Finn Goals

Intent-based savings goals that track your progress automatically, updated monthly based on your household cash flow.

Overview

Finn Goals lets you set savings targets through natural conversation and tracks your progress automatically. Instead of manually updating a spreadsheet or app, Finn monitors your overall cash position and allocates positive cash flow toward your goals each month.

Key Benefits

• Conversational Setup: Create goals by simply telling Finn what you want to save for
• Automatic Progress Tracking: Monthly updates based on your actual cash flow changes
• Zero Manual Tracking: No need to manually enter deposits or transfers
• Smart Allocation: When you have multiple goals, Finn can distribute funds using your preferred strategy
• Progress Visibility: Get monthly SMS updates showing your progress toward each goal
• Manual Adjustments: Override or adjust anytime through conversation

How Goals Work

The Mental Jar Concept

Think of Finn Goals like mental "savings jars." When your overall household cash increases (your income exceeds your spending), that positive delta gets allocated to your goals. If cash decreases, your goals stay protected — no automatic reductions.

Monthly Cadence

Goals are updated on the 1st of each month:

1. Cash Flow Calculation: Finn compares your liquid account balances to last month
2. Delta Detection: Positive changes (you saved money) trigger goal allocations
3. Smart Distribution: Funds are allocated based on your allocation policy
4. Progress Update: You receive an SMS summarizing your goal progress
5. Baseline Reset: The new balance becomes next month's starting point

Creating Goals

Via Text Message

Simply tell Finn what you want to save for:

"I want to save $10,000 for a car"

"Help me save $5,000 for a vacation"

"Start a goal for a house down payment - $50,000"

With Initial Balance

If you already have money saved toward a goal:

"I want to save $10,000 for a car, already have $2,000 saved"

"Create a vacation goal for $5,000, starting at $500"

Finn's response:

🎯 Nice! Starting your vacation goal at $500 of $5,000 (10%). I'll update your progress monthly.

Goal Fields

Tracking Progress

Checking Your Goals

Ask Finn anytime to see how you're doing:

"How are my goals doing?"

"Show me my savings progress"

"How close am I to my vacation goal?"

Single goal response:

🎯 Vacation: $1,500 / $5,000 (30%) 💰 $3,500 to go!

Multiple goals response:

🎯 Your goals: • Vacation: $1,500 / $5,000 (30%) • Car: $3,200 / $10,000 (32%) • Emergency Fund: $2,800 / $5,000 (56%)

Goal Completion

When a goal reaches 100%, Finn celebrates:

🎉 Vacation goal complete!

The goal's status automatically changes to "completed," and it stops receiving allocations.

Manual Adjustments

Adding Money

Made an extra deposit toward a goal? Tell Finn:

"Add $500 to my car goal"

"Put $1,000 toward the vacation fund"

Response:

✅ Added $500 to car. New balance: $3,700

Removing Money

Need to use some goal funds? That's okay:

"Take $200 from my vacation fund"

"Remove $500 from the car goal"

Response:

✅ Removed $200 from vacation. New balance: $1,300

Why Manual Adjustments?

Manual adjustments let you:

• Record deposits into separate savings accounts
• Adjust for one-time windfalls (bonus, tax refund, gift)
• Correct for spending from goal funds
• Account for transfers between accounts

All adjustments are logged in the progress ledger for transparency.

Monthly Updates

The Monthly SMS

On the 1st of each month, Finn sends a goal progress update:

When cash increased (positive month):

🎯 December goals update

Your overall cash increased $850 this month!

🎯 Vacation: +$400 $1,900 / $5,000 (38%)

🎯 Car: +$450 $3,650 / $10,000 (36%)

When cash decreased (negative month):

🎯 December goals update

Your overall cash dropped $320 this month.

Your goals stayed the same - no automatic changes.

🎯 Vacation: $1,500 / $5,000 (30%) 🎯 Car: $3,200 / $10,000 (32%)

When cash stayed flat:

🎯 December goals update

Your cash stayed about the same this month.

No changes to your goals this time.

🎯 Vacation: $1,500 / $5,000 (30%)

Message Timing

Monthly updates are sent on the 1st of each month at 8:00 AM MST.

Allocation Policies

Priority Order (Default)

Funds go to goals in order of priority — the first goal gets fully funded before the second receives anything.

Best for: Emergency fund first, then other goals

Percent Split

Distribute funds proportionally across goals.

Example: 50% to vacation, 30% to car, 20% to emergency fund

Fixed Amounts

Allocate fixed monthly amounts to each goal.

Example: $200/month to vacation, $300/month to car

Note: If the positive cash delta is less than the total fixed amounts, goals are funded in priority order until funds run out.

Technical Details

Funding Pools

A Funding Pool groups accounts whose combined balance is used to calculate cash flow:

By default, Finn creates a pool containing all liquid accounts (checking, savings).

Goal Progress Ledger

Every change to goal progress is recorded in an immutable ledger:

Delta Calculation

Cash Delta = Current Total Liquid Balance - Baseline Balance

If delta is positive, funds are allocated. If negative or zero, no allocations occur (goals are protected).

Allocation Flow

1. Get Funding Pool: Retrieve or create the default pool for the household
2. Calculate Delta: Compare current balance to baseline
3. Apply Policy: Distribute positive delta per allocation policy
4. Record Progress: Create ledger entries for each allocation
5. Update Goals: Increment current_amount on each goal
6. Send Message: Notify household with progress summary
7. Update Baseline: Set new baseline for next month

Best Practices

Starting Out

• One Goal First: Start with a single goal to understand how tracking works
• Be Specific: "Emergency fund" is better than "savings"
• Set Realistic Targets: Consider your typical monthly surplus

Multiple Goals

• Prioritize: Put your most important goal first (e.g., emergency fund)
• Use Percent Split: For balanced progress across multiple goals
• Review Monthly: Adjust priorities as life changes

Manual vs. Automatic

• Trust Automatic: Let Finn track based on your actual cash flow
• Use Manual For: One-time deposits, transfers between accounts, corrections
• Check Progress: Ask Finn monthly to stay engaged with your goals

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Finn know my cash flow?

Finn connects to your bank accounts and tracks your total liquid balance (checking + savings). The change from month to month represents your net cash flow.

What if I have money in investment accounts?

Currently, only liquid accounts (checking, savings) are included. Investment accounts require separate tracking due to market fluctuations.

Can I pause a goal?

Yes! Tell Finn: "Pause my vacation goal"

The goal will stop receiving automatic allocations but retain its current progress.

What happens when I reach my goal?

🎉 Finn celebrates! The goal is marked "completed" and stops receiving allocations. You'll get a congratulatory message.

Can I delete a goal?

Yes: "Delete my car goal"

The goal and its progress history will be removed.

Do negative months reduce my goals?

No. Goals only increase from positive cash flow. Negative months leave goals unchanged — Finn protects your progress.

Goals are tracked monthly. For real-time spending insights, check out your spending limit or ask Finn "how am I doing this month?"