Set up a monthly budget
Prerequisites
- Your data file is unlocked
- You have categories set up (see Add a category)
- At least a few months of categorized transactions help prefill the setup table (optional but recommended)
Steps
- Open Budgets in the left navigation.
- Select the month you want to budget — use This month, Last month, or the month picker.
- If no budget exists yet for that month, click New budget. To change an existing plan, open the tracking screen and click Edit budget.
- On the Set up budget screen:
- The first row is Income — six months of income history (oldest month on the left), an Average, and a Target for expected income this month. When the average is greater than zero, Income is checked by default. Recurring / Variable and Simple / Envelope do not apply to Income. The Income row is highlighted so it stands out from expense categories.
- Review expense rows: each shows the last six months of spending (oldest → newest, then Average), and a Target field prefilled from that average.
- Uncheck rows you do not want in this month’s budget — those categories will not appear on the tracking screen. Unchecking Income means Plan balance will not appear on tracking for this month.
- For each tracked expense row, set Recurring or Variable (see Budgets).
- Set Budget to Simple (default) or Envelope for categories where you want to save up month to month — for example car repair or gifts.
- Adjust Target amounts as needed (including expected income on the Income row). Changing the Average (by ignoring months) updates Target only when you have not edited Target yourself.
- When Income is checked, the footer shows total income, total budget (sum of expense targets), and remainder (income − budget) so you can balance the plan before saving. Remainder is green near $0, yellow when income is still unassigned, and red when over-assigned.
- Click Save budget.
History months and averages
Month columns run oldest to newest, with Average immediately after the newest lookback month.
Average uses only the months you include:
| Row / style | Default |
|---|---|
| Income | Months with $0 (shown as —) are left out of the average |
| Simple expense | Same — zero months are left out by default |
| Envelope expense | Zero months are included (a quiet month still pulls the sinking-fund average down) |
Ignored months look muted so you can spot them. Right-click any history cell:
| Menu action | When it appears | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Ignore this value | The month currently counts toward Average | Exclude it (for example an annual bonus in Income, or a one-off repair spike) |
| Include this value | The month is currently ignored | Bring it back into Average |
That includes turning a default-ignored zero back on for a Simple category. Your include/ignore choices are saved with the budget for that month and restored when you open Edit budget again.
Envelope categories
Use Envelope when spending is irregular but you want to contribute every month. Set a monthly target (for example $100 for car repair). Unspent money rolls into the next month’s Balance.
Most everyday categories (groceries, dining, gas) work best as Simple.
When Income is included, tracking shows Plan balance for both Simple-only and Envelope plans — expected income minus your expense allocations. Aim for near $0. See Track budget progress.
Expected result
- The app switches to the tracking screen for that month.
- Only categories you left checked appear in the table.
- If Income was checked, Plan balance appears on tracking and reflects expected income minus expense targets (even before paychecks post).
- If Income was unchecked, Plan balance is hidden.
- Recurring categories (for example Rent) show a target matching your typical monthly amount.
- Variable categories (for example Groceries) show targets you can adjust month to month.
- Envelope categories show an Envelope badge and rollover when applicable.
Starting a new month without redoing setup
When you open a month that has no budget yet, use Copy from [previous month] on the landing screen to bring forward last month’s categories, targets, simple/envelope settings, recurring/variable settings, and expected income. You can still Edit budget afterward to fine-tune.