How to Restart an Investment After a Target Change

When your child’s educational plan shifts — a new school in Nairobi, a change from a local university to an international programme, or a revised fee structure — the investment target you originally set may no longer reflect reality. Rather than abandoning the investment or letting it run toward the wrong goal, KiddyCash lets you reset it cleanly so your contributions stay aligned with your updated plan.

This guide walks you through how to do that correctly, including what happens to existing funds and how to avoid common mistakes during the reset.

Before You Start

Check the current state of the investment first. Head to your child’s investment dashboard and review the progress percentage, total contributed, and the linked funding source. If the investment is connected to an M-Pesa standing order or a recurring allowance schedule, you’ll want to pause that before making changes — otherwise contributions may continue hitting the old target during the reset window.

For a refresher on reading investment details, see how to view a child’s investment.

Steps to Restart the Investment

  1. Open the investment record. From the Family dashboard, select the child whose investment you’re updating, then tap Investments. Tap the active investment to open its detail view.

  2. Tap “Edit Investment”. This appears in the top-right action menu (three-dot icon). If you don’t see this option, confirm that your account has the Family Admin role — co-managers with restricted permissions may not have edit access.

  3. Update the target amount. Enter the revised figure in KES. Be precise — if the new school’s annual fee is KES 480,000, set that as the annual target rather than rounding down. KiddyCash uses this number to calculate monthly contribution recommendations.

  4. Adjust the target date. If the timeline has also changed (for example, your child is now starting secondary school one year earlier), update the end date here. The system will recalculate the required monthly contribution automatically based on the new amount and remaining months.

  5. Review the contribution gap. After saving the updated target, KiddyCash will display how much has already been saved versus the new goal. If a significant gap appears, this is the right moment to increase the linked allowance or top up manually from your M-Pesa wallet.

  6. Re-enable recurring contributions. If you paused a standing order in step one, go back to the funding settings and reactivate it — or set a new schedule that matches the recalculated monthly amount.

  7. Save and confirm. Tap Save Changes. You’ll receive a confirmation notification. The investment progress bar will reset relative to the new target, but your contribution history is preserved in full.

What Happens to Previous Contributions

No funds are lost or reversed when you change a target. Every KES contributed before the reset remains in the investment balance and counts toward the new goal. The progress percentage simply recalculates against the updated target amount. This is worth explaining to your child if they track their own investment — the lower percentage doesn’t mean the money disappeared, and it can be a useful conversation about how allowances work as a family financial tool.

Starting Fresh With a New Investment Instead

If the original investment no longer fits at all — say you’re switching from a school fund to a university fund with a completely different structure — it may be cleaner to close the current investment and create a new one. See how to create a child investment for the full setup flow. Before closing, withdraw or transfer the existing balance so nothing is left behind.

For broader context on why consistent investing through life changes matters, this piece on allowances and modern family finances is worth reading.