Add, rename, reorder or delete categories.
The categories you start with are a first guess. A month in, you know the dog needs its own line, one row is catching too much, and rent belongs at the top. Here's how to change all of that on the Budget tab, and how to delete a row without losing the transactions filed in it.
Add a category
Your Budget tab is made of categories (groups such as Food or Bills) and the subcategories inside them (rows such as Groceries or Rent). Money is assigned to the rows. A category groups them and adds them up.
At the top of the Budget tab, the card with Ready to assign has three round buttons at its top right, next to the amount. Tap the purple +. Add New Category asks for a Category Name. Type it and tap Add Category.
The new category appears with no rows yet and the line No subcategories yet. Tap to add one. If you have no categories at all, the Budget tab shows an Add Your First Category button instead.
Add the rows inside it
Tap No subcategories yet. Tap to add one. For a category that already has rows, tap the ⋯ at the right of its name. A row of round buttons appears under it. Tap +, the first one.
New subcategory opens, with the category's name under the title. Fill in the Name. Under What's this money for?, pick the type:
- Spending for everyday costs like groceries or gas. A new row is Spending unless you pick another.
- Bill for fixed costs with a due date, like rent or insurance.
- Savings goal for something you're saving up for.
- Debt payoff for a loan you're paying down.
The fields below the types are the row's target. They're optional: leave the amount empty and the row is created without one. Tap Create subcategory. The new row reads — and Updating… for a moment while the budget catches up, then it's ready for money.
Rename a category or a row
A category: tap its ⋯, then the pencil, the second button. Edit Category shows the current name. Type the new one and tap Save Changes. If you clear the field, the old name is kept.
A row: swipe it to the right. Two buttons slide out: a pencil and an eye (the eye lists the row's transactions). Tap the pencil. Edit subcategory opens. Change the Name and tap Save changes. You can change the row's type in the same sheet.
Renaming changes only the name. The transactions filed in the row, the money assigned to it in every month and its target all stay exactly where they were.
Put categories in your order
Next to the purple + on the Ready to assign card is a button with six dots. Tap it. Reorder Categories lists your categories in their current order. Each has an up arrow and a down arrow, so tap them to move it one place at a time. The first category's up arrow and the last one's down arrow are greyed out.
Tap the green check at the top right to save, or the X to leave the order as it was.
Delete one, and choose where its transactions go
A row: swipe it to the left and tap the trash can. A category (with every row in it): tap its ⋯, then the red trash can.
Spense checks every month for transactions filed there, not just the month on screen. If it finds any, it says how many (tap Show Months for the count per month), and you must pick where they go under Move transactions to:. For a category, the choice is a row in a different category. Then tap Reassign & Delete.
Every month's transactions move to the row you picked, and so does the money assigned to them in each month, so nothing is lost and no month's totals break. A row with no transactions just has a Delete button. Whatever was available in it this month, and anything you'd assigned to later months, goes back to Ready to assign.
Good categories are half of a budget you'll keep using. The Spense Method explains the other half. For bills that come once or twice a year, the sinking funds guide shows how to give each one a row. Filed something in the wrong row? See fix a wrong category. Not in Classic Mode yet? See how to switch.