Savings goals

A goal tracks a savings project: a down payment, a trip, an emergency cushion. You give it a name, a target amount and what it follows — an account or an envelope; Arca shows progress based on that real balance.

The page lives under More → Goals.

Goal ≠ envelope target

Both exist, and they do different jobs — this is the most common mix-up:

• An envelope target (Budget page) says how much to assign this month to a category: “€480 a month for Groceries”. It drives monthly budgeting.
• A savings goal (this page) says how far along a project is, by following either an account’s balance or an envelope’s available amount: “€8,000 for the down payment”. It budgets nothing; it measures.

See Categories, rules and targets for the former.

Creating a goal

New goal, then four fields: Name, Target amount, Track the balance of — where you pick An account or An envelope, then the one to follow — and Target date (optional), to the day. Progress updates on its own as that balance moves — nothing to re-enter.

With a target date, the card also shows the deadline and Save ≈ {amount}/mo under the progress bar: what’s left to put aside each month to get there.

Tracking by account reads best when the account is dedicated to the goal. A “Holidays” goal backed by your checking account will move with your salary, which doesn’t mean much. A goal backed by an envelope doesn’t have that problem.

Reaching the target

Nothing fires automatically: Arca moves no money and doesn’t close the goal. What happens next is yours to decide — spend it, transfer it, or aim higher.