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Setting Financial Goals

Financial goals help you stay motivated and focused on what matters most. Whether you’re saving for a vacation, building an emergency fund, or planning for a major purchase, Finanzapp helps you track your progress.

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What Are Financial Goals?

A financial goal in Finanzapp is a target amount you want to save for a specific purpose within a defined timeframe. Goal Components:
  • Target Amount: How much money you need
  • Current Amount: How much you’ve saved so far
  • Deadline: When you want to achieve this goal
  • Category: What the goal is for
  • Priority: How important this goal is
Financial goals appear on your dashboard (as seen in index.php:249-255) and help you visualize progress toward what you’re saving for.

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Creating a Financial Goal

1

Access Goals Page

Navigate to Goals from the main menu or click Set a Goal on your dashboard.
2

Start New Goal

Click + Create New Goal to open the goal creation form.
3

Enter Goal Details

Fill in the required information:Goal Name: Give your goal a descriptive name
  • Examples: “Emergency Fund”, “Summer Vacation”, “New Laptop”, “House Down Payment”
Target Amount: How much you need to save
  • Enter the total amount needed
  • Must be greater than 0
  • Example: 5000 for “5000€”
Current Amount: How much you’ve already saved (optional)
  • Default is 0
  • Enter any existing savings toward this goal
Target Date: When you want to achieve this goal
  • Choose a date in the future
  • Can be days, months, or years away
Category: What type of goal this is
  • Select from predefined categories
  • Examples: Savings, Travel, Education, Home, Emergency
4

Set Priority Level

Indicate how important this goal is:
  • High Priority: Must-have goals (emergency fund, debt payoff)
  • Medium Priority: Important but flexible goals (vacation, gadget)
  • Low Priority: Nice-to-have goals (hobby equipment, upgrades)
5

Add Description (Optional)

Provide additional context:
  • Why this goal matters to you
  • Specific details about what you’re saving for
  • Motivation to keep you on track
6

Save Your Goal

Click Create Goal to save.Your new goal appears on your goals list and dashboard.

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Goal Validation

Requirements:
  • Must be a positive number
  • Maximum 2 decimal places
  • Must be greater than current amount
Error Messages:
  • “Target amount is required”
  • “Target amount must be greater than 0”
  • “Target amount must be greater than current amount”
Requirements:
  • Must be a future date
  • Cannot be more than 50 years in the future
  • Must be a valid date format
Error Messages:
  • “Please select a target date”
  • “Target date must be in the future”
Requirements:
  • Cannot be empty
  • Maximum 100 characters
  • Should be unique (warning if duplicate)
Error Messages:
  • “Goal name is required”
  • “Goal name is too long”

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Tracking Goal Progress

Monitor how close you are to achieving your goals.

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Progress Visualization

Your goals display progress in multiple ways:
Visual Indicator: A colored bar shows completion percentageColor Coding:
  • Green: On track or ahead of schedule
  • Yellow: Behind schedule but achievable
  • Red: Significantly behind schedule
Percentage: Shows exact completion (e.g., “45% complete”)
Displays how much more you need to save:Example: “€2,500 remaining of €5,000 goal”
Shows the deadline and time left:Examples:
  • “45 days remaining”
  • “3 months until deadline”
  • “Target date: December 31, 2026”
Calculates how much you need to save per month to meet your goal:Formula: (Target Amount - Current Amount) / Months RemainingExample: “Save €500/month to reach your goal on time”

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Dashboard Goal Widget

Your dashboard shows goal summaries:
  • List of active goals
  • Progress bars for each goal
  • Quick actions to contribute
  • Alerts for goals behind schedule
The dashboard goal widget uses the same visualization components as the main goals page, ensuring consistent tracking throughout Finanzapp.

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Contributing to Goals

Add money to your goals as you save.
1

Select Goal

Click on the goal you want to contribute to.
2

Click Add Contribution

Click the + Add Contribution button.
3

Enter Amount

Specify how much you’re adding:
  • Enter the contribution amount
  • Add a note explaining the contribution (optional)
  • Select the date of contribution
4

Save Contribution

Click Add Contribution.The goal’s current amount updates immediately, and the progress bar advances.

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Automatic Contributions

Set up automatic contributions from income:
1

Enable Auto-Contribute

On the goal details page, toggle Automatic Contributions.
2

Set Contribution Rules

Configure how automatic contributions work:Fixed Amount:
  • Contribute a set amount each period
  • Example: “€200 every month”
Percentage of Income:
  • Contribute a percentage of income transactions
  • Example: “10% of each paycheck”
Round-Up Method:
  • Round up purchases and save the difference
  • Example: €3.20 purchase rounds to €4.00, €0.80 goes to goal
3

Activate Auto-Contribute

Click Save Settings.Future transactions will automatically contribute based on your rules.
Automatic Contributions help you save consistently without thinking about it. Set it up once and watch your progress grow.

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Editing Goals

Update goal details as your plans change.
1

Access Goal

Click on the goal you want to edit from your goals list.
2

Click Edit

Click the Edit button (pencil icon) in the goal details.
3

Modify Information

Update any field:
  • Goal name
  • Target amount
  • Target date
  • Priority level
  • Description
  • Category
4

Save Changes

Click Update Goal.The goal is updated and calculations are refreshed.
Editing Targets: If you increase the target amount or move the deadline closer, the required monthly savings will increase accordingly.

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Completing Goals

When you reach your goal target:
1

Goal Achievement

When your current amount reaches or exceeds the target amount:
  • You’ll see a celebration notification
  • The goal is automatically marked as Completed
  • A badge appears on the goal card
2

Review Achievement

View your completed goal details:
  • Final amount saved
  • Date completed
  • Time it took to achieve
  • Total contributions made
3

Archive or Delete

Choose what to do with the completed goal:Archive: Keep the goal for records but remove from active listDelete: Permanently remove the goalKeep Active: Leave in your goals list as motivation
Goal History: Completed goals are kept in your history so you can look back on your achievements and stay motivated.

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Goal Categories

Organize goals by category for better planning.

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Default Categories

General savings goals:
  • Emergency fund
  • Rainy day fund
  • General savings
Vacation and travel goals:
  • Summer vacation
  • Destination trip
  • Weekend getaway
Housing-related goals:
  • House down payment
  • Home renovation
  • Furniture
  • Appliances
Learning and education goals:
  • College tuition
  • Certification courses
  • Online classes
  • Books and materials
Debt payoff goals:
  • Credit card payoff
  • Student loan repayment
  • Car loan
Car-related goals:
  • Car down payment
  • Car purchase
  • Vehicle maintenance fund
Technology purchases:
  • New laptop
  • Smartphone upgrade
  • Camera equipment
  • Gaming console
Miscellaneous goals that don’t fit other categories.

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Custom Categories

Create custom goal categories in your settings to match your specific needs.

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Goal Priority Management

Prioritize your goals to focus on what’s most important.

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Priority Levels

High Priority

Critical goals that should be funded first (emergency fund, essential purchases)

Medium Priority

Important goals with moderate urgency (vacation, electronics)

Low Priority

Nice-to-have goals that can wait (hobby items, luxury purchases)

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Smart Priority Suggestions

Finanzapp can suggest priorities based on:
  • Financial health score
  • Existing savings
  • Deadline urgency
  • Goal category
Priority Tips: Financial experts recommend prioritizing emergency funds and debt payoff before discretionary spending goals.

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Goal Notifications

Stay informed about your goal progress.

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Notification Types

Celebrate progress markers:
  • 25% complete
  • 50% complete
  • 75% complete
  • Goal achieved!
Stay on track with timely reminders:
  • 30 days until deadline
  • 7 days until deadline
  • Deadline passed (if goal incomplete)
Get alerted when falling behind:
  • “You need to save €X more this month to stay on track”
  • “Your goal is behind schedule”
  • “Increase contributions to meet your deadline”
Optional reminders to contribute:
  • Weekly: “Have you contributed to your goals this week?”
  • Monthly: “Time for your monthly goal contribution”
  • Custom: Set your own reminder schedule

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Notification Preferences

Customize goal notifications in your account settings (app/userConfig.php:148-150):
  • Enable/disable specific notification types
  • Choose notification delivery method (in-app, email)
  • Set notification frequency

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Multiple Goals Management

Manage several goals simultaneously.

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Distributing Contributions

When you have multiple active goals: Manual Distribution:
  1. Decide which goals to fund each month
  2. Contribute to high-priority goals first
  3. Split remaining savings among other goals
Automatic Distribution:
  1. Set contribution percentages for each goal
  2. Example: 50% to emergency fund, 30% to vacation, 20% to gadget
  3. System automatically divides savings based on percentages
Smart Distribution:
  1. Let Finanzapp suggest optimal distribution
  2. Based on deadlines, priority, and required monthly savings
  3. Adjust suggestions as needed

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Goal Overview Dashboard

View all goals at once:
  • Total saved across all goals
  • Average completion percentage
  • Next upcoming deadline
  • Total remaining to save
  • Goals ahead/behind schedule

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Goal Best Practices

Tips for Successful Goal Achievement:
  1. Be Realistic: Set achievable target amounts and dates
  2. Start Small: Begin with smaller goals to build momentum
  3. Prioritize Wisely: Focus on emergency funds and debt payoff first
  4. Automate: Set up automatic contributions for consistency
  5. Review Monthly: Check progress and adjust as needed
  6. Stay Motivated: Add descriptions explaining why goals matter to you
  7. Celebrate Milestones: Acknowledge progress at 25%, 50%, 75% completion
  8. Be Flexible: Adjust goals when circumstances change

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Troubleshooting Goals

Solutions:
  • Refresh the page
  • Verify the contribution was saved successfully
  • Check if you’re viewing the correct goal
  • Clear browser cache
Check:
  • Verify your target amount is correct
  • Confirm your current amount is accurate
  • Ensure the target date is set properly
  • Recalculation happens automatically when you edit the goal
Possible Causes:
  • Goal may have linked contributions
  • Try archiving instead of deleting
  • Ensure you have permission to delete goals

Dashboard

View goal progress on your main dashboard

Transactions

See how transactions affect your goal savings

Export Data

Export goal progress and contribution history

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