Set up your first budget.

Link a bank, or track by hand

After the welcome screen (sign up, or Continue without an account), Spense asks “What should I call you?” and “How did you hear about Spense?”. Both have a Skip for now. Then comes the question that shapes everything else: “How should we keep track?”

• Link my bank: Spense connects through Plaid and your transactions arrive on their own (what the first sync brings in).
• I'll add things myself: you track your accounts by hand. No bank login, and nothing leaves your bank.

Pick how you want to budget

Next: “How do you want to budget?” There are two answers, and Spense ticks one for you based on step 1: Classic if you track by hand, Auto if you link a bank. Tap the other card if you'd rather have it.

• Sort it for me (Auto): spending files itself into categories, and you watch the month against any limits you set.
• Give every dollar a job (Classic): you assign the money you have to categories before you spend it. Envelope budgeting, the way YNAB users know it.

By hand: add an account and pick starter categories

If you picked I'll add things myself, Spense helps you build the budget right here. (Linked a bank? You skip this step. In Auto, categories appear as your transactions are sorted. In Classic, new transactions wait in Review and you add the categories you want.)

• Add your first account: an account name, its type (Checking, Savings, Cash or Credit card) and its current balance. Start with the one you spend from most. Skip for now works too, and you can add accounts later.
• Pick your starter categories: Spense offers a short list (Rent, Utilities, Phone, Internet, Groceries, Transport, Eating out, Going out, Subscriptions, Emergency fund), all ticked except Subscriptions. Tap a category to tick or untick it, or Add your own. Then tap Create my budget.

Read the Budget tab

In Auto, the header shows what you've spent this month (“Spent in October”). Each category shows its total and its share of the month, and each row inside it shows what it spent and its share of that category:

In your first month, rows read “new this month”. From the second month on, they add your usual month, like “usually $160”: the average of up to your last three months in Spense. If you linked a bank, Spense also looks at the spending your first sync brought in and sets monthly limits from it, so some rows may already have one. You can change or remove any of them.

In Classic, Ready to assign sits at the top, and each row shows what's available in it. If you came through step 3, the fish says “Your budget's ready! Tap a category to give your money a job.” and your first row is tagged Tap to assign.

Set a limit or assign your first dollars

In Auto, limits are optional. Set them where overspending actually hurts. Swipe a row to the right until the amber target button appears, and tap it. A sheet called “Coffee Shops limit” (with your row's name) opens. Type a monthly amount, or tap one of its suggestions: Your usual, Last month or Round up, when there's history to suggest from. Check the preview, then tap Save limit.

The limit applies to every month, including past ones. The row now reads “$22 left”, “At budget” or “$14 over”, and its bar turns amber at 80% and red past the limit. A category's own bar, and the header's gauge, only appear once every row with spending under them has a limit. So one limit never turns the whole screen red. To take a limit off, open the same sheet and tap Remove limit.

In Classic, tap a row (the Tap to assign one, if it's there), type how much of your Ready to assign money it gets, and tap Assign. Repeat until every dollar has a job. Want Spense to say how much each row needs? Set a target on it.