Goals
Goals track outcomes — saving for a house, keeping a checking cushion, or rules you define — separate from monthly Budgets habits.
Each goal shows an evaluation: a headline (for example, "$8,200 of $50,000 saved"), a status pill, and optional progress bar. Big Picture Money evaluates preset goals automatically from linked account balances. Linked accounts with Track balance off do not add to those balance sums (you can still link them).
On goal detail, you can review the definition (type, amounts, linked accounts), browse evaluation history with balance and day-over-day change, and Edit the goal from the header.
Preset vs custom rule
| Kind | Best for | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Preset — Save toward something | House fund, vacation, car down payment | Target amount, optional date, pace lookback |
| Preset — Keep a balance floor | Minimum checking or emergency buffer | Floor amount with Healthy / Watch / Below floor |
| Custom rule (Advanced) | Pay-period rules, multi-account logic | JavaScript evaluate(ctx) using bundled templates |
Custom rules are Advanced. Start from a template when possible instead of writing code from scratch.
Examples
Maria — house fund in a shared account
Maria links House Fund to a savings account with $12,000 today. Only $8,000 is for the house. She sets starting amount to $8,000 so progress toward her $50,000 target counts from $8,000 — not the full balance.
Alex — checking cushion
Alex sets a $10,000 floor on Main Checking with a $500 watch band. At $10,300 the goal shows Watch. At $9,800 it shows Below floor and may appear on Home with the attention badge.
Paycheck cushion (template)
Jordan picks a bundled pay-period cushion template, links checking, and uses Test now on the review step — no hand-written JavaScript required.
AI assistant
You can describe a goal in Chat. The assistant previews an evaluation and proposes creating, updating, or deleting the goal; click Apply before anything is saved. For custom JavaScript rules, the assistant should use the same Help articles as you — including this feature page and the Goal script API — rather than inventing scripting rules. See Create a goal with AI.