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Carry over amounts

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Carry over amounts are the money left unspent in a category at the end of a month, which moves into the same category the next month. It's especially useful for irregular expenses and for saving up for future needs.

How carry over works​

  • End of month balance: at the end of each month, whatever is left unspent in a category is worked out.
  • Moved to next month: that amount is added to the same category for the following month.
  • Example: you allocate $100 to Groceries in June and spend $80. The remaining $20 carries over, so in July you have $120 available for groceries if you allocate another $100.

Why carry over helps​

  1. Flexibility: handles categories where spending changes from month to month.
  2. Saving up: builds funds for larger, infrequent expenses such as car maintenance or holiday gifts.
  3. Nothing wasted: money you budgeted isn't lost; it rolls on to cover future needs.

Tips​

  • Review regularly: keep an eye on your carried-over amounts and make sure they match your goals.
  • Adjust your budget: if a category always has a large carryover, you may be allocating more than you need there.
  • Use targets: let carried-over amounts build towards a target, such as a vacation or an emergency fund.

Turn off carry over for a category​

In Classic Budgeting (and the Simple tracker), you can choose to have a category start each month fresh instead of carrying its balance forward.

  1. Open the category to see its Category details.
  2. Open the menu (⋮) at the top.
  3. Untick Carryover balance ("Carry over balances from previous months forward. This will apply to all periods.").

With carryover off, whatever is left at the end of the month resets to zero, and the next month only has what you allocate to it. For example, if $50 is left in Entertainment at the end of June, July starts with only July's allocation.

The option isn't available for income categories, credit card payment categories, or categories linked to an account.

danger

Carry over can't be turned off in Zero-Based Budgeting. Zero-Based Budgeting tracks all your spending and account balances from the moment you start using the app, so carryover is an integral part of how it works.

Why you might turn it off​

  1. Strict monthly budgets: each month's spending is independent of the month before.
  2. Avoid build-up: stops unspent money piling up in categories where extra money tempts you to overspend.
  3. Simplicity: no leftover amounts to keep track of.

Because the setting applies to all periods, every month for that category starts fresh with just what you allocate.

Learn more about the two methods in Classic Budgeting and Zero-Based Budgeting.