Some costs don't land evenly: a quiet month for eating out, then a birthday dinner. Rollover keeps a running balance, so a budget evens out over a few months instead of starting from zero every time.
Rollover is included with Grow and up, for budget groups and categories with their own limit.
How it works
- Money left over carries forward. If a $400 budget spends $350, next month starts with $450.
- Overspending carries forward too. If it spends $450, next month starts with $350.
- It counts from the month you turn it on. Nothing from earlier months is carried in.
The balance is worked out from your transactions each time, so if you recategorize an old purchase, the balance corrects itself.
A worked example
Groceries budget
With its own limit
$500 a month
Rollover
Nothing carried in before October
On since October
October budget
$500
Spent in October
$430
Left over
$500 less $430
$70
November budget
$500 plus the $70 that rolled over. The line says "$70 rolled over in".
$570
The balance keeps adding up month after month: each month's budget less what was spent.
Turn on rollover
Open Spending
On Budgets, choose the Spending tab.
Open the budget's menu
Open the ⋯ menu on a budget group, or on a category under Own limits.
Choose Roll over what's left
From this month on, what it doesn't spend carries into next month, and going over comes out of it.
A category inside a group rolls over with its group, so turn it on for the group. Everything else, your spending budget as a whole and your fixed costs don't roll over.
Seeing what rolled over
- A rolling budget's line says rolls over until something carries, then, for example, "$40 rolled over in" or "$30 overspent before".
- Its total for the month includes what rolled in.
- The Overview says what rolled over across all your budgets, like "Includes $120 rolled over from earlier months."
Start fresh or stop
In the same ⋯ menu, once rollover is on:
- Start it fresh clears the balance from this month. Money it built up counts as saved; an overspend is let go. Rollover stays on.
- Stop rolling over goes back to starting fresh every month.
Smart hints
Under Worth a look, we'll suggest Roll it over for a budget that usually leaves a good amount unspent. If a rolling budget has saved up two months' worth or more, we offer Count it as saved. If earlier months left it well behind, we offer to raise it to what it usually costs (Make it $X) or Start it fresh.
Try rollover on one budget
Open Budgets, then turn on Roll over what's left for a group or a category with its own limit.