A savings goal moves from 30 to 40 per cent: how much money is that?
By Erik Nilsen · Kroni3 min read
A progress percentage shows the part of a savings target already reached. It is not a separate amount of money. When your child sees the figure rise, calculate both the amount saved and the amount still missing without mixing them with freely available balance.
Keep the target fixed while calculating
In a hypothetical example, the target is 500 units and 150 have already been set aside. The arbitrary figures explain percentages rather than recommending a target price or savings amount.
The share saved is 150 / 500 = 0.30, or 30 per cent. Another 500 − 150 = 350 units are needed. Your child then sets aside another 50 from money actually available. The new saved amount is 150 + 50 = 200. The new percentage is 200 / 500 = 40 per cent, with 500 − 200 = 300 units still needed.
Progress has risen from 30 to 40 per cent, an increase of 10 percentage points. Here that means 50 units rather than 10. One per cent of a 500-unit target is 5 units, so 10 percentage points correspond to 10 × 5 = 50.
Draw ten identical boxes for the goal. Each represents 50 units. Before the contribution, three are filled; afterwards, four are filled. The empty boxes show what is missing, rather than money your child already has.
Separate percentages from new money
A realistic snag is your child thinking they have “received 10 per cent” and adding it to their available balance. Explain that the percentage is simply another way to show the same 200 units. The 50 moved into saving and are not also new units for other purchases.
Adding another 100 later would bring savings to 300, or 60 per cent. That increase would be 20 percentage points. Use the actual contribution in the calculation rather than a percentage you would like to see.
If the target itself changes, recalculate the percentage too. The same 200 out of 400 is 50 per cent, but no extra 50 units have been saved because of that. Label the target change so your child understands why the display changes.
Ask your family: “How much is set aside, how much is missing, and how much of the percentage change comes from a real new contribution?”
Follow actual contributions
In Kroni, your child can allocate virtual balance to a savings goal. Contributions are made manually; this exercise does not create an automatic saving rule. The app does not transfer money. Keep the amount allocated to the goal separate from what remains available for other choices, and check the actual recorded amounts together. Read about allowance in Kroni.
