A month with Pentos
The rhythm of using an envelope budget: what you do at the start of a month, during it, and when it ends.
An envelope budget is a habit more than a tool. The habit is small, and it has three parts.
At the start of the month
Open the Budget tab and hand out the money you hold.
Move to the new month with the header’s month control. To Budget already carries what was left over, and it grows as income arrives. Assign it down to zero.
You do not have to start from a blank month. Quick offers three ways to fill one in a single move:
- Copy what you budgeted last month
- Use a three-month average of what you actually spent
- Set everything to zero and start clean
Copying last month is the usual choice, because most months are mostly the same as the last one. Then adjust the handful of envelopes that are different this time.
If you have set goals, Fund Goals tops up every underfunded goal at once. Refer to Fund your goals.
During the month
Two things, both small.
Record what you spend. Either enter transactions as they happen, or import a statement every week or two and let your rules categorise them. Refer to Import a bank statement.
Move money when reality disagrees with the plan. An envelope running dry is information, not a failure. Tap it, tap Cover, and pull the difference from an envelope with room. The totals do not change; you have just decided which thing you would rather have.
The chips under an account’s balance are shortcuts. Tapping the one that counts uncategorised transactions jumps straight to them, which is the fastest way to clear up after an import.
When the month ends
Nothing. There is no closing ritual, no button to press, and no month to lock.
The next month begins, and Pentos carries things forward on its own:
- Money you did not spend stays in its envelope. Leftover grocery money in March is grocery money in April.
- Overspending is charged to the whole budget. An envelope you overspent resets to zero, and the amount you went over is taken out of next month’s To Budget. The budget absorbs it rather than one envelope carrying the debt.
- Categories can carry their own debt instead, if you turn that on for a category. A negative balance then stays on that envelope until you pay it back.
Nothing about the month you are looking at changes when the next one starts. Refer to Budgeting for the full behaviour.
A reasonable rhythm
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Once a month | Assign the new month, adjust what changed, fund your goals |
| Weekly | Import or enter transactions, clear anything uncategorised |
| Whenever an envelope runs short | Cover it from an envelope with room |
| Occasionally | Read the reports, export a backup |
If you keep only one of those, keep the weekly one. A budget you have not recorded against for three weeks is a budget you have stopped believing.
Next steps
Something wrong or missing on this page? Write to supportpentosbudget.com.