How to Set Up and Track Monthly Budgets in BudgetLabs

Learn the basics of creating a zero-based monthly budget in BudgetLabs. This guide covers planning category amounts, adding transactions, and monitoring your progress to ensure every dollar is assigned.

Understanding Monthly Budgets in BudgetLabs

BudgetLabs uses zero-based budgeting, where your income minus expenses equals zero each month. Start by opening the Dashboard to view or create a budget for the current month. Here, you'll assign planned amounts to categories like groceries, rent, or savings. As you add transactions, the Dashboard updates to show spending progress per category. This helps beginners track where money goes and adjust plans in real-time.

Step 1: Set Up Your Monthly Budget

1. Open Dashboard for the month you want to plan. This shows your income at the top and expense/savings categories below. If it's a new month, BudgetLabs auto-creates a budget based on prior months' defaults. 2. Tap or click on a category row to edit its planned amount. Enter the dollar value you intend to allocate, such as $500 for groceries. For income categories, confirm or adjust totals from expected sources. 3. Repeat for all categories until the bottom 'Remaining' widget shows zero—this means your budget is balanced. 4. Save changes. The Dashboard now reflects your planned budget, with progress bars starting at 0% for each category.

Step 2: Add Transactions to Track Spending

To log real spending and see budget progress:

1. Go to Transactions and tap Add Transaction (or use the + icon on a Dashboard category row for quick entry).
2. Enter the amount, date, description, and select the category (e.g., 'Dining Out'). For splits across categories, tap 'Split this transaction' below the category field and adjust rows to match the total.
3. Save the transaction. It appears in the Transactions list and updates the Dashboard—category progress bars fill based on spent amounts versus planned.
4. Review the Dashboard to confirm totals update; green indicates under budget, red shows overages.

Step 3: Manage Categories for Better Tracking

Customize categories to fit your needs:

1. Open Categories from the main navigation.
2. Tap Add to create a new category, entering a name (e.g., 'Gym Membership'), type (expense, income, or savings), and optional recurrence (monthly default amount).
3. Edit existing categories by tapping the pencil icon to adjust names, types, or set default splits for recurring bills.
4. Save and return to Dashboard—the new category appears for planning, helping you track specific areas like utilities or entertainment more accurately.

Step 4: Monitor and Adjust Your Budget

Keep your budget on track with these steps:

1. Return to Dashboard regularly to view progress summaries—each category shows spent vs. planned amounts. If there's a surplus (green Remaining widget), tap Assign to push extra to a savings category. For deficits (red widget), tap Reduce Plan to trim an over-allocated category.
2. Use the Calendar view for a date-based overview of transactions and upcoming events.
3. At month-end, BudgetLabs archives the budget; start a new one for the next month, carrying over unspent amounts to relevant categories if set.
4. For deeper insights, open Lab > Insights to see trends, but stick to Dashboard for daily monthly tracking.

FAQ

What if my income varies each month?

In BudgetLabs, enter your actual or estimated income on the Dashboard when setting up the monthly budget. Adjust category plans accordingly to reach zero. For variable income, plan conservatively and use the Assign feature for any surplus later in the month.

How do I handle one-time expenses?

Add them as transactions in the relevant category on the Dashboard. For annual events like insurance, use Calendar > Annual Events to set reminders and pre-plan by adding to the month's budget amount via the category chip.

Can I split bills across categories?

Yes, when adding a transaction, tap 'Split this transaction across multiple categories' to divide the amount. Use percent mode for proportional splits, like a shared phone bill, and save to update multiple category progresses.

What happens to unused budget at month-end?

Unspent amounts in expense categories can roll over if you set recurrence rules in Categories. Savings categories retain balances. Review the archived budget in Budget > [Month] to see final totals and carry forward as needed for the next month.

Tags: budget setup, monthly planning, tracking spending, zero-based budgeting, categories, dashboard