Trying to Verify my Understanding of Savings Goals

Mike_L

Trying to get my hands around savings goals. Trying to understand what I have read on line,

As an example, Say:

I have an Bank account called Vacation.

I have a category called Travel.

I have set up a savings goal and the balance is 2000.

I purchase my plane ticket for 500.

As the savings goal is a fictional account, I need to use funds from the Vacation account to pay for the ticket and assign the transaction to the Travel category.

I then manually go into the savings goal and withdraw 500 to notionally move it back into the Vacation account giving the savings goal a new balance of 1500.

My Vacation account would then show the same balance in Quicken as prior to my purchase of the ticket, due to the notional transfer of the funds from the savings goal.

While the balance of the Vacation Account would show up to be less than the true bank balance, the funds are actually in the bank account even though I don't move the funds from the savings goal to the account before committing the funds.

If This is correct, I could see possibly using this for things like Vacations, Emergency reserves, Taxes, …, rather than setting up separate accounts.

q_lurker

While the balance of the Vacation Account would show up to be less than the true bank balance, the funds are actually in the bank account even though I don't move the funds from the savings goal to the account before committing the funds.

Let’s be clear on this aspect. You initially move funds (within Quicken) from the Vacation account to the savings goal. While in that state, Quicken will report the Vacation account with a reduced balance as compared to the real world account. As you move funds back to the Vacation account, the difference will diminish.

You can build the savings goal with ‘contributions’ from several accounts, but eventually need to return those funds to the original real-world accounts.

Yes, savings goals can be helpful for a wide variety of instances.

If I recall correctly, there is some way to have savings goals ignored in some reports such that the values of the donor accounts are accurately reported consistent with their real-world value.

Mike_L

Appreciate your comment.

I do understand that the savings goal is kind of smoke and mirrors. It has taken me some time do understand that and how it works. A light switch just came on for me today and I am just making sure I am correct.

Until today, I was having problems understanding how I can record the expense transactions and reconcile the account / savings goal balances displayed in the quicken app.

Thanks again

Quicken Jasmine

Hello @Mike_L,

You're absolutely on the right track, and I appreciate how clearly you've laid out your understanding of Quicken's Savings Goals feature. Let me confirm and clarify a few points to ensure everything aligns with the latest version of Quicken for Windows.

Understanding Savings Goals in Quicken:

Savings Goals in Quicken are virtual accounts designed to help you earmark funds for specific purposes without physically moving money between your real-world accounts. When you contribute to a Savings Goal, Quicken reduces the displayed balance of your linked account, giving the impression that the funds are set aside, even though they remain in the actual account.

Let's walk through your example:

1. Vacation Account: This is your real bank account where funds are held.
2. Travel Category: Used to categorize expenses related to travel.
3. Savings Goal - Vacation: You've set up a Savings Goal with a target of $2,000.
4. Plane Ticket Purchase: You buy a ticket for $500, paying from your Vacation account and categorizing the expense under Travel.
5. Adjusting the Savings Goal: After the purchase, you manually withdraw $500 from the Vacation Savings Goal, reducing its balance to $1,500.

This process ensures that your Quicken account reflects the actual available balance, aligning with your real-world bank balance.

Key Points to Remember

• Virtual Nature: Savings Goals don't represent actual accounts; they're tools within Quicken to help you plan and track savings.
• Manual Adjustments: When spending funds allocated to a Savings Goal, you'll need to manually withdraw the corresponding amount from the goal to keep your records accurate.
• Budgeting Aid: Savings Goals are excellent for planning for expenses like vacations, emergency funds, or taxes without the need to open separate bank accounts.
• Viewing Actual Balances: If you wish to see your true bank balance without the Savings Goal deductions, you can adjust your settings in Quicken to hide Savings Goal transactions in your account register.

For more detailed information on setting up and managing Savings Goals in Quicken, please refer to the following support articles:

• How to Set Up Savings Goals
• How do I set up a savings goal?
• How do I work with savings goals?
• How do I contribute to a savings goal?

Let me know if you need further assistance with setting up or managing Savings Goals in Quicken!

Mike_L

Really appreciate the info. It is very helpful.

I think I understand..

I was testing and the only thing I think I can't find is how to select the frequency of the contributions. I have seen that options like weekly and monthly are available, however, I can't find them. I can only find the date for a single contribution. maybe you have to schedule each contribution separately?

I have quicken deluxe

Quicken Jasmine

Hello @Mike_L,

Great question—and you’re on the right track!

In Quicken Deluxe, you can set the frequency for recurring contributions, but the option isn’t immediately visible on the main screen when creating the reminder. Here’s how to find it:

1. When setting up your Income Reminder, look for the blue “change” link next to the date (under “Due next on”).
2. Clicking that opens a pop-up window where you can choose the frequency—such as weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, etc.—as well as set the start date and day of the month (or week).
3. Once saved, the reminder will follow that schedule automatically. No need to create each instance manually!

I hope this helps!

Mike_L

Looks like what I was looking for. I set a test goal up and set it for automatic, daily. Will give you an update in a couple of days.

Really appreciate your help

Quicken Jasmine

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/comment/20489911#Comment_20489911

It was no problem at all, looking forward to the update!

Mike_L

I thought I had it understood.

I set up deposits for daily and auto. I have them going from a test cash account to the savings goal. To me, it looks like the accounts are set up correctly and the deposits scheduled and marked auto, however, the deposits were not made and the goal shows that the deposits are overdue.

I am sure I am overlooking a simple step.

Quicken Jasmine

Hello @Mike_L,

Thanks for the update—and I completely understand your frustration. You're very close!

Even though you've set the deposits as "automatic" and scheduled them daily, Quicken currently does not support truly automatic transfers into Savings Goals. What this means is that while the reminder shows as "auto," Quicken still requires you to manually enter each scheduled contribution. If they aren't manually posted, the system will show them as overdue.

Here’s what you can do to post the missed deposits:

1. Go to Tools > Manage Bill and Income Reminders.
2. Find your Savings Goal contribution reminders.
3. Right-click and select Enter to record the contributions manually (you can also select Enter located under the Actions column.

If you want those reminders to stay visible in your register (so you don't miss them), check your settings by navigating to the specific Register > Clock Icon in the upper right corner and make sure reminders are set to display for a few days in advance.

You're definitely not overlooking much—this is just one of the limitations of how Savings Goal reminders work in Quicken today. Hopefully, with this clarity, the rest of your testing will go smoothly.

Let me know how it goes or if you have any more questions!

Mike_L

The word 'auto', had me thinking savings goals were perfect :)

I will probably just limit the savings goals to necessary issues and have to just get comfortable having the financial guy send me variable monthly distributions. The savings goals might a good option for vacations. If i have variable distributions, I get the feeling that my every day status is just getting little too far away. While I realize the variable distributions are probably better, I like my current status to be under my direct control. I guess that is a factor of just getting old.

I really appreciate your help and guidance. I just wish i had been using Quicken since it came out. It IS fun trying to learn it. While Quicken and one of my banks have a problem communicating info about transfers between accounts, I have figured out how to correct the transactions after checking my on line bank to see what the real transfer was. Any time there is a transfer, I have to check ALL transfer transactions to be sure there no erroneous / duplicate transactions. So far, the only real problem is with the recording of the transfers.

Again, thanks

Quicken Jasmine

Hello @Mike_L,

Totally understand—“auto” can be a bit misleading in this case. You’re using Savings Goals wisely, and your cautious approach makes a lot of sense, especially with variable distributions.

Glad to hear you’ve found a solid workaround for the transfer sync issues too. It’s clear you’re getting the hang of Quicken fast!

Let me know if anything else comes up—I’m happy to help.