Take a look at how much you usually spend each month altogether. Based on what your goals are, pick a number that will be your monthly spending goal. If you\u2019re with the easygoing, \u201cjust monitoring\u201d crowd, you can keep it much the same as it was in the previous months. If you want to spend much less than before, reduce the number accordingly.<\/p>\n
Now let\u2019s get to the practical part. Tap the blue +<\/strong> button on the bottom left to add a budget. Leave the \u201cbudget for” on All expenses. Tap the \u201cTime period\u201d section below. Leave the setting to the budget period of 1 month. You can add other types of budgets later on, we recommend starting with a monthly budget which will be in sync with your financial month. Monthly budgets for all expenses also play nice with other features. They get included in the River flow graph, as well as get a more prominent place in the Budgets section.<\/p>\n If you want, you can also make the budget start further in the past using the \u201cBudget starts on\u201d setting. This is useful if you have data in Toshl from earlier periods.<\/p>\n Tap the row labeled \u201cAmount\u201d. Remember that monthly spending goal number you chose before? This would be the time to enter it. Once you click in the amount field you also get some additional options: Whether you want the number to be static or adjust automatically to your income, your call. You know your circumstances best. If things change, or you manage to save more you can always change it later. The next step is simply a sum up of what you chose so far. If you\u2019re satisfied with the choices, tap the tick icon on the top right of the screen to Save the budget.<\/p>\n Your first monthly budget. Congratulations! While we covered the basic things you need to set up your budgets in previous steps, there are a few more options that you can use once you nudge closer toward becoming a budgeting savant:<\/p>\n Accounts<\/strong> – You can limit the budget to follow only certain accounts. That way only expenses coming from those accounts will be counted in the budget. For the start, it\u2019s probably better to leave it to \u201cAll accounts\u201d <\/p>\n Not all spending is the same. Some costs are relatively fixed or a bit harder to change, like rent for example, while others are more flexible and more easily change month to month based on your habits.<\/p>\n Think about what kind of spending gets you in trouble. Which are the unnecessary things you really could do without, or at least spend a bit less on them. All the tech gadgets, drinks, games, gardening supplies\u2026 ? Your call. Just don\u2019t say \u201calimony”. Not cool! ;)<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve been using Toshl for a while, it\u2019s best to browse through your past months in expense graphs and see where your money leaks are.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve thought about it, go to the Budgets section again, click the blue +<\/strong> button on the bottom left to Add a budget.<\/p>\n This time, in the “Budget for\u201d section choose this to be a budget for a category.<\/p>\n
\nGo to the Budgets section. Tap the navigation icon on the top left or simply swipe from the left edge of the screen.
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\n– “number<\/strong>\u201d enter the amount as a regular number which stays the same every month until you change it
\n– \u201cincome –<\/strong>\u201c this will sum up all the incomes in the current financial month and subtract a number of your choosing. If you stick to your budget, this will be the amount of money you save each month.
\n– \u201cincome +<\/strong>\u201d your budget will be your income plus the number you chose. Probably not ideal for most, but if you can draw on a reserve of cash to add to your monthly income, this is the solution for you.
\n– \u201c% of income<\/strong>\u201d great to set a proportion of income you want to save. If you want to save 20 % of your income each month, set the budget to 80 % of your income and stick to it.<\/p>\n
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\nDate<\/strong> – This defines when a specific budget starts. If you left the budget on the monthly period, the default will be the start of the current month. If you have already been using Toshl for a longer period of time, you can set that start date in the past and budgets will be calculated automatically for all those past periods. Neat trick, eh?
\nMove remaining funds to next period – Also known as “the rollover\u201d. If you set this to ON, any surplus or lack of funds in the budget will be transferred to the next budget period. If you really want to be rigorous about your spending, use this and see how good you are at self-discipline. If the sins of the past months become too much of a burden, you can edit the rollover amount separately later on. But you\u2019ll know you\u2019ve cheated on the inside. ;)
\nTitle<\/strong> – We automatically generate a title for your budgets based on the settings you chose for each one, but you can always change it to something custom if you so desire.<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
2. Add a monthly budget for specific categories<\/strong><\/h3>\n