Creating Budgets

Creating Budgets

Curl Budget lets you create budgets based on categories or tags. This guide walks you through setting up budgets that match your financial goals.

Before You Start

Review Your Spending

Before setting budget amounts, understand your current spending:

1. Check the Explorer for spending by category
2. Look at the last 2-3 months to find typical amounts
3. Note which categories vary month-to-month

Setting budgets based on actual spending (rather than wishful thinking) leads to better results.

Organize Your Categories

Budgets work best with well-organized categories:

• Make sure transactions are categorized correctly
• Set up any subcategories you need
• Consider which level to budget at (parent or child)

Creating a Category Budget

Category budgets track spending for a specific category and its subcategories.

Step by Step

1. Go to the Budgets tab
2. Tap "Add Budget"
3. Select "Category Budget"
4. Choose the category
5. Enter the budget amount
6. Select the period (monthly, quarterly, yearly)
7. Save

Choosing the Right Category

Budget at parent level when:

• You want flexibility within subcategories
• Overall spending is what matters
• Example: $800/month for "Food & Dining" (includes all dining/groceries)

Budget at child level when:

• You want specific limits on subcategories
• One area needs more control than others
• Example: $200/month specifically for "Restaurants"

Multiple Category Budgets

You can have budgets on both parent and child categories:

• Parent: $800/month for "Food & Dining"
• Child: $200/month for "Restaurants"
• Child: $400/month for "Groceries"

Each tracks independently. Spending at "Restaurants" counts toward both the Restaurants budget AND the Food & Dining budget.

Creating a Tag Budget

Tag budgets track spending for transactions with a specific tag, regardless of category.

Step by Step

1. Go to the Budgets tab
2. Tap "Add Budget"
3. Select "Tag Budget"
4. Choose the tag (or create a new one)
5. Enter the budget amount
6. Select the period
7. Save

When to Use Tag Budgets

Tag budgets are ideal for cross-category tracking:

• Projects: "Home Renovation" budget tracks all renovation spending (supplies, labor, materials)
• People: "Shared Expenses" budget tracks all spending you split with someone
• Goals: "Wedding Fund" budget tracks all wedding-related purchases
• Tax purposes: "Business Expense" budget tracks deductible spending

Setting Up Tags First

Before creating a tag budget:

1. Create the tag in Settings → Tags
2. Apply the tag to relevant transactions (manually or via Auto-Rules)
3. Create the budget

The budget will track all transactions with that tag going forward, plus any existing tagged transactions.

Setting Budget Amounts

Based on Past Spending

1. View category/tag spending in Explorer for the last 3 months
2. Calculate the average
3. Set the budget at or slightly below average if you want to reduce spending
4. Set at average if you just want to track

Based on Income

1. Start with your monthly income
2. Allocate percentages to categories:
   • Housing: 25-35%
   • Food: 10-15%
   • Transportation: 10-15%
   • Savings: 10-20%
   • Everything else: remaining

Based on Goals

1. Determine your target spending
2. Set budgets at target amounts
3. Track how close you get
4. Adjust over time

Leave Room for Reality

• Set limits slightly above minimum needs
• Allow for occasional overages
• Budget for annual/irregular expenses

Choosing a Period

Monthly

Best for:

• Regular recurring expenses
• Day-to-day spending categories
• Most household budgets

Examples:

• Groceries: $600/month
• Entertainment: $150/month
• Dining Out: $200/month

Quarterly

Best for:

• Expenses that don't occur monthly
• Subscriptions billed quarterly
• Seasonal spending

Examples:

• Clothing: $300/quarter
• Gifts: $200/quarter
• Home Maintenance: $500/quarter

Yearly

Best for:

• Annual expenses
• Savings goals
• Large purchase planning

Examples:

• Vacation: $3,000/year
• Holiday Gifts: $500/year
• Car Maintenance: $1,200/year

See Budget Periods for more details on how periods work.

Editing Budgets

Changing the Amount

1. Tap the budget to edit
2. Modify the amount
3. Save

Changes apply immediately. Your progress percentage will update based on the new amount.

Changing the Period

1. Tap the budget to edit
2. Select a new period
3. Save

The budget resets to the new period. Historical data is preserved for reporting.

Deleting a Budget

1. Tap the budget to edit
2. Tap "Delete Budget"
3. Confirm

Deleting a budget doesn't affect your transactions—they keep their categories and tags.

Budget Dashboard

After creating budgets, the Budgets tab shows:

Progress Overview

• Progress bars - Visual spending progress
• Spent / Limit - Dollar amounts
• Percentage - How much of budget is used
• Color coding:
  • Green: Under 80%
  • Yellow: 80-100%
  • Red: Over 100%

Daily Allowance

For each budget, see:

• How many days remain in the period
• How much you can spend per day
• Whether you're on pace

Period Info

• Current period dates
• Days elapsed and remaining
• When the budget resets

Tips for Success

Start Small

Begin with 2-3 budgets for your biggest spending areas. Add more once you're comfortable.

Be Realistic

Set achievable limits based on actual spending, not aspirations. You can always tighten limits later.

Review Weekly

Check your budgets regularly:

• Sunday evening review
• Quick daily check
• Adjust spending behavior if needed

Adjust Quarterly

Every few months:

• Review budget accuracy
• Adjust limits up or down
• Add or remove budgets
• Refine categories

Use Alerts

Set up budget alerts to get notified before you overspend.

Common Issues

Transactions Missing from Budget

Check that:

• Transaction is in the right category (for category budgets)
• Transaction has the tag (for tag budgets)
• Transaction is within the budget period
• Transaction isn't a transfer or duplicate

Budget Seems Too High/Low

Verify:

• The budget period matches your expectation
• Subcategories are included (for parent budgets)
• No unexpected transactions are categorized there

Budget Resets Unexpectedly

Budgets reset at the start of each period:

• Monthly: 1st of each month
• Quarterly: Jan 1, Apr 1, Jul 1, Oct 1
• Yearly: January 1

This is expected behavior—check your period setting if it seems wrong.

Related Features

• Categories - Organize transactions for budgeting
• Tags - Flexible tracking for tag budgets
• Budget Periods - Understand period options
• Budget Alerts - Get notified about your progress
• Implied Budgets - How filters affect budgets