Goals — save for bills before they hit
Goals tell DollarWarden how much an envelope should hold, and by when. They shine for expenses that are not monthly — or that you want topped up to a safe balance every month.
Example: yearly car insurance
Your insurance is $1,200 due each July. Instead of scrambling in June, create a Car insurance envelope and a goal that says Top up to $1,200, repeating Yearly, by July. Each month Assign shows how much to put aside so the envelope reaches $1,200 by the due month. When the bill arrives, Available is already there.
How to set one up
- Open Assign and select the envelope.
- Under Goals, choose Add goal.
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Choose what you want:
- Top up to — bring the envelope’s Available up to an amount (great for “I need $X sitting here by then”).
- Assign — put in a set amount on a schedule (great for “I want to contribute $Y every month”).
- Pick how often: Weekly, Monthly, Yearly, or Once off.
- For yearly or once-off goals, set the due month (and year for once-off). Save.
Progress bars on the Assign list show how funded each goal is. You can snooze a goal for a month if that month’s income is thin, then catch up later.
Other common setups: holiday fund (once-off top-up by a travel month), emergency buffer (monthly top-up to a floor), or weekly grocery assign if you prefer a weekly rhythm. See Everyday tips for more habits like this.