How to Use the Budget Tool

Getting Started

After logging in, navigate to your Dashboard to see your budget years. Select a budget year to view and manage your monthly budgets.

Each month has two views:

• Monthly View - A read-only summary of all your income, expenses, and savings
• Weekly View - Where you add, edit, and delete all budget items

Monthly View (Summary)

The Monthly View shows a rollup of all your weekly data. This is a read-only summary that displays:

• Total monthly income from all sources
• Total monthly expenses grouped by category
• Savings contributions
• Bank account balances
• Net cash flow (income minus expenses)

To make changes, click the "Edit Weekly Budget" button to go to the Weekly View.

Monthly Tools & Exports

On the Monthly Summary page you can manage and reuse your data quickly:

• Download Month - Export the month to Excel for offline review
• Copy From Month - Copy all items or copy only Income, Expenses, or Savings
• Reset Month - Wipe the month clean (requires typing RESET)
• Manage Sources/Names - Delete old income sources or expense names from autocomplete (removes them across all months)

Note: Reset is permanent and deletes income, expenses, savings, bank accounts, and credit card data for that month.

Weekly View (Edit Data)

The Weekly View is where you manage all your budget items. At the top, you'll see:

• Weekly Breakdown - Shows calendar-based weeks (Monday through Sunday) with income and expenses for each week
• Week tabs - Click a week tab to switch the active week for viewing and data entry

Important: Scroll down below the Weekly Breakdown section to find the forms for adding and editing data.

Week-Specific Entries

Each week (1-6) can have its own amounts for the same item.

• When you add income, expenses, or savings while a week tab is active, the entry is saved to that week
• Switching weeks lets you edit a different amount for the same item
• Monthly totals are the sum of all weeks

Legacy items: Items without a week number still use due-day placement. If no due day is set, they default to Week 1.

Adding Income

In the Weekly View, scroll down to the Income section (green header). To add income:

1. Enter the source name (e.g., "Paycheck", "Freelance")
2. Optionally enter the due day (1-31) when you receive this income
3. Enter the Expected amount (budgeted)
4. Enter the Received amount (actual)
5. Click the add button

Tip: If you leave Expected blank, it defaults to the Received amount.

Adding Expenses

In the Weekly View, scroll down to the Expenses section (red header). To add an expense:

1. Select a category from the dropdown (e.g., Housing & Utilities, Vehicles, Insurance)
2. Enter the payee/description name
3. Optionally enter the due day (1-31)
4. Enter the Due Amount (budgeted)
5. Enter the Paid Amount (actual)
6. Click the add button

Duplicate Detection: If you enter an expense with a similar name to an existing one, you'll see a warning to help prevent duplicate entries.

Adding Savings

In the Weekly View, scroll down to the Savings section (blue header). To add savings activity:

1. Create a savings account if you don't have one yet
2. Select the account and choose Deposit or Withdrawal
3. Enter the amount and click Add

Bank Accounts

In the Weekly View, scroll down to the Bank Accounts section (purple header). This tracks your account balances:

1. Enter the account name (e.g., "Checking", "Savings")
2. Select the account type
3. Enter the current balance
4. Click the add button

The total bank balance is used as the starting balance for weekly cash flow calculations.

Editing Items

To edit an existing item in the Weekly View:

• Amounts: Click directly on any Expected/Received (income) or Due/Paid (expense) amount to edit it.
• Due Day: Click directly on the due day value. Type the new day (1-31) and press Enter or click away to save.

Changes are saved automatically when you finish editing.

Deleting Items

To delete an item in the Weekly View:

1. Find the item you want to delete
2. Click the delete button (trash icon) in the rightmost column
3. Confirm the deletion when prompted

Warning: Deletions cannot be undone.

Expected vs. Actual Tracking

Income and expenses now track budgeted vs. actual amounts:

• Income: Expected vs. Received with a variance column
• Expenses: Due Amount vs. Paid Amount with a variance column

Variance colors help you spot performance quickly: green means favorable (more income or less spending), red means unfavorable.

Understanding the Weekly Breakdown

The Weekly Breakdown at the top of the Weekly View shows how your income and expenses are distributed across calendar weeks:

• Week labels show actual calendar dates (e.g., "Week 1: Thu 1 Jan - Sun 4 Jan")
• Weeks run Monday through Sunday, with partial weeks at the start and end of each month
• Items with week numbers appear only in that specific week
• Items with due days appear in the week containing that day
• Items without due days default to Week 1
• Running balance shows your projected balance after each week

Click on any week tab to see the detailed breakdown for that week.

Annual Summary & Item Order

The Annual Summary lets you review the full year and customize how income and expense items are ordered.

• Drag and drop rows to reorder items
• Use the up/down arrows for precise moves
• Your custom order persists across all months in the year

Credit Accounts

Navigate to the Credit page from the budget year view to manage credit card accounts. The credit page shows:

• Current balance - What you currently owe
• APR (Annual Percentage Rate) - The interest rate charged
• Monthly payment - Your planned payment amount
• Interest projection - Estimated interest for the month
• Balance after interest - What you'll owe after interest is added
• Balance after payment - What you'll owe after making your payment

Interest is calculated using compound interest based on the APR divided by 12 months.

Payment Schedule

The 12-Month Payment Schedule section allows you to plan your monthly payments for the next 12 months. You can:

• Manually enter your planned payment amount for each month
• See the projected interest and balance after payment for each month
• Adjust payments to see how different payment amounts affect your payoff timeline
• All changes save automatically