Category Targets & Auto-Assign

What Are Category Targets?

Category targets are a powerful feature that helps you plan ahead for irregular expenses and automate your monthly budgeting. Instead of manually deciding how much to allocate to each category every month, you can set targets that define your funding goals, and let Purpose Budget help you stay on track.

Why Use Category Targets?

• Smooth out irregular expenses: Break down large annual bills into manageable monthly amounts
• Automate budgeting: Use with Auto-Assign to automatically allocate funds based on your priorities
• Prevent surprises: Plan ahead for upcoming expenses so you're never caught off guard
• Track progress: See at a glance whether your categories are funded according to plan

Understanding the Three Target Types

1. Monthly Funding Target

Best for: Regular monthly expenses with predictable amounts

You specify an amount you want to allocate to this category every month. Purpose Budget shows whether you've met your target for the current month.

Examples:

• Monthly car insurance: $150/month
• Phone bill: $75/month
• Gym membership: $50/month
• Savings contribution: $200/month

Optional: Day-of-Month Due Day

Monthly Funding targets can carry an optional day-of-month due day (1-31) so Purpose Budget knows when each bill is actually due. Pick a day in the Due by dropdown when creating or editing the target.

Once set, the day shows up in two places:

• Category sidebar & tooltip badge — A red “Overdue this month” pill if the day has passed and the category isn’t funded. A blue “Due by day N · X days remaining” pill otherwise.
• Auto-Assign preview — The same pill appears next to each category in the auto-assign preview. An earlier upcoming due day can add more urgency in the scoring, and targets that are due or overdue share the maximum.

How shorter months work: Days 29-31 are valid — in shorter months they automatically clamp to the last day of the month. A “Due by day 31” target in February shows as “Due last day this month” on the 28th.

Funded targets: Once a category meets its monthly amount, it gets zero urgency bonus regardless of timing — auto-assign won’t waste your dollars topping up something already at goal.

Future months: If you preview auto-assign for a future month, due days still add urgency (the earliest day adds the most), but nothing shows “Overdue.”

2. Weekly Funding Target

Best for: Weekly recurring expenses

You specify a weekly amount, and Purpose Budget calculates each month's amount by counting the Fridays in that month (weekly amount × 4 or 5 Fridays).

Examples:

• Weekly groceries: $100/week = $400 in a four-Friday month, $500 in a five-Friday month
• Weekly gas for commute: $40/week = $160 or $200/month
• Weekly allowance: $25/week = $100 or $125/month

3. Savings Target

Best for: One-time expenses, annual bills, savings goals with deadlines, or balance targets without a deadline

You specify a target amount and optionally a target date. When a date is set, Purpose Budget automatically calculates a monthly pace to keep you on track — for example, "$3,600 by December" becomes "Assign $400/month." The category inspector shows whether you're on track or behind, plus how many months remain.

Leave the date blank to create a balance target — useful for goals like "$5,000 Emergency Fund" where you want to save at your own pace without a deadline.

Examples:

• Annual car insurance: $1,200 due in 6 months → $200/month
• Holiday shopping: $800 needed by December → $100/month (starting in April)
• Vacation fund: $2,400 for trip in 8 months → $300/month
• Property tax: $3,000 due quarterly
• Emergency fund: $5,000 (no deadline) — fund at your own pace

Creating Your First Target

Let's walk through creating a target for a common scenario: annual car insurance.

Working with Auto-Assign

Targets become even more powerful when combined with Auto-Assign, Purpose Budget's intelligent fund allocation feature. Auto-Assign uses your targets to automatically distribute available funds across categories based on priority and urgency.

How Auto-Assign Works with Targets

• Targets and Overspending: Auto-Assign funds categories that have targets, and also covers overspent categories, with or without a target. It covers overspending first, then fills targets. Credit card payment categories are never auto-assigned.
• Priority-Based: Categories are funded based on priority level (0-3) and other scoring factors
• Intelligent Scoring: The system considers user priority, target urgency (including monthly target due days and Savings Target deadlines), underfunding, and special conditions
• Visible due-day pills: Each row in the preview shows a red “Overdue this month” or blue “Due by day N” pill when the category has a due day set, so you can see at a glance why funds are being distributed in that order

Using Auto-Assign

1. Set targets on your categories - Focus on important categories first, set appropriate priorities
2. Have funds in Ready to Assign - After income is added, funds go here
3. Run Auto-Assign - Click the "Assign" button above the budget and choose "Auto-Assign Money"
4. Review the preview - See how funds would be distributed based on priorities, then click "Confirm Auto-Assign"
5. Make adjustments - Manually adjust any categories after auto-assign if needed

Common Scenarios & Tips

Scenario: Building an Emergency Fund

You want to build a $6,000 emergency fund over the next year, saving $500/month.

1. Create an "Emergency Fund" category in your Savings group
2. Set aMonthly Funding target: $500/month, Priority: High (2)
3. Each month, allocate $500 - the money accumulates in the category's Available amount
4. Don't spend from this category unless it's a true emergency

Scenario: Weekly Groceries

You spend about $100 per week on groceries and want to budget accordingly.

1. Create a "Groceries" category
2. Set aWeekly Funding target: $100/week, Priority: Critical (3)
3. Purpose Budget asks for $400 in a month with four Fridays and $500 in a month with five
4. Use Auto-Assign, or type the amount into the category's Assigned cell, to allocate the monthly amount

Best Practices

Getting Started

• Start with important categories: Don't set targets on everything at once - begin with bills and irregular expenses
• Use monthly funding for consistent bills: Phone, internet, subscriptions
• Use savings targets for irregular expenses: Annual bills, repairs, holidays, gifts
• Set priorities thoughtfully: Not everything can be "Critical" - be realistic

Maintaining Targets

• Review monthly: Adjust targets based on actual spending patterns
• Update when bills change: Price increases, service changes
• Delete completed targets: One-time expenses after they're done
• Start early for deadlines: The more months you have, the smaller the monthly amount

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• ❌Setting targets too low: If it doesn't match reality, you'll constantly overspend
• ❌Not adjusting based on reality: Track for 1-2 months then update estimates
• ❌Ignoring priority levels: Priority matters for Auto-Assign - set them thoughtfully
• ❌Forgetting to update savings targets: Annual bills need dates updated each year
• ❌Making it too complicated: Start simple, add detail only when it helps

Frequently Asked Questions