Getting Started with Ploutos Budget
It's time to start budgeting. While there are many methods, we prefer zero-based budgeting with sinking funds. We will assign each dollar we currently have to a specific category. When first starting to budget, it's tempting to assign dollars from future paychecks or estimate earnings for the upcoming month. However, we will use goals for this purpose.
When you log into Ploutos Budget for the first time, the screen may seem overwhelming. But don't worry, this guide will walk you through setting up your first budget.
In This Article
Here are the instructions to get started with Ploutos Budget on the web application.
Here are the instructions to get started with Ploutos Budget on the mobile application.
🌎 Web Instructions
Create Button
The "+" button in the lower right corner of the application is how you can add new things into your budget.
- Link - Add linked accounts from your financial institution, so data can be automagically pulled in.
- Account - Add a new account to track in your budget.
- Collection - Add a new collection for categories.
- Category - Add a new category to a collection.
- Holding - Manually add a new holding to an investment type account.
- Transaction - Manually add a transaction.
Accounts
We can't start budgeting without any money, so let's start by adding our accounts into Ploutos Budget. We want to add all of our spending accounts. This will include all savings, checking, and any credit cards you have. We can't have a complete picture of where we are financially if we don't keep track of all our money
Option 1 - Manual Account
You can manage your accounts without linking to your bank. Simply enter and categorize all your transactions manually. You'll still be able to create a budget, observe your spending habits, and identify areas for savings just as you would if your account was linked.
Option 2 - Link Them With Your Bank
You can link your accounts to your financial institutions. Following this, all future transactions will be automatically imported into Ploutos Budget. All you need to do afterward is categorize them.
Note
You can change your mind at any point and link or unlink an account.
Add Account
These values can be changed at any time.
- Account Name - Give your account a name to identify it.
- Account Type - Select the type of account it is.
- Link Account - If you have added a linked account from your financial institution, assign it here.
- Positive or Negative - Adjust the toggle to identify whether this is a positive or negative amount.
- Account Balance - Enter your current account balance according to your financial institution.
Goals
One last thing we should do before we start actually allocating our real dollars is set our goals for a month. Now there are many approaches and use cases for goals, but in this lesson we will discuss the simplest and most common.
Our goals can be thought of as a template for a typical month. Now we know there is no such thing as a typical month, but stay with us here. Utilizing goals can help us plan for future long term expenses as well as our normal monthly bills and activities.
Goals are not real dollars and don't have any effect on our actual budget. They are there to help us plan out where our real dollars should go. For example, we all know Christmas is in December every year, but we don't start thinking about it until after thanksgiving. Now that doesn't give us much time to start saving for all the gifts, food, and decorations we will inevitably buy. Another example is if you pay your car insurance premium every 6 months, or you pay your home insurance every year. In these scenarios we can utilize goals to help us plan for these large expenses we know are coming.
Example 1 Fixed Expenses
If our mortgage is $1,000 every month then we set our goal for the mortgage to $1,000
Example 2 Long Term Expenses
If our auto insurance premium is $600 for every six months, we need to set aside $100 each month. Therefore, we should set our auto insurance goal to $100 per month.
Example 3 Sinking Funds
Your car will inevitably need tires, brakes, and oil changes. The exact timing is uncertain, so we'll allocate $100 monthly for auto maintenance, forming a small savings account specifically for this. We may not use this money every month, or at all in some months, but when car maintenance is needed, the funds will be available.
Budgeting isn't just about saving up money for bills and general maintenance costs. We can utilize goals to save up for that big vacation, expensive toy, or that shopping spree you have been waiting for.
Budget
Now that you have all of your accounts created and goals set up you can start budgeting. All of your money in your Cash and Credit Card account groups added together make up your budget.
Remember in zero-based budgeting we want to budget our money to $0.00. We don't want it above or below $0.00, if your budget number goes below $0.00 it will turn red which means you have allocated money you don't have and are creating debt, if it is above zero then congratulations you still have more money to allocate towards your priorities.
One of the many benefits of this approach is it doesn't matter where you are in the month when you start budgeting. If it is the middle of the month, and you have already paid some of your bills, or you don't need a month's worth of groceries then you don't need to allocate some or all of the money to that category.
Also since we are only budgeting the money we actually have and not any future earnings, inconsistent paychecks are no problem.
Set Goals and Budget
There are multiple ways to move money around in Ploutos Budget, but for simplicity we will demonstrate the most basic way. When looking at your budget if you click on the Budgeted/Goal table cell for a category it will pop up a form for you to set those fields.
- Budgeted - Amount of real dollars we are allocating to this category.
- Goal - Setting a plan for what we would like to budget in this category a month.
Transactions
We have set our goals and budgeted all the money we currently have to a category now what? Now we track real life by using transactions.
If you set up your accounts to be linked these will flow in automagically, and you just need to assign them to a category. Otherwise, we can utilize the global add button to add a transaction manually. Every Time you spend or receive money you need to add a transaction to categorize that event.
Posted
If you want to keep track of whether a transaction has posted with your bank yet. Account pages will show summed pending vs posted amounts.
Date
The date the event happened. This date will affect the monthly budget this transaction resides in.
Positive or Negative
A toggle to specify whether this is incoming money (positive) or outgoing money (negative).
Payee
If it is outgoing money where was the money spent? If it is incoming money, who paid you?
- Transfers - These payees are used if you transfer money from one of your accounts to another. No category will be needed for these transactions as you didn't gain or lose money, you just moved it.
- Credit Card - If you have any credit cards they will show up in this list. You select your credit card here when you are making a payment towards your credit card.
- Loan Payment - If you are tracking any loans in Ploutos Budget then your loan accounts will show up here. When making a loan payment you would select that loan account here.
Select Payee / Add New Payee
When selecting a payee you can select from previously used payees or add a new one to the list.
Category
From which category are we drawing money for this expense? If you're receiving money, such as a paycheck, you should set the category to "Budget". If you need to select multiple categories, you can use the "Split" function.
Account
From which account was this money spent?
Notes
This is an optional notes area for you to enter any information you'd like. You can use it to record a check number or provide a brief summary of your purchases, such as "Bought clothes".
Flag
The optional flag field allows grouping of transactions from different categories, like tax-deductible expenses. Attaching labels to each flag can assist in remembering what each color represents.
Month End
Any remaining balance in a category at the end of the month will be carried over to the next month. This is how we accumulate sinking funds. However, not every category needs to be a sinking fund. For example, our Fixed Expenses, which are bills that remain relatively the same every month, do not require a sinking fund. Ultimately, the decision is yours.
If you don't want a category's balance to roll over to the next month, adjust the budgeted amount in that category to zero out the balance or use the Zero Balance Quick Action button. This will return the surplus money to your overall budget amount.
Reconcile Accounts
At the end of each month, it's important to ensure that the account balances in Ploutos Budget match the balances reported by our banking institutions. To do this, simply log onto your banking website, check the current balance, and confirm that it aligns with your Ploutos Budget account balances.
📱 Mobile Instructions
Create Button
The ➕ button in the bottom navigation of the application is how you can add new things into your budget.
- Link - Add linked accounts from your financial institution, so data can be automagically pulled in.
- Account - Add a new account to track in your budget.
- Collection - Add a new collection for categories.
- Category - Add a new category to a collection.
- Holding - Manually add a new holding to an investment type account.
- Transaction - Manually add a transaction.
Accounts
We can't start budgeting without any money, so let's start by adding our accounts into Ploutos Budget. We want to add all of our spending accounts. This will include all savings, checking, and any credit cards you have. We can't have a complete picture of where we are financially if we don't keep track of all our money
Option 1 - Manual Account
You can manage your accounts without linking to your bank. Simply enter and categorize all your transactions manually. You'll still be able to create a budget, observe your spending habits, and identify areas for savings just as you would if your account was linked.
Option 2 - Link Them With Your Bank
You can link your accounts to your financial institutions. Following this, all future transactions will be automatically imported into Ploutos Budget. All you need to do afterward is categorize them.
Note
You can change your mind at any point and link or unlink an account.
Add Account
These values can be changed at any time.
- Account Name - Give your account a name to identify it.
- Account Type - Select the type of account it is.
- Link Account - If you have added a linked account from your financial institution, assign it here.
- Positive or Negative - Adjust the toggle to identify whether this is a positive or negative amount.
- Account Balance - Enter your current account balance according to your financial institution.
Goals
One last thing we should do before we start actually allocating our real dollars is set our goals for a month. Now there are many approaches and use cases for goals, but in this lesson we will discuss the simplest and most common.
Our goals can be thought of as a template for a typical month. Now we know there is no such thing as a typical month, but stay with us here. Utilizing goals can help us plan for future long term expenses as well as our normal monthly bills and activities.
Goals are not real dollars and don't have any effect on our actual budget. They are there to help us plan out where our real dollars should go. For example, we all know Christmas is in December every year, but we don't start thinking about it until after thanksgiving. Now that doesn't give us much time to start saving for all the gifts, food, and decorations we will inevitably buy. Another example is if you pay your car insurance premium every 6 months, or you pay your home insurance every year. In these scenarios we can utilize goals to help us plan for these large expenses we know are coming.
Example 1 Fixed Expenses
If our mortgage is $1,000 every month then we set our goal for the mortgage to $1,000
Example 2 Long Term Expenses
If our auto insurance premium is $600 for every six months, we need to set aside $100 each month. Therefore, we should set our auto insurance goal to $100 per month.
Example 3 Sinking Funds
Your car will inevitably need tires, brakes, and oil changes. The exact timing is uncertain, so we'll allocate $100 monthly for auto maintenance, forming a small savings account specifically for this. We may not use this money every month, or at all in some months, but when car maintenance is needed, the funds will be available.
Budgeting isn't just about saving up money for bills and general maintenance costs. We can utilize goals to save up for that big vacation, expensive toy, or that shopping spree you have been waiting for.
Budget
Now that you have all of your accounts created and goals set up you can start budgeting. All of your money in your Cash and Credit Card account groups added together make up your budget.
Remember in zero-based budgeting we want to budget our money to $0.00. We don't want it above or below $0.00, if your budget number goes below $0.00 it will turn red which means you have allocated money you don't have and are creating debt, if it is above zero then congratulations you still have more money to allocate towards your priorities.
One of the many benefits of this approach is it doesn't matter where you are in the month when you start budgeting. If it is the middle of the month, and you have already paid some of your bills, or you don't need a month's worth of groceries then you don't need to allocate some or all of the money to that category.
Also since we are only budgeting the money we actually have and not any future earnings, inconsistent paychecks are no problem.
Set Goals and Budget
There are multiple ways to move money around in Ploutos Budget, but for simplicity we will demonstrate the most basic way. When looking at your budget if you click on the Budgeted/Goal table cell for a category it will pop up a form for you to set those fields.
- Budgeted - Amount of real dollars we are allocating to this category.
- Goal - Setting a plan for what we would like to budget in this category a month.
Transactions
We have set our goals and budgeted all the money we currently have to a category now what? Now we track real life by using transactions.
If you set up your accounts to be linked these will flow in automagically, and you just need to assign them to a category. Otherwise, we can utilize the global add button to add a transaction manually. Every Time you spend or receive money you need to add a transaction to categorize that event.
Posted
If you want to keep track of whether a transaction has posted with your bank yet. Account pages will show summed pending vs posted amounts.
Date
The date the event happened. This date will affect the monthly budget this transaction resides in.
Positive or Negative
A toggle to specify whether this is incoming money (positive) or outgoing money (negative).
Payee
If it is outgoing money where was the money spent? If it is incoming money, who paid you?
- Transfers - These payees are used if you transfer money from one of your accounts to another. No category will be needed for these transactions as you didn't gain or lose money, you just moved it.
- Credit Card - If you have any credit cards they will show up in this list. You select your credit card here when you are making a payment towards your credit card.
- Loan Payment - If you are tracking any loans in Ploutos Budget then your loan accounts will show up here. When making a loan payment you would select that loan account here.
Select Payee / Add New Payee
When selecting a payee you can select from previously used payees or add a new one to the list.
⬇️
Category
From which category are we drawing money for this expense? If you're receiving money, such as a paycheck, you should set the category to "Budget". If you need to select multiple categories, you can use the "Split" function.
Account
From which account was this money spent?
Notes
This is an optional notes area for you to enter any information you'd like. You can use it to record a check number or provide a brief summary of your purchases, such as "Bought clothes".
Flag
The optional flag field allows grouping of transactions from different categories, like tax-deductible expenses. Attaching labels to each flag can assist in remembering what each color represents.
Month End
Any remaining balance in a category at the end of the month will be carried over to the next month. This is how we accumulate sinking funds. However, not every category needs to be a sinking fund. For example, our Fixed Expenses, which are bills that remain relatively the same every month, do not require a sinking fund. Ultimately, the decision is yours.
If you don't want a category's balance to roll over to the next month, adjust the budgeted amount in that category to zero out the balance or use the Zero Balance Quick Action button. This will return the surplus money to your overall budget amount.
Reconcile Accounts
At the end of each month, it's important to ensure that the account balances in Ploutos Budget match the balances reported by our banking institutions. To do this, simply log onto your banking website, check the current balance, and confirm that it aligns with your Ploutos Budget account balances.