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Budgets

Budgets help you control spending by setting limits for each category. Monitor progress throughout the month and adjust as needed.

Understanding the Budget Page

The Budget page displays all categories with their spending limits and current progress.

Card View

Each card represents one category:

  • Category name with icon
  • Budget amount - Monthly limit
  • Spent amount - Current spending
  • Remaining - Budget left (or overage in red)
  • Progress bar - Visual indicator of spending versus budget

Cards color-code by status:

  • Green - Spending within budget
  • Yellow - Approaching limit (over 75%)
  • Red - Budget exceeded

Table View

Switch to table view for a compact list showing:

  • Category name
  • Budget amount
  • Spent amount
  • Remaining/Overage
  • Percentage used

Click the view toggle button to switch between card and table layouts.

Setting Budgets

Set Budgets for a Month

  1. Click Set Budgets in the action bar
  2. Enter a monthly limit for each category
  3. Leave unused categories at zero
  4. Click Save Budgets

Copy Budgets to Next Month

  1. Navigate to the month you want to copy from
  2. Click Copy to Next Month in the action bar
  3. Confirm the action
  4. Budgets copy to the next month

Note: Copy only works if the target month has no existing budgets.

Initialize New Categories

When you add new expense categories:

  1. A banner appears showing uninitialized categories
  2. Click Initialize Budgets
  3. Enter budget amounts for new categories
  4. Click Save

Editing Budgets

Edit a Single Category

  1. Find the category card or row
  2. Click the budget amount
  3. Enter the new limit
  4. Press Enter or click outside to save

Adjust Multiple Budgets

Use the Set Budgets modal to adjust multiple categories at once:

  1. Click Set Budgets
  2. Modify any budget amounts
  3. Click Save Budgets

Filtering and Searching

Search Categories

Type in the search box to filter categories by name.

Filter by Status

Use the Show Over Budget Only toggle to display only categories that have exceeded their limits.

Combine Filters

Search and status filters work together. For example, search “food” with over-budget filter to find which food categories exceeded limits.

Month Navigation

Use the month selector in the header to view or edit budgets for different months.

  • Select past months to review historical performance
  • Select future months to plan ahead
  • Use the Today button to return to the current month

Budget Alerts

Allowealth generates alerts based on spending patterns:

Warning Alerts

Categories at 75-99% of budget trigger warnings. The advice banner suggests how much remains before exceeding the limit.

Exceeded Alerts

Categories over 100% of budget show exceeded status. The advice banner displays the overage amount.

Critical Alerts

Categories at 150% or higher trigger critical alerts requiring immediate attention.

Importing and Exporting

Export Budgets

  1. Navigate to the month you want to export
  2. Click Export in the action bar
  3. The CSV file downloads automatically

Exported files include category names, budget amounts, and spent amounts.

Import Budgets

  1. Click Import in the action bar
  2. Select a CSV file with columns: category_name, budget_amount
  3. Map columns if needed
  4. Review the preview
  5. Click Import

Importing updates existing budgets or creates new ones. It does not delete existing budgets.

Managing Categories

Add a Category

  1. Click Categories in the action bar
  2. Click Add Category
  3. Enter the name
  4. Select the type (expense or income)
  5. Choose an icon and color
  6. Click Save

Edit a Category

  1. Click Categories in the action bar
  2. Find the category in the list
  3. Click Edit
  4. Modify name, icon, or color
  5. Click Save

Archive a Category

  1. Click Categories in the action bar
  2. Find the category
  3. Click Archive
  4. Confirm

Archived categories no longer appear in budget views but remain in historical data.

Best Practices

Start Simple

Begin with 5-10 major categories. Add more as your tracking improves.

Review Weekly

Check budget status each week to catch overspending early.

Adjust Realistically

If you consistently exceed a budget, increase the limit rather than ignoring the alert.

Plan Ahead

Set next month’s budgets before the month starts. Use historical data to inform decisions.

Troubleshooting

No Budgets Showing

If the page shows no categories:

  1. Check you have expense categories created
  2. Click Initialize Budgets to add categories
  3. Verify you are viewing the correct month

Cannot Copy Budgets

Copy fails when:

  • The target month already has budgets
  • No budgets exist in the source month

Clear the target month budgets first, or manually set budgets.

Spent Amount Looks Wrong

If spent amounts do not match your records:

  1. Check Transactions for uncategorized items
  2. Verify transactions use the correct category
  3. Confirm transaction dates fall in the budget month
  4. Look for duplicate transactions

Budget Advice Banner Missing

The banner only appears when:

  • You have exceeded categories, or
  • You have warning-level categories (75%+ spent)

No banner means all categories are within normal ranges.

  • Category drill-down - Click “View Details” on any budget card to see transactions in that category
  • Reports - View budget performance trends over time
  • Transactions - Add or edit transactions affecting budgets