Savings Goals for Kids: How to Set Goals They Actually Reach
By Erik Nilsen · Kroni4 min readUpdated September 27, 2026
A specific savings goal for kids helps answer three questions: What does the child want, what does it cost, and how much remains? Start with something you can describe and price together.
How it works in Kroni: Children can earn virtual amounts from chores and allocate part of their available balance to one or more savings goals. Chores that require approval need an adult’s approval before the reward is added. No real money moves through the app.
Savings goals for kids: make the agreement concrete
“Put a little aside” does not say how much to save or what it is for. Write down the wish, the price you found, the child’s share of the cost and what you plan to set aside next.
Let the child help choose the goal. Ask what they like about it and whether a less expensive or second-hand option would also work. You do not need to promise a purchase date before checking the numbers.
The Kroni family app can keep track of virtual amounts and goals. It does not replace your agreement about who holds the real money or pays at the shop.
How savings goals for kids work in Kroni
- The parent creates a chore and chooses any reward and whether approval is required.
- The child completes the chore and marks it done in the app.
- The parent checks and approves chores that require it. The reward is recorded in the child’s virtual balance.
- The child allocates an amount to a goal. It moves from available balance into that goal; it is not new money.
- You arrange the purchase or payment. The parent handles this outside Kroni when the agreement is fulfilled.
A child can have several goals at once. Choosing a focus goal highlights one goal without requiring the others to be deleted. Use the worked example for dividing one balance between two goals to see how the totals fit together.
What is a good allowance goal?
A game, a toy, a cinema visit or a gift for a sibling could be a possible wish. Check the actual price and agree on any adult contribution before setting the child’s target amount.
For example, suppose the target is 30 in your family’s currency and 6 is already saved. If you agree to set aside 3 each week, eight more contributions of 3 remain. This is an arithmetic example, not a recommended allowance rate. If the amount saved changes, the calculation changes too.
Before and after: from vague promises to a clear agreement
Without a written agreement, a child may remember “I was going to get paid,” while the adult remembers a chore that was not finished. Record both what needs doing and what you agreed about the reward.
With the chore and amount recorded, you can return to the same agreement. Then check what is available and what is already allocated to goals. Avoid counting the same amount in both places.
Tips for choosing and following up a goal
- Let the child describe the wish. Check what the price actually includes.
- Calculate the wait. Use your family’s agreed amounts, not a rate assumed to fit a particular age.
- Agree on the next check-in. Review whether the price, wish or savings amount has changed.
- Mark milestones if the child wants to. Choosing dinner or showing the savings record need not cost anything.
- Allow the plan to change. Editing the goal’s name or target amount does not reset what is saved. Amounts allocated to an unfinished goal can be moved back into available virtual balance.
Set up the first savings goal
Choose one wish and write down the agreement before entering it. Download Kroni to track chores, virtual balance and savings goals. The parent still handles all real money and purchases.
Frequently asked questions
- What's a suitable savings goal for an 8-year-old?
- Start with the child’s wish, what is already saved and the amount your family has actually agreed to set aside. Work out the wait together. There is no single right amount or number of weeks for every child of the same age.
- What happens to the balance when the goal is reached?
- Kroni records virtual amounts. A goal is not a bank account, and the app does not buy the item or transfer money. The parent handles the purchase or payment outside the app and keeps the record consistent with what happened.
- Can kids have several savings goals at once?
- Yes. A child can have multiple savings goals in Kroni and allocate parts of their available virtual balance to different goals. You can also choose a focus goal. Changing the focus or editing a goal does not reset the savings.
