In this article, the sections comprise:
- Definition
- Usage
1. Definition
A category budget represents the anticipated expenses within a specific timeframe. By establishing budgets, you align your spending with current financial realities, enhancing your ability to forecast and manage expenditures effectively.
2. Usage
a. Accessing the budget feature
After setting up budgets in MoneyLover, to view and manage them, start by opening the app and selecting "Budgets" tab from the main screen. Here, you'll see a list of budgets you've created for various spending categories such as Food & Beverage, Bills & Utilities, or Transportation.
b. Viewing the budget list
On the Running Budgets screen, budgets will be grouped by time periods, allowing you to:
- View the budgets for each category for this week, this month, this quarter, or custom time periods.
- View the remaining budget/excess spending for each category within the specified time period.
- Check the progress bar of the category within the specified time period.
If there are no transactions in that category, the progress bar will appear in gray.
If the total amount of transactions in that category is <75% of the set budget, the progress bar will appear in green.
If the amount of the total transactions in that category >=75% but hasn't exceeded the budget, the progress bar will appear in orange.
If the amount of the total transactions in that category reaches or exceeds the budget, the progress bar will appear in red.
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The total budgets amount will be displayed as follows:
- Case 1: Sum of parent categories if you create them with both parent and child categories nested within. For example: Parent category 'Food & Beverage' has a budget amount of 8, parent category 'Bills & Utilities' has a budget amount of 9, and the child category 'Phone Bill' under 'Bills & Utilities' has a budget of 6. Then the total budgets will display as 8 + 9 = 17 (including categories 'Food & Beverage' and 'Bills & Utilities').
- Case 2: Sum of all categories if child categories are not nested under parent categories. For example: Parent category 'Food & Beverage' has a budget amount of 8, and the child category 'Phone Bill' (which is under parent category 'Bills & Utilities' but the parent category itself has no budget) has a budget amount of 6. In this case, the total budgets will be 8 + 6 = 14.
- Case 3: Amount of the budget for all categories. When you create a budget that includes all categories, the total budget will simply be that budget amount.
To review budgets that have ended, tap â‹® on the right corner. Then you select "Finished budgets".
Note: When you create an All Categories Budget but the amount is lower than the total of budgets for specific categories, the app will display a warning button for you to review and increase the amount for the All Categories Budget if you want.
c. Budget details
To view the details of a budget, click on that budget on the Running Budgets screen.
At this point, the app displays the detailed budget information you've created. From here, you can track information about the budget you've created, including:
- Budget name: ~ category name
- Amount set for the budget.
- Spent: The actual amount spent for the category within the budget period.
- Left: The remaining amount within the budget period that is recommended for you to spend, so that you will not exceed the budget.
- Overspent: The amount spent beyond the budget for the budget within the time frame.
- Time: Displays the duration of that budget.
- Wallet: Displays the name of the wallet you set the budget for, which can be "All wallets" (total wallets) or a specific wallet.
- Progress bar: Displays the actual spending ratio compared to the budget you set for that category.
- Recommended daily spending: The amount recommended for you to spend each day to meet your budget goal.
- Projected spending: The total estimated spending at the end of the period based on the current actual daily spending.
- Actual daily spending: The actual daily spending amount.
- Chart: this shows the Daily recommended spending, Expected spending, and Actual daily spending for the category.
- Transactions list: The list of transactions belonging to that budget. Note: transactions marked as 'exclude from report' will not appear in this list and will not count toward this budget.
For budgets that have ended, you can only delete the budget; you cannot edit it.
d. Other Categories Budget
When you create a budget for "All Categories" and separate budgets for specific expenses, a budget for the remaining categories will be generated. This is called Other Categories Budget.
For example: You have an All Categories Budget and budgets set for some categories like Food & Beverage, Bills & Utilities, and Phone Bills. When you add a transaction for the Shopping category, it will fall under Other Budgets because you haven't created a budget for the Shopping category before.
e. Notification
When the amount of a budget >= 75%, the app will automatically send you a warning about approaching or exceeding the budget limit. This helps you stay informed about your budget status so you can manage your spending accordingly.
These are all the instructions for using budgets in the MoneyLover app. We hope this helps you manage your personal finances effectively!
Next read: How to create, edit, delete budgets