Creating Goals

It's time to start setting up your goals. You can create three types: savings, debt payoff, and retirement.

To set up a goal:

1. Click the button at the top right.
2. Choose a goal type: savings, debt payoff, or retirement.

Each type of goal is a little different and requires slightly different information.

SAVINGS GOALS

We encourage you to start by setting up an emergency savings goal. Saving $1,000 in an emergency-only account is a good start, but working toward 3–6 months of living expenses is even better.

To create a savings goal:

1. Click the button at the top right.
2. Click the “Savings” goal type.

3. Select a more specific type of savings goal. You can choose from: emergency fund, automobile, college, home, recreational, vacation, electronic, or other.
4. Edit the details for the goal: give it a name and set set an amount you would like to save for your goal.
5. Click the field. A window will appear listing all your non-checking, non-debt accounts.
6. Click the account you’d like to use for this goal.
7. Click “Save.” This goal will now appear on the main page of Goals — a green circle right above the date when the savings goal is expected to be achieved.

To see details and make changes to a savings goal:

Click the green savings goal on the timeline.

 

DEBT PAYOFF GOALS

If you’ve already connected a debt account to the software, then Goals will automatically pull in the information it needs to create a debt goal — including balance, APR, and minimum payments. Goals will use your minimum payment information to automatically calculate the date the debt will be repaid, but you can add more to your monthly contribution to pay things off sooner.

To create a debt payoff goal:

1. Click the button on the top right of the main Goals window.
2. Click the “Debt Payoff” goal type.

This will bring up a window that lists all of your debt accounts.
3. Check all the accounts you wish to track.
4. Click "Save". Each debt account you selected will appear on the timeline as a blue circle above the date when they are expected to be paid off.

RETIREMENT GOAL

To add a retirement goal:

1. Click the button on the top right of the main Goals window.
2. Choose the “Retirement” goal type.

If you have already entered personal information in the Settings section, your birthday will automatically be imported. Otherwise, you can select the date of your birth by tapping the dropdown menu.
3. Choose the age at which you would like to retire. The default is 65.
4. Enter the amount of money you’d like to have when you retire.
5. Click “Current Savings.” This will open a window from which you can choose a retirement account.
6. Check one or more retirement accounts. The total balance of selected accounts will be listed as your current savings.
7. Click “Add it Here” if you need to connect another account to the software.
8. Click “Save.”
9. Click “Save” on the next window as well. This goal will appear on the timeline as a purple circle above the date you will reach your chosen retirement age. As you scroll to it, you’ll see your current retirement savings and your desired savings side-by-side. If you aren’t projected to achieve your desired retirement savings by your selected age — based on a 6 percent average rate of return — a blue “i” symbol will appear.

To see details and make changes to your retirement goals:

Click the purple retirement goal on the timeline. If you see a blue "i" appear over your retirement goal: Click the retirement goal to see what your projected retirement savings will be by your retirement age and how much less that is than your desired savings.

To learn more about the Goals tool, watch the quick clip here.

Disclaimer: The functionality of this software varies depending on which financial institution you use. Not all content in this help center will apply to your experience.