Your first paycheck budget

What we’re doingChoose the income that sets the rhythm of your budget. Alex expects $2,400 every other Thursday; the first period in our example is October 1–14.

Why it mattersA paycheck view answers a practical question: what does this money need to cover before more income arrives? A monthly bill still keeps its own due date, even when you view the budget in two-week chunks.

How to do itIn Categories, add or edit an Income category with your expected take-home amount and repeat schedule. Then click Settings, scroll to Pay Period, choose it as Main Income, and click Save Changes if you changed the selection.

What we’re doingAdd the accounts that hold your budget money and check their starting balances. Alex starts with $200 in Everyday Checking, before the October paycheck arrives.

Why it mattersYour bank account tells you where money lives. Your categories tell you what it is for. Accurate balances give the plan a real starting point; an expected paycheck or unused credit limit cannot fund today’s groceries.

How to do itClick Accounts. Use Add Account to add a manual checking or savings account, or connect a bank through Settings. Check the balance against your bank before assigning money. Our walkthrough uses a manual checking account.

What we’re doingCreate a small set of categories that matches your life. Alex has Rent ($1,200 due on the 5th), Utilities ($160 due on the 7th), and spending targets for Groceries, Gas, Dining out, and Buffer.

Why it mattersBills have an amount and a deadline. Spending targets help you pace flexible purchases over a chosen window. Separating them makes it easier to protect upcoming commitments while deciding what is available for everyday life.

How to do itClick Categories → Add Category and create an Expense. For Rent, choose Bill, Monthly, the 5th, and a $1,200 Budget Amount. For Groceries, choose Spending, Per paycheck, and a $250 Target Amount. Save each category. To edit an existing one, open its actions menu and choose Edit.

What we’re doingBring the actual deposit into the budget. Alex receives $2,400 on October 1, so the $200 starting balance becomes $2,600 to give jobs to.

Why it mattersExpected income is a forecast. Categorized income is what increases Ready to Assign. Waiting for money to arrive keeps the plan tied to cash you can actually use.

How to do itIf your connected bank imported the deposit, find it in Transactions and categorize it as Paycheck. For a manual account, click Transactions → Add Transaction → Income. Enter $2,400 and October paycheck, select Everyday Checking and Paycheck, set October 1, choose Cleared for this posted deposit, and click Save & Exit. Return to Budget.

What we’re doingReserve $1,200 for Rent and $160 for Utilities. Both are due before October 15, so this paycheck needs to cover them.

Why it mattersAssigning money protects it from being used for another purpose. A healthy bank balance can hide bills that are about to come out; funded categories make those commitments visible.

How to do itIn Budget for October 1–14, click Rent’s amount in the Assigned column. Enter $1,200 and press Enter. Repeat for Utilities with $160. Check the saved Assigned and Available columns.

What we’re doingAssign $250 to Groceries, $100 to Gas, $100 to Dining out, and $190 to Buffer. These four jobs use $640 of the remaining $1,240.

Why it mattersAvailable becomes the amount to check before a purchase. A buffer gives small surprises a place in the plan. Targets are useful starting points; the amount you assign should fit your real priorities and money.

How to do itEdit Assigned for each spending row and press Enter to save each amount. Compare Target, Assigned, Spent, and Available. Groceries has a $250 target and $250 available before any spending.

What we’re doingReserve the remaining $600 in Emergency fund, working toward a $3,000 goal. This example can afford $600 after bills and spending; your contribution can be smaller.

Why it mattersSavings is a job for money too. Giving it a named purpose keeps a surplus from looking like spare spending money. Ready to Assign reaching $0 means every dollar has a job, even though cash is still in the bank.

How to do itCreate a Savings goal from Categories if needed. In Budget’s Savings panel, use the balance’s edit control on Emergency fund. Enter the new total balance, $600 in this example because it started at $0, then press Enter. When a goal already has money, add the contribution to its existing balance before entering the new total.

What we’re doingAlex buys $48.20 of groceries at Whole Foods Market using Everyday Checking. The purchase belongs in Groceries, so it uses part of that category’s assigned money.

Why it mattersA budget becomes useful when it reflects what actually happened. Recording spending reduces Available; it does not require assigning the same dollars a second time. Check the category’s Available before the next purchase.

How to do itIn Transactions, review the imported purchase or use Add Transaction → Expense for a manual account. Check the date, account, and amount, then choose Groceries. In Budget, read Groceries across the row. Click its name and open Transactions to see the purchase behind Spent.

What we’re doingAlex wants $25 more for groceries and is happy to eat out less. Reduce Dining out’s assignment from $100 to $75, then increase Groceries from $250 to $275.

Why it mattersChanging the plan is part of using it. Move money from a lower priority before spending beyond a category’s Available. The tradeoff stays visible, and total assigned money stays within what you have.

How to do itEdit Dining out’s Assigned amount to $75 and press Enter. Ready to Assign briefly becomes $25. Edit Groceries’ Assigned amount to $275 and press Enter. Check the saved Available amount and that Ready to Assign is back to $0.

What we’re doingReview October 15–28 before the next paycheck. Alto shows $2,400 expected and $0 received. The future spending targets total $640, giving a $1,760 forecast in this example.

Why it mattersLooking ahead helps you spot a demanding paycheck or a bill you should fund early. The forecast describes the scheduled plan; it is not permission to spend money that has not arrived, and it does not include every possible future purchase.

How to do itIn Budget, click the right arrow beside the period. Review upcoming income, expense schedules, and Predicted Net. Use the home control beside the future period to return to the current one. When the next deposit arrives, review and categorize it, then fund the jobs that paycheck needs to cover.