Plan expenses and targets¶

Give each upcoming need an amount and a date so line-budget.com can project how to fund it. Create the relevant envelope first, then choose the kind of plan that fits the spending.

Choose an expense or a target¶

Your need	Use	Meaning
A $65 phone bill due on October 10	Planned expense	One expected payment to record when it happens.
$300 of groceries still to buy through September 30	Target	A remaining spending allowance through that date.
A further $400 for groceries through October 31	Another target	An additional allowance for the following period.
A $40 purchase that already happened	Actual transaction	Recorded spending, rather than a future plan.

Two successive targets of $300 and $400 represent $700 of future spending. The second amount is a new allowance, not a cumulative total.

Plan your next bill¶

Select the Phone envelope name on the budget screen.
Choose Plan expense from its menu.
Enter 65.00 in Amount. Planned amounts are positive.
Set Due day to the expected payment date.
Optionally enter an Expected payee and Note, such as the provider's name and Monthly phone bill.
Select Plan expense.

The bill appears in the envelope's planned expenses and on the timeline. It has not yet changed the account balance or recorded a payment. When the bill is paid, reconcile the planned expense.

You can also choose Envelope Details from the menu, then select Add under Planned expenses. If the envelope already has a dated expense, Add opens Plan next expense. Use its interval to repeat the latest expense, or select Choose a date instead for a separate bill.

Add an everyday spending allowance¶

Select the Groceries envelope name on the budget screen.
Choose Add Target from its menu.
Enter 300.00 in Amount for the groceries you still expect to buy.
Set Target date to the end of the period the allowance covers.
Add a useful Note, such as Groceries through month-end.
Select Add target.

The target appears as a diamond marker on the timeline. You can also use Add under Targets on the envelope details page. With an existing dated target, this opens Plan next target; use Choose a date instead if needed. An envelope can have one target per date; edit an existing target to change that day's allowance.

By default, the projection treats the remaining allowance as spent by the target date. It does not create actual purchases when that date arrives. The optional minimum-spending-floor setting can model purchases in fixed amounts instead; leave it off while learning the basics.

Keep the remaining allowance current¶

When you record a $40 grocery purchase that uses part of the $300 allowance, select Reduce next target for its envelope split. The target becomes $260. This tells the projection how much spending remains.

The option selects the earliest target due today or later that is also on or after the transaction date. Past targets stay unchanged. It is available only while creating a spending entry, and the app remembers your last eligible choice for that envelope. Check it before saving. See Record spending and income for the details.

Avoid overlapping plans¶

A $300 grocery target plus a $100 planned grocery order tells the projection to cover $400. If the order is already included in the $300 allowance, choose either:

A $300 target on its own; or
A $100 planned expense and a $200 target for the other groceries.

In the second case, leave Reduce next target off when reconciling the order, because the separate $200 allowance is still needed.

Use realistic estimates. You can update a plan when the amount or date becomes clearer; getting started doesn't require predicting every receipt.

Continue with Review your first plan.