Budget by real categories
Create a monthly limit for Food, Shopping, Transport, Entertainment, or any category you already use in MoneyCoach.
Category Budgets in MoneyCoach
Plan your month around the categories you actually spend in, then adjust the plan with top-ups, transfers, rollover, and rebalancing when life changes.
A better monthly plan for real spending
Category Budgets turn your category list into a practical spending plan. Set a limit for each important category, watch progress update automatically, and make controlled adjustments without rebuilding your budget from scratch.
Built for everyday budgeting
Why Category Budgets are better
Track spending automatically
Expenses count toward the matching Category Budget automatically, so progress, details, and transactions update as you log spending.
Review budget history
Open budget details to compare monthly spending against your limit, review yearly key metrics, and inspect matching transactions.
Adapt during the month
Use top-ups, transfers, and rebalancing when real spending changes without losing the structure of your plan.
Carry context forward
Optional rollover can bring unused budget or overspending into the next month, making budgets easier to trust over time.
Category Budgets vs Classic Budgets
Which MoneyCoach budget type should you use?
Category Budgets are the recommended choice for most monthly spending plans. Classic Budgets remain available for users who prefer the original custom setup.
Budget type
Category Budgets
Classic Budgets
Best for
Monthly spending plans by category and subcategory.
Custom budget setups from the original budgeting workflow.
Tracking
Expenses count automatically when their category matches the budget.
Tracking depends on the custom budget rules you configure.
Adjustments
Supports rollover, top-ups, transfers, and rebalancing.
Keeps the familiar classic budget controls.
Recommended for
Most users who want a practical category budget app for everyday spending.
Existing users who prefer the original setup.
Learn the full Category Budgets workflow
Start with setup, then learn how to review details, inspect history, top up, transfer, and rebalance your category budgets.
Create Category Budgets
Set monthly limits for categories or subcategories and learn how automatic tracking works.
Read guideUse Budget Details and History
Review monthly progress, yearly spending history, key metrics, transactions, and budget actions.
Read guideTop up a Category Budget
Add extra room to one budget for the current month from available monthly income.
Read guideTransfer between Category Budgets
Move planned budget room from one category to another without changing your total budget.
Read guideRebalance Category Budgets
Let MoneyCoach suggest monthly adjustments based on current spending patterns.
Read guideCategory Budgets - Frequently Asked Questions
Category Budgets are designed to make monthly category budgeting more automatic while still giving you control over subcategories, rollover, top-ups, transfers, and monthly rebalancing.
What are Category Budgets?
Category Budgets are monthly spending limits tied to the categories you already use in MoneyCoach, such as Food, Shopping, Transport, or Entertainment. When you add an expense to a matching category, MoneyCoach counts it toward that category budget automatically.
Can I create a budget for a subcategory?
Yes. You can create a Category Budget for a parent category or for a subcategory. You can also add subcategory limits inside a parent category budget, which is useful when you want one Food budget with separate limits for Groceries and Restaurants.
How are Category Budgets different from Classic Budgets?
Category Budgets are built around your category list and include newer actions like top-up, transfer, rebalance, subcategory limits, and rollover. Classic Budgets remain available separately for users who prefer the original custom budget setup.
How does MoneyCoach track spending in a Category Budget?
MoneyCoach uses the category on each expense transaction. If an expense belongs to a category or subcategory included in the budget, it is counted automatically in that month. Transfers do not count as spending unless they are recorded as expense transactions.
What can I see in Category Budget details and history?
The details screen shows the selected budget month, running or closed status, spent amount, remaining or saved amount, yearly history chart, yearly key metrics, and the transactions counted toward that category or subcategory budget.
What is rollover in Category Budgets?
Rollover carries budget context from one month to the next. If you finish a month under budget, the unused amount can roll into the next month. If you overspend, that overspending can carry forward as a negative amount so the next month starts with the real balance.
What is a Category Budget top-up?
A top-up temporarily adds extra room to one Category Budget for the current month. MoneyCoach calculates available income for the month, then lets you allocate part of that income to a specific budget without changing the normal monthly limit.
What does transfer between Category Budgets mean?
A budget transfer moves planned budget room from one Category Budget to another. For example, you can reduce Entertainment and increase Food while keeping your total budget unchanged. This changes budget limits only, not real bank balances.
What does Rebalance Budgets do?
Rebalance Budgets helps adjust several Category Budgets based on current spending while keeping the total planned budget unchanged. It is useful when one category needs more room and another category can give some room back.
Do Category Budgets move real money?
No. Top-ups, transfers, and rebalancing only change budget limits inside MoneyCoach. They do not initiate bank transfers or create transactions.
Are Category Budgets good for envelope budgeting?
Yes. Category Budgets work well as a modern envelope budgeting system because each category gets its own monthly limit. Unlike cash envelopes, MoneyCoach updates progress automatically from your transactions and lets you use rollover, top-ups, transfers, and rebalancing.
Are Category Budgets a Premium feature?
Category Budgets and advanced budget actions are Premium features in MoneyCoach. Classic Budgets remain available separately, and free users can still use Classic Budgets within the free budget limit.
Who should use Category Budgets?
Use Category Budgets if you want a practical monthly plan for everyday spending categories and a controlled way to adjust that plan as the month changes.