Target Behaviors

The target type tells Common Cents what kind of goal a category has. For monthly and weekly targets, the Funding Rule tells it how much to add at the start of each period.

Why behavior matters #

In the current target form, Funding Rule only appears for:

• Monthly targets
• Weekly targets

The available behaviors are:

• Add X each period
• Maintain X available

Two categories can have the same dollar amount but behave very differently depending on which of those rules you choose.

Add X each period #

Use Add X each period when the category should receive the full target amount every month or week.

This is the better fit when money that remains in the category should still count toward the goal instead of being treated like something that must be topped back up every cycle.

In practice, this works well for categories where you are building toward something larger or where leftover money should keep helping next period.

Maintain X available #

Use Maintain X available when the category should be topped back up to a specific amount.

This is the better fit when existing available money should reduce how much more you need to fund.

In practice, this works well for categories where you want Common Cents to say, in effect, “bring this back up to the target amount.”

How behaviors show up on the Budget page #

Once a target exists, the Budget page gives you several ways to act on it.

At the category-row level, the Related Actions menu can offer:

• Plan up to target
• Assign up to target
• Edit Target

At the page level, the contextual sidebar can offer:

• Quick Plan in Planning Mode
• Quick Assign in Assign Mode

Those actions use the target-need calculation to fill planned or assigned amounts more quickly. You can also select several categories and use the sidebar’s Plan to Targets or Assign to Targets action.

Watch the funding signals #

When a target is behaving the way you expect, funding states become useful signals instead of confusing noise.

The page can surface those signals in a few ways:

• the Filter menu can show Underfunded and Overfunded
• the target indicator in the Target column can show progress visually
• a row can read as fully funded, still planned, or still unmet depending on the month and how much money has been committed

The month matters here.

• In future months, planned money is the main funding signal.
• In the current month, assigned money is the stronger “committed” signal.

That is why a row can look like it is on track without being fully committed yet.

Use behavior to match reality #

If a target keeps giving you the wrong suggestion, the problem is often the behavior, not the amount.

• If you want to contribute the same amount every period, use Add X each period.
• If the category should be restored to a set level, use Maintain X available.

When the behavior matches the real job, the target filters and quick actions become much more trustworthy.