A sinking fund is money you set aside for a known future cost, such as a car repair, a holiday or a new laptop. The Sinking Funds page tracks each goal, the contributions you have made, and how much you need to put aside each month.
What you'll learn
- How to create a goal and set a target date
- How to add contributions
- How to read the progress and the monthly target
The Sinking Funds page
The top of the page shows Total Goal, Total Saved and Total Remaining, with the percentage funded. Each goal has its own card below.
What you see
- Add Goal in the top bar creates a new goal. CSV downloads the list of goals.
- The totals: Total Goal, Total Saved and Total Remaining, with the percentage funded.
- The Search funds... box and the sort menu: Name (A-Z), Name (Z-A), Progress (High-Low), Progress (Low-High), Goal Amount and Target Date.
- One card per goal, showing its colour dot, name, target date (if you set one), the Saved amount against the goal, a progress bar, and the line with the percentage, Remaining and Monthly Target.
- The pencil icon edits a goal and the trash icon deletes it.
- Add Contribution records money you put aside for that goal. Contributions with a count opens the list of past contributions.
If you have no goals yet, the page says "No sinking funds yet" and invites you to add one.
Add a goal
- Select Add Goal.
- Enter a Goal Name, such as "Car repairs".
- Enter the Goal Amount.
- Optionally pick a Target Date (optional). The target date is what lets the page calculate a Monthly Target.
- Choose a Color so the goal is easy to spot.
- Select Save, or Cancel to close the dialog without saving.
To change a goal later, select the pencil icon on its card. The same dialog opens as Edit Goal.
Add a contribution
- Select Add Contribution on the goal's card.
- Enter the Contribution Amount and its Date.
- Add a Note (optional) if you want to remember where the money came from.
- Select Save, or Cancel to close the form.
Saved and the progress bar update for the goal, and the contribution appears in its list. Select Contributions on the card to open the list. If there are none yet, the list says "No contributions yet." To remove a contribution, use its delete control in the list.
Read the monthly target
The Monthly Target shows what to set aside each month to reach the goal by its target date. It is calculated as the amount still Remaining, divided by the number of months left until the target date.
- It appears only when the goal has a Target Date (optional) in a later month than the current one, and there is still money remaining.
- If the target date is far away, the monthly amount is small. If it is close, the amount is larger.
- A goal with no target date, or a target date that has already passed, shows progress and remaining without a monthly target.
- Remaining never goes below zero, so a fully funded goal shows zero remaining.
A contribution is recorded against the goal. It does not move money between your accounts. If the money really moved, also record it on the Transactions page.
Frequently asked questions
FAQ
Yes. Select the pencil icon on the goal's card to change its name, goal amount, target date or colour. Select the trash icon to delete it, then confirm.
The goal needs a target date in a future month and some amount still remaining. Add or update the Target Date (optional) in Edit Goal to see the monthly amount.
Progress shows the goal as funded, Remaining stays at zero and no monthly target is shown.
The totals at the top of this page add up every goal. The dashboard also shows savings goals in its planning section.