Your Goals¶
Define what you're saving for and FinPlan will tell you if you're on track.
Command
Run /finplan:goals to view, add, or update goals at any time. See the command reference for details.
Common goals¶
Emergency fund — 3–6 months of expenses held in liquid savings. FinPlan models this as a minimum balance target.
Retirement — the big one. FinPlan models Social Security claiming strategies, required minimum distributions, and tax-efficient withdrawals across all your accounts.
Home down payment — a fixed savings target by a specific date.
Education — 529 plan contributions projected against future tuition costs.
Major purchases — vehicle, wedding, vacation, home improvement. Anything with a target amount and timeline.
Key concepts¶
Importance¶
Your confidence target, from 0.50 to 0.99. Set it to 0.90 and FinPlan targets a funding plan that succeeds in 90% of simulated scenarios. Higher importance means more aggressive contributions.
Strategy¶
How the goal gets funded:
| Strategy | When to use | What you set |
|---|---|---|
fixed_contribution |
Regular monthly savings | Monthly amount |
fill_to_target |
Save a specific amount by a date | Target amount and timeline |
percentage_income |
Save a portion of each paycheck | Percentage (e.g., 0.15 = 15%) |
surplus_allocation |
Fund from whatever's left over after other goals | — |
minimum_balance |
Maintain a floor in an account | Target balance |
Target date flexibility¶
Goals can have a firm, flexible, or very_flexible deadline. A firm deadline means FinPlan treats the date as fixed; flexible deadlines allow FinPlan to adjust contributions if the timeline can slip.
Example¶
"I want a 6-month emergency fund, I'm saving $500 a month toward an $80,000 house down payment by 2029, and I want to retire at 65."
That's enough to create three separate goals, each with the right strategy and timeline.