Concepts
Goals vs budgets in Expense Trail
Goals track savings milestones; budgets cap spending.
A budget is a spending cap for a period (e.g. Dining $200/month). A goal is a savings target or milestone (e.g. Emergency fund $5,000). Both can run at the same time for the same money—you might budget Dining while saving toward a vacation goal.
Side-by-side
| Budget | Goal | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Limit outflow | Reach a balance target |
| Example | Groceries $350/mo | New laptop $1,200 |
| Success | Stay under cap | Hit target amount |
Common mistakes
- Using only goals for spending control — Goals do not replace category caps.
- One giant "Savings" budget — Split emergency fund (goal) from discretionary caps (budgets).
- Ignoring contributions — Log goal contributions explicitly in Goals.
Product guides: Goals · Budgets.