An account balance goal follows the real balance of one account from where it is today to where you want it: savings at $20,000 by next winter, or the credit card back to $0 by February. It's a target: you pick the balance and the date, and Financio watches the account.
Save up or pay down, direction is automatic
When you create the goal, Financio records the account's balance on the start date as your baseline. The direction falls out of the numbers. You don't pick it, and the app doesn't label it:
- Target above the baseline → you're saving up (savings at $9,000, target $20,000)
- Target at zero or below → you're paying down (credit card at −$10,234, target $0)
Debt accounts carry negative balances in Financio, so paying off a card or loan means a target of $0, or any negative number, if you're aiming to halve a loan rather than clear it. See Tracking Loans.
Dates are required
Balance goals always have a start date (today, when you create it) and an end date you choose. The end date is what makes the goal a plan rather than a wish: it defines the pace line, and powers the number that matters most: "Needs $1,706/mo, currently $1,133/mo." If the gap between those two numbers bothers you, that's the goal doing its job.
How progress works
Progress is measured from the baseline, not from zero. Pay $2,266 off a $10,234 card and you're 22% of the way there: the goal reads "paid $2,266 so far", and the detail chart plots your actual balance against the straight line from baseline to target.
Because the goal follows the account's real balance, everything is automatic and honest: transfers in, repayments, interest, and spending from the account all move the goal, in both directions. There's nothing to log and nothing to reconcile.
When the balance crosses the target, the goal is Achieved 🎉 and remembers the date: even if the balance later drifts, your achievement stands, and you can archive the goal.
Things to know
- A balance goal tracks one account, in that account's currency.
- The account and the start date can't change after creation (the start date anchors the baseline). The target and end date can, pushing the date out is the honest way to replan.
- The target must differ from the baseline, a goal needs somewhere to go.
- An account can't be deleted while a goal tracks it; the goal blocks the deletion and tells you why.