What are goals all about?

Goals in Banktivity will help you set up a plan to achieve your financial aspirations. Once your goal is set up, Banktivity will reserve the needed funds from the accounts you select. You can see how much money is earmarked for a goal by looking at the account's summary view. Just go to the sidebar, select the account, and then select the summary tab. The amount reserved for the goal will appear in the available balance section on the right.

Viewing goals

Goals are saved in the “Overview” section of the sidebar. Mouse over the “Overview” label and click “Show” or “Hide” to toggle the overview list visibility.

What types of goals are available?

You can establish a variety of goals in Banktivity. You can set goals to Eliminate Credit Card Debt, Build an Emergency Fund, Save for Stuff, Save for Education, and Retirement.

Eliminate Credit Card Debt

If you carry credit card balances month to month, paying off the debt might be easier than you think. The key is developing a good plan and sticking to it. Banktivity can help you create and follow a plan to your credit card payoff goals.

To set a goal to eliminate credit card debt, start by selecting “Goals” from the Sidebar. At the top of the Goals area you will see the “Eliminate Credit Card Debt” area. Any credit cards without a payoff goal will appear in there with a blue ‘+’ button available to set up a goal for that card. Click on the ‘+’ to create a goal for that credit card.

After clicking on the ‘+’ you will be prompted to select the account you usually use to make payments to the credit card account.

After selecting the account you usually use to make payments, click “Next”. Then you will be able to start making your plan to pay off the credit card account. Start by entering the ‘Baseline balance’ this is typically the current balance for the credit card account and will be filled in automatically by Banktivity. (Note, if you are planning on paying off another card before the card you are working on, then the baseline balance is the amount that we will help you hold your credit card balance at). Next, enter the ‘As of date’, this should represent the date that corresponds with the baseline balance. In most cases the ‘As of date’ will be today’s date, but you can enter other dates if you like.

Then you will be prompted to enter how much extra you are going to pay per month to pay the card off. Enter the extra amount you are going to pay beside “Amount to pay down” and also enter the “First payment date” (the date you are going to start paying the extra amount).

Build an Emergency Fund

Having an emergency fund can help you cover an unexpected financial emergency, such as job loss or sudden illness. Don’t worry if your don’t have an emergency fund, Banktivity can help. Just set up an emergency fund goal and we can help set aside a little each month for a rainy day. If you already have some money set aside for an emergency, just tell this goal about it and we will help make sure you don’t accidentally dip into it.

We recommend that you save 3 to 6 months worth of expenses for emergencies. We know this can seem like a lot of money, but don’t worry, if you start now and save a little each month soon you will have a cushion to get you through the tough times. To get started building an emergency fund select “Goals” from the Sidebar, followed by clicking “Be Prepared” under the ‘Build an Emergency Fund’ area.

After clicking “Be Prepared” enter ‘Your goal amount’ or how much you want to save for emergencies, followed by clicking “Next”. If you already have some money set aside for emergencies enter that amount beside “Current emergency savings amount”, if not you can leave it blank or enter zero. Then enter the amount you are going to save each month beside “Amount to save per month” and enter the “Starting date” (the date you are going to start saving and building your emergency fund. Remember, by saving a little each month you can reach your goal much faster than saving nothing at all.

After clicking “Next” you will be prompted to select the accounts where you want to reserve funds for this goal. Place checkmarks beside the accounts you would like to select, when finished click “Next”.

That’s it! Now you can start watching your emergency fund grow as you save money towards your emergency fund goal.

Save for Stuff

Having a plan to purchase big ticket items can help you save money. Making and sticking to a plan will discourage you from making spontaneous purchases that you might later regret. To get started building an emergency fund select “Goals” from the Sidebar, followed by clicking “Make a Plan” under the ‘Build an Emergency Fund’ area.

Enter a Name and Cost of the item you are saving for, followed by clicking “Next”.

If you already have some money set aside for the purchase enter that amount beside “Amount saved”, if not you can leave it blank or enter zero. Also select the account where you are saving money for the purchase, followed by clicking “Next”

On the ‘Save for a Purchase’ pave enter the “First contribution date”. If you’ve already set money aside for this purchase, enter the date you put that money aside. Or enter the date when you will make your first contribution. Then select if you want to adjust the contribution amount or the number of contributions you will make. Selecting “Set the contribution amount” will allow you to enter the amount of money you plan on saving each month. Selecting “Set the number of contributions” will allow you to enter the number of monthly contributions you would like to make and Banktivity will automatically calculate the amount you need to save to achieve the goal. For example if you are trying to save for a $5,000 purchase over 10 months, Banktivity would automatically calculate the amount you need to save each month as $500 per month.

Save for Education

Having a good education is more important than ever. Saving for an education-whether for yourself, your children, or grandchildren-sets an expectation that the student will enroll in school to further their education. Even if you cannot set aside averaging needed to cover the education costs, every penny saved is a penny you don’t have to borrow. By setting up an education goal, Banktivity will help you track if your contributions are on target to meet your education needs. To get started building an emergency fund select “Goals” from the Sidebar, followed by clicking “Add a Student” under the ‘Save for Education’ area.

On the "Saving for Education" page enter the students name, the anticipated school start date and the number of years you expect the student to attend school. If you expect them to attend more than one school, for example college and then medical school, you can include the total number of years for all of their education. Another option is to setup multiple goals, one for each school they will attend. When finished click “Next”

On the next page enter the “Estimated cost per year” in today’s dollars as well as the expected inflation rate of school tuition. Over the last 40 years in the US the average inflation rate for school tuition has been 6%. When finished click “Next”

If you already have some money set aside for education enter that amount beside “Current education savings”. If you have not yet saved any money for education, you can just leave the field blank or enter zero. Then enter the expected growth rate for your education savings plan. When finished click “Next”

Enter the “First contribution date” as well as the “Monthly contribution amount”. In the ‘Summary’ area you will see the Needed funds, Actual funds and Deficit or Surplus. The Needed funds represents the cost of school for the number of years you entered previously as well as the expected inflation rate. The actual funds represents the monthly contribution amount and the expected interest earned on the savings/investments earmarked for education. The Deficit or Surplus will show you how much additional money may be needed to pay for education or if your plan will save more than enough. This may be a good time to consider if you should be trying to contribute more or less. As you adjust the monthly contribution amount you will see the summary update automatically according to the amount entered. When finished click “Next”

Then select the accounts where you are going to reserve funds for education and click “Next”.

That’s it. Now you will see a chart and summary related to the ‘Save for education goal’. The chart will display your target amount as well as the ideal amount to fully find the education and the actual savings toward the goal. You will also see a brief description of the goal and what the amount saved will cover as well as when the next contribution is due.

Save for Retirement

Saving for retirement is one of the most important financial goals you’ll ever have. Consistent, dedicated saving might not be glamorous, but it will give you far more freedom and control over your lifestyle down the road. By setting up a retirement goal, Banktivity will help you train your contributions and growth to your retirement date and then it will help ensure you don’t overspend in your retirement years. To get started building an emergency fund select “Goals” from the Sidebar, followed by clicking “Get Started” under the ‘Retire’ area.

First, tell us about yourself. To help plan for your retirement we will ask questions about you and your spouse. This will include what retirement benefits you expect to receive from sources other than your savings. We will then help determine how much you will need for retirement and then develop a plan to save for it. Enter your name, date of birth, income last year and select if you are married or not. When finished click “Next”

If you are married, tell us about your spouse. We will also ask about any benefits your spouse expects to receive from sources other than savings. We will include this when determining how much you need to save for retirement. Enter your spouse’s name, date of birth and their income last year, followed by clicking “Next”

On the 'Retirement Savings’ page enter the amount of savings you already have for retirement. This amount should include all of your assets, investments, property, and cash, that you plan to use for retirement. And enter the ‘As of date’, this is also the date when your contributions start. When finished click “Next”

Your savings when invested will grow over time. Please enter your expected investment growth rate, both before and after retirement. However as your savings grows, the price of things goes up. Please enter the expected inflation rate. When finished click “Next”

On the Retirement Contributions page you will enter how much you can save for retirement going forward. Here you will see your combined income from last year and how that breaks down on a monthly basis. Then select if you would like to save a percentage of your income for retirement or a monthly dollar amount. Chose the option that works best for you and enter the percentage or dollar amount, followed by clicking “Next”

On the Retirement Benefits page you will be asked three yes or no questions. Has Social Security been withheld from paychecks, has money been withheld for any government run retirement programs other than Social Security, and are you entitled to other benefits from a private pension or other defined benefits plan. Select the appropriate Yes or No responses for these three questions, followed by clicking “Next”.

On the Social Security benefits page enter the estimated monthly Social Security benefits at the age of 62, 67 and 70. You can find this information on your Social Security statement of by going to ssa.gov - when finished click “Next”

On the Pension Benefits page tell us about the benefits from your private pension plan or a non-US government retirement plan. Enter the date benefits become available and the monthly benefit amount. Also select if the benefits will limit your Social Security benefits or not. When finished click “Next”

You will also need to enter the same information for your spouse.

Then you will be asked about your life expectancy. Enter the life expectancy for yourself and your spouse, followed by clicking “Next”

On the “Retirement Date” page enter the age you plan to retire. You can choose either the minimum age, the age for full benefits, ore enter custom ages. When finished click “Next”

On the “Retirement Summary” page you will see a summary of your retirement plan including some key points based on the information you entered previously. After reviewing the information click “Next”.

On the “Saving for Retirement” page select the accounts where you want to reserve funds for your retirement, followed by clicking “Next”

That’s it. Now you will see a chart representing your retirement goals including how your savings will increase while you are working and contributing towards retirement as well as how the funds will be available for you after retirement.