Comparing savings goals across your family
Once your children each have active savings goals running, the real work begins: deciding where to direct money next. KiddyCash gives you a family-level view so you can make that call without opening each child’s profile one at a time.
The Family Goals Overview
Navigate directly to your family goals dashboard to see every active goal across all your children in one place. This view is your primary tool for cross-child comparison — it aggregates goal name, target amount, amount saved, percentage progress, and deadline in a single table.
This matters most when you have a lump sum to allocate — say, a KES 5,000 bonus or an M-Pesa transfer from a relative — and you need to decide which child’s goal benefits most from a top-up.
What to look for in the comparison view
Use the following signals to guide your allocation decisions:
| Signal | What it tells you | Action to consider |
|---|---|---|
| % progress | How far along a goal is relative to its target | Top up goals nearing completion to close them out |
| Days remaining | How much time is left before the deadline | Prioritise goals with tight deadlines and low progress |
| Contribution gap | Difference between target and current savings | Flag goals where the child’s allowance won’t cover the shortfall |
| Last contribution date | Whether a goal is receiving regular input | Investigate stalled goals before adding funds |
| Badge eligibility | Whether the child is close to earning a savings badge | A small top-up can unlock motivation at a low cost |
Prioritising without playing favourites
This is where it gets nuanced. Purely mathematical prioritisation (always fund the biggest gap, or the nearest deadline) can feel unfair to children who’ve contributed consistently but set ambitious targets. A few approaches that work well:
- Match effort, not shortfall. If one child has been making regular contributions from their wallet and another hasn’t, weighting top-ups toward the consistent saver reinforces the right behaviour.
- Let children make the case. Before you decide, give each child a short window to explain why their goal matters. This turns the comparison into a financial literacy moment — especially valuable before you learn how the family budget connects to these decisions.
- Set a house rule. Some families in Nairobi and across East Africa use a simple rule: the family tops up KES for every KES a child saves themselves. Decide your rule once and apply it consistently.
Drilling down from the comparison view
The family overview gives you the map; individual goal views give you the detail. If a goal looks off — progress stalled, deadline approaching — open it directly to check the contribution history and see whether the goal settings need adjusting. You can read more about what’s available at that level in how to view a child’s savings goal.
If a goal doesn’t exist yet for one of your children and you want to bring them into the comparison, create a savings goal for that child first — the family view only surfaces goals that are already active.
Making it a family habit
The comparison view works best when it’s part of a regular routine rather than a one-off check. Families who review goals together — even briefly, once a month — tend to see faster progress because children stay aware of where they stand relative to each other. If you want a lightweight structure for doing this, a visible family budget gives everyone a shared reference point.