Heads up: this post contains affiliate links. If you click through them we may earn a small commission at no cost to you. We only recommend tools and services we've actually tried. Full disclosure →

Financial Goals is the Rocket Money Premium feature that quietly does the work of building a savings habit. You connect a checking account, set a target, and Rocket Money moves money from checking to a savings goal on a cadence you pick. Two flavors: one where the algorithm decides how much to move (Smart Savings), and one where you set a fixed monthly amount (Custom Savings).

This guide walks through how to set up Financial Goals, the difference between the two sub-options, where your money actually lives once it's transferred, and how to pause, withdraw, or change a goal later. If you used Rocket Money before mid-2024, this feature was called "Smart Savings" — that name now refers to one of the sub-options, not the whole feature.

The short version. Financial Goals is a Premium feature for automated savings. Setup: link a checking account, create a goal, choose Smart Savings (auto-transfers a calculated amount based on your spending) or Custom Savings (you set a fixed monthly amount). Funds sit in a non-interest-bearing custodial plan at an FDIC-insured institution. Pause, withdraw, or change the goal at any time from the goal's detail screen.

Try Premium Free for 7 Days →

7-day free trial · 10M+ members · Owned by Rocket Companies (NYSE: RKT) · Bank connections via Plaid (read-only)

Verified workflow (from Rocket Money Help Center)

  1. Open Rocket Money mobile app (Premium required).
  2. Open Financial Goals and create a new goal.
  3. Choose savings method: Smart Savings (variable deposits based on checking balance) OR Custom Savings (fixed monthly amount).
  4. Configure: aggressiveness level, target completion date, and balance protection (minimum account balance to leave in checking).
  5. Link a checking account to fund the goal.
  6. Save / activate the goal.

Mobile only. Deposit limits: $250 per deposit, $1,500/day across all goals.

Source: Rocket Money Help Center — verified May 2026

What's in this guide

What Financial Goals does

Financial Goals is Rocket Money's automated-savings feature. The mechanic:

  1. You link a source account (typically your primary checking).
  2. You create a goal with a target amount and an optional target date (e.g., "$3,000 emergency fund by December").
  3. Rocket Money pulls money from your source account into the goal on a recurring schedule.
  4. Funds sit in a custodial plan held at an FDIC-insured institution while the goal is active.
  5. When you're ready, you can transfer the goal balance back to your bank (or you withdraw partial amounts as needed).

The point isn't yield (the custodial plan is non-interest-bearing — see Where your money actually lives below). The point is friction reduction: setting up a single automatic transfer beats waking up every Friday and remembering to move money to savings. If automation is already a habit you have via your bank's tools, Financial Goals doesn't add much. If automation isn't a habit, it's the on-ramp.

The feature was called Smart Savings before Rocket Money rebuilt it. That name now refers to one of two sub-options inside Financial Goals.

The two sub-options: Smart Savings vs Custom Savings

When you create a goal, Rocket Money asks how you want to fund it. Two paths:

Smart Savings (auto-transfer). Rocket Money's algorithm looks at your linked checking account's recent activity — typical balance, recurring bills, day-to-day spending patterns — and calculates an amount it thinks is "safe to move" without leaving your checking too thin. Transfers happen automatically on the cadence Rocket Money picks (typically a few times per month, in modest amounts). You can adjust how aggressive the algorithm is, but the principle is "small enough you won't notice, frequent enough to build up over time."

Custom Savings (fixed monthly). You set a fixed monthly transfer amount. $100 on the 1st, $50 on the 15th, $200 on the 25th — whatever you pick. The algorithm doesn't get a vote; the schedule is exactly what you set.

Both options pull from the same source account into the same goal. You can use one or the other, not both simultaneously, on a given goal.

Step-by-step: setting up your first goal

The flow is the same on iOS and Android.

Step 1 — Confirm Premium is active. Financial Goals is a Premium feature.

Step 2 — Open the Financial Goals section. From the Dashboard, look for Financial Goals (sometimes under Ways To Save or as its own dashboard tile). Tap it.

Step 3 — Tap "Create Goal" or "Add Goal." A new-goal flow starts.

Step 4 — Name the goal. Make it specific. "Emergency fund," "Trip to Japan," "Down payment on a car" — concrete labels are easier to commit to than "Savings."

Step 5 — Set a target amount. The dollar value you're trying to reach. Optional but recommended: a target date.

Step 6 — Pick your funding sub-option.

  • Smart Savings: Rocket Money handles the cadence and amount. Adjust the aggressiveness slider if shown (more aggressive = larger/more frequent transfers).
  • Custom Savings: enter a fixed monthly amount and pick a schedule (e.g., "$200 on the 1st of each month").

Step 7 — Choose your source account. This is the linked checking (or sometimes savings) account that money will be pulled from. Make sure the account you pick has consistent balance behavior — picking a checking account that occasionally drops near $0 will trigger failed transfers.

Step 8 — Confirm and activate. Review the goal name, target, sub-option, and source account. Save.

Step 9 — Watch the first transfer land. With Smart Savings, the first transfer typically lands within a few days as the algorithm settles in. With Custom Savings, the first transfer hits on whatever schedule date you picked.

You can create multiple goals — emergency fund + vacation + car down payment, for instance — each with its own settings.

Where your money actually lives

This is the question most people don't think to ask, and it has a specific answer.

When Rocket Money transfers money from your checking into a Financial Goal, the money goes into a non-interest-bearing custodial plan held at an FDIC-insured institution. Per Rocket Money's Help Center documentation:

  • Custodial structure: Rocket Money is the custodian, not your direct deposit holder. Your money is held on your behalf in a pooled account at an FDIC-insured bank.
  • FDIC-insured: the bank holding the funds is FDIC-insured, which means standard FDIC protections apply up to the standard insurance limit per depositor per insured bank.
  • Non-interest-bearing: unlike a high-yield savings account, the custodial plan doesn't pay interest. Money sitting in a Financial Goal earns no yield.

What that means in practice:

  • Your money is safe in the standard FDIC sense — same protection as money in a checking account.
  • It's not earning anything. If you have substantial savings sitting in Financial Goals, you're leaving yield on the table compared to a high-yield savings account at a bank like Marcus, Ally, or Wealthfront Cash. For long-term savings (emergency fund > 3 months expenses, sinking funds for distant goals), a high-yield account is a better fit.
  • It's a behavior tool, not a yield tool. Use Financial Goals to build a habit; once you've saved enough that yield matters, sweep the funds to a high-yield account.

For most people just starting an emergency fund, the difference between non-interest and 4–5% yield on the first $1,000–$2,000 saved is small enough that the friction-reduction benefit wins. But once a goal balance gets meaningful, moving to a high-yield account is worth the half hour of setup.

How to pause, withdraw, or change a goal

All three are doable from the goal's detail screen.

Pause auto-transfers (keep the goal but stop new contributions):

  1. Open the goal.
  2. Tap Pause (or the relevant settings option).
  3. Auto-transfers stop until you resume.

Withdraw funds back to your bank:

  1. Open the goal.
  2. Tap Withdraw or Transfer Out.
  3. Choose how much (full balance or partial).
  4. Confirm the destination account.

Transfers back to your bank typically take 1–3 business days via standard ACH.

Change goal settings (target, sub-option, source account, monthly amount):

  1. Open the goal.
  2. Tap Edit or settings icon.
  3. Adjust whatever you want to change.
  4. Save.

Changes take effect on the next scheduled transfer.

Setting up your first goal? Pick the smallest amount you can imagine missing — $20/week feels like nothing but adds up to $1,040/year. Premium's free trial is enough to get the goal running and watch the first few transfers.

Start Free Trial →

Strategy: which sub-option fits your situation

Both sub-options work. The right pick depends on your relationship with your money.

Pick Smart Savings if:

  • You want savings to feel "automatic" with as little decision-making as possible.
  • Your checking balance fluctuates and you'd rather have an algorithm decide what's safe to move than guess.
  • You're OK with the transfer amount varying month to month.
  • You haven't built a savings habit yet — the small, frequent transfers are designed to be invisible.

Pick Custom Savings if:

  • You already think about savings as a fixed line in your budget.
  • You prefer predictability — same amount, same date, every month.
  • You have a specific target tied to a specific deadline (e.g., "$200/month for 10 months = $2,000 by year-end").
  • You like the visibility of seeing one obvious "Savings: $X" transaction on your statement.

Some people start with Smart Savings to build the habit, then switch to Custom Savings once they want more control. Both work — switching between them is just an edit on the goal.

Common questions

Is the money locked up? No. You can withdraw at any time. ACH transfer back to your bank takes 1–3 business days.

What happens if my checking drops below the transfer amount? Smart Savings is supposed to detect low balances and skip transfers that would put you in trouble. With Custom Savings, the transfer attempt may fail (NSF fee from your bank possible). Set Custom Savings amounts conservatively, especially the first month.

Can I have multiple Financial Goals at the same time? Yes. Create as many as you want — each with its own target, sub-option, and schedule. Useful for parallel goals (emergency fund + holiday gifts + new laptop).

Does Financial Goals report to credit bureaus? No — savings activity isn't reported to credit bureaus. Financial Goals is a savings tool, not a credit-building tool.

What happens to my Financial Goals if I cancel Premium? At the end of your Premium period, auto-transfers stop. The funds in the goal stay accessible — you can withdraw the balance back to your bank from the Free tier even if you can't add new transfers. See How to Cancel Rocket Money Premium for cancellation paths.

Is there a fee for Financial Goals beyond the Premium subscription? No — Financial Goals is included in Premium with no additional per-transfer or balance-based fees.

Can I use a savings account as the source instead of checking? Some users have reported using savings as the source, but checking is the standard supported source account. Linking a savings account as source can sometimes hit federal Reg D-style transfer limits at the source bank — check with your bank's policy first.

How is Financial Goals different from a high-yield savings account? HYS accounts pay interest (typically 4–5% APY in the current rate environment); Financial Goals does not. HYS accounts are at your bank or a separate fintech (Ally, Marcus, Wealthfront Cash, etc.); Financial Goals is at Rocket Money's custodian. Use HYS for substantial long-term savings; use Financial Goals as the on-ramp to build the habit.

Try Rocket Money Free tier identifies recurring charges, helps you spot subscriptions to cancel, and includes bill negotiation (available to all users — Rocket Money charges a 35-60% success fee on first-year savings only when negotiation succeeds). Premium ($7-$14/month sliding scale) adds Smart Savings, Concierge cancellation help, real-time sync, and detailed credit-score reporting. Try Rocket Money →

Related reading:

Not financial, legal, or tax advice. We earn a commission if you sign up for Rocket Money through a link on this page; the price is the same. Every claim is verified against Rocket Money's official Help Center documentation and the December 12, 2025 Content Affiliate Talking Points where applicable.