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Overspending

Available onAndroidiOSWeb

You overspend when you spend more in a category than you had available in it. For example, if you allocated $100 for groceries but spent $120, you've overspent by $20 and the category shows -$20.00 in red.

Overspending happens to everyone. What matters is fixing it quickly, so your numbers stay trustworthy.

warning

Sort out overspending as soon as possible. Until you do, the money you see as available elsewhere is partly already spent.

How the app flags it​

  • The category's available amount turns red and goes below zero.
  • The Budget health check on the Budget tab shows "$200.00 overspent in your categories. Review and adjust to stay on track".

Tap the arrow on that line to open Overspent categories: a list of every category that's below zero. Tap one to fix it.

How to fix it​

You have two ways to cover an overspent category:

  1. Use money that's ready to allocate. If the health check also says you have money left to allocate, give some of it to the overspent category. This balances the budget without touching other categories.
  2. Move money from another category. If nothing is left to allocate, take it from a category that has money to spare. For example, move $20 from Entertainment to Groceries.

To move money:

  1. Tap the overspent category.
  2. Tap the Reallocate money button (the transfer icon) at the top of the sheet. The overspent category is already filled in as To, and the amount is set to what it's short.
  3. Choose the category to take the money From, or tap the lightbulb button, Smart suggestions, to let the app pick one with enough available.
  4. Check the amount and confirm.

See Money reallocation for the details.

tip

Turn on Quick reallocate money in More › Settings › Budget Behavior to go straight to Reallocate money whenever you tap an overspent category.

Final check​

When every overspent category is covered, Overspent categories says "Well done, everything is settled up." and the health check line reads "There is no overspending".

Keep your budget healthy​

Check the health check regularly and cover overspending as it happens. If the same category keeps going over, that's a sign to allocate more to it each month, or to set a target for it.