3,720. You look up flights and hotels and realize you need $4,500. Now you know: bump it to $250/month, or extend the deadline by 4 months. The projection turns vague plans into concrete math.

Portfolio summary hero

Portfolio overview

Shows your total active goals, your monthly savings budget, and how much of it is already committed. One glance tells you whether you have room for a new goal or whether you're already fully allocated.

If 3 goals need $800/month but your savings budget is only $600, there's a problem. This hero makes that mismatch impossible to miss.

Goal cards

Goal card

Each goal shows its name, emoji, a progress bar (current vs target), monthly contribution, and projected completion date. Tap any card to open the deep dive below.

Seeing a goal at 65% complete is motivating in a way a spreadsheet row just isn't. That progress bar does real emotional work.

House Down Payment | $32,000 / $50,000 (64%) | $500/month | Projected: Mar 2027

Keep it focused

You can have up to 3 active goals. Fewer goals means clearer priorities. Pick the ones that actually matter right now.

Goal deep dive (hero card)

Hero goal card

Select a goal and an expanded card opens with the full picture: amount saved, target, monthly contribution, annual return rate, and projected completion date. You can edit everything from here.

The projected date is the number that matters most. It tells you exactly when you'll cross the finish line at your current pace, no guessing required.

Projection chart

A line chart showing your goal's growth over time. Your savings compound month by month until the line crosses the target. Use the What-If slider and a second line appears so you can compare trajectories side by side.

Compound growth is hard to feel in a table of numbers. Seeing the curve accelerate visually makes the math click. A $300/month contribution at 7% annual return grows faster in year 4 than it did in years 1 through 3 combined.

At $300/month with 7% annual return: Year 1: $3,732 | Year 3: $12,147 | Year 5: $21,535. The last two years gained more than the first three.

Time beats contribution size

Einstein (reportedly) called compound interest the eighth wonder of the world. Even at modest returns, time is your biggest advantage. Starting a goal 6 months earlier can be worth more than doubling your monthly contribution.

What-if slider

What-if analysis

Drag the slider to explore different monthly contribution amounts. The projected date updates in real time, showing your current date and the what-if date side by side so you can see the tradeoff clearly.

Should you contribute $300 or $400/month? The slider gives you the answer in seconds: '$100 more per month moves your goal 4 months closer.' That's a concrete tradeoff you can actually evaluate.

Current: $300/month → Dec 2027 | What-If: $400/month → Aug 2027 | Difference: 4 months sooner

It's a sandbox

The What-If slider doesn't save anything. Play freely. When you find a number that feels right, edit the goal to lock it in.

Savings allocation bar

A stacked horizontal bar showing how your monthly savings budget is split across active goals. Each goal gets a colored segment. Any unallocated savings shows as an empty segment on the right.

If every dollar is committed, there's no buffer for surprises. If half is sitting idle, you might be leaving future-you behind. This bar makes the balance obvious.

Budget reconciliation warning

Reconciliation warning

An amber warning that fires when your goal contributions exceed your savings budget. It shows the exact gap: 'Your goals need $800/month but your savings budget is $600/month.' A button takes you straight to the budget to fix it.

This is one of the most important safety checks in Cashfox. If your goals promise more than your budget delivers, every projected date is a fiction. This warning catches the mismatch before you build plans around bad numbers.

Two ways to resolve it

Raise your savings percentage in the budget section, or lower contributions on one or more goals. Either works. Pick the one that fits your actual life.

Sustainable beats ambitious

Over-committing to goals is the savings version of crash dieting. It's unsustainable and leads to giving up entirely. Set contributions you can hold for 6+ months without feeling deprived.

Completed goals

A collapsible section showing everything you've already achieved. Each entry shows the goal name, total saved, and the date you hit it. Completing a goal triggers a confetti celebration.

Completed goals are proof the system works. They're also a reminder of what consistent saving actually looks like over time.

Understanding compound growth

Goals in Cashfox aren't simple division (target divided by monthly contribution equals months). They account for compound growth, where your existing savings earn returns while new contributions keep arriving.

The formula uses monthly compounding: each month, your balance grows by (annual rate / 12), then your new contribution lands on top. Over years, that acceleration becomes significant. The What-If slider uses the same formula, so every projection stays realistic.

Simple vs compound

Goal: $10,000 | Monthly contribution: $200 | Without growth: 50 months (4 years, 2 months) | With 7% annual return: 44 months (3 years, 8 months) | Compound growth saves you 6 months of waiting.

You don't need to be an investor

Even a 3-5% return from a basic high-yield savings account or index fund makes a real difference over 2+ years. You don't need to pick stocks. Just let time work.

How goals connect to everything

Goal creation flow

Set goal contribution

Auto-creates savings expense

Budget allocation bar updates

If over-committed, warning fires

When you spend on wants:

Log wants expense

Synergy recomputes

Top affected goal identified

Dashboard shows timeline shift

Goals touch every other section of Cashfox in a specific way.

Goals and budget

Your goal contributions have to fit inside your savings allocation. If you set a 20% savings rate on $5,000/month income, you have $1,000 to spread across all active goals. Over-committing triggers the reconciliation warning.

The budget is the ceiling. Goals tell you how to use the space under it.

Goals and expenses

Wants spending shifts goal timelines. Every time you log a wants expense, the synergy engine finds your 'top affected goal' and updates its projected date.

This connection makes every spending decision concrete. A $60 dinner isn't just $60. It's a visible nudge to your nearest goal's timeline.

Goals and dashboard

Goal progress bars and timeline strips live on the dashboard home screen. When you complete a goal, the dashboard fires a full confetti celebration.

The dashboard is your daily check-in. Seeing goal progress there, without navigating away, keeps the motivation front and center.

Real talk: goals are the emotional engine of the whole app. Budget tells you what you can spend. Expenses tell you what you did spend. But goals tell you WHY saving matters. They turn "$200 saved" into "4 months closer to a house."

Real-world example

Creating your first goal

You create an Emergency Fund: Target $5,000 | Monthly contribution: $200 | Annual return: 7%. Cashfox calculates a projected completion in 23 months. You open the What-If slider and see that $300/month gets you there in 16 months, 7 months sooner. You land on $250 as the comfortable middle ground and save it. Your savings allocation bar now shows $250 of your $400 savings budget committed. The dashboard starts tracking your progress from day one.