Spending Limits

Spending Limits is the lighter-weight option. You set a monthly cap on each category you care about. The app tracks spending against it. That's it. No envelopes or monthly re-planning. Just limits.

Still deciding between modes? See Budgeting modes for the comparison and decision aid.

The app shows Left to Spend at the top, which is how much of your total monthly budget you still have. Each category shows a progress bar toward its cap.

The mental model

Think of guardrails, not envelopes. You're not assigning every dollar. You're saying “Groceries shouldn't exceed $400 this month, let me know when I'm getting close.”

If you go over on one category, nothing breaks. The app just shows that you went over. You decide what to do.

At month end, the counters reset. Last month's overspend doesn't carry over. This month is a fresh start. (The exception is categories with auto-carry on, covered below.)

Setting up Spending Limits

Plan for about 10 minutes.

1Pick Spending Limits on the mode screen

Tap Spending Limits on first launch, or switch from Settings › Budget Mode.

2Review your default categories

Basis Budget comes with 16 default categories grouped into Bills, Needs, Wants, and Savings & Goals. Keep them, rename them, delete them, or add your own.

In the Budget tab, tap the gear icon in the top-right, then choose Manage Categories to customize.

3Set a limit for each category that matters

Head to the Budget tab. Tap a category and set a monthly cap.

What numbers to use:

• Fixed bills. Use the exact amount. Rent $1,800, Internet $70.
• Variable categories. Start with your usual monthly spend, rounded up a bit for wiggle room. Groceries $400, Dining Out $150, Gas $150.
• Not sure? Guess. Use the app for a month. Adjust based on what you actually spend.

4Live your life

Transactions import automatically and count against the cap for their category. The Budget tab shows a progress bar for each one, so you can see at a glance where you're heading before you hit it.

A green bar means you're under the cap. Red means over. No ceremony either way.

Auto-carry: rollover for lumpy categories

By default, Spending Limits resets each month. January's cap is January's cap. Whatever you didn't spend doesn't carry into February. Fresh start.

That works great for day-to-day spending (groceries, dining, gas). It works poorly for lumpy categories where spend doesn't happen every month but you want a cap over time. Examples: Clothing, Car Repair, Gifts, Pet Care.

For those, turn on auto-carry on the category. Unspent cap from the previous month carries into the new month. The available amount shows the cumulative total.

How the math works

Clothing with a $100/month limit and auto-carry on:

• January: Spend $60. $40 of the cap rolls forward.
• February: Cap is still $100, but available shows $140 ($40 rolled plus $100 February).
• Spend $110 in February: Available is $30. Still positive because the January buffer absorbed the overspend.
• March: Cap is $100, available is $130 (because $30 rolled).

Same cap every month, but now you have flexibility across months for categories that don't spend evenly.

When to turn it on

• Lumpy categories with real costs: Clothing, Car Repair, Gifts, Pet Care
• Annual or semi-annual bills where you want to save throughout the year
• Anything with predictable average cost but unpredictable monthly spend

When to leave it off

Day-to-day spending categories usually work better without auto-carry. Groceries, Dining Out, Entertainment. You want these to reset monthly so a cheap January doesn't give you permission to blow out February.

The Budget tab toolbar

Two buttons sit at the top of the Budget tab. The one on the left reorganizes your categories visually. The gear on the right opens a short menu for everything else.

Organize Budget (top-left button)

Tap the list icon in the top-left to open Organize Budget. This is a drag-to-reorder view for your groups and categories. Use it to:

• Reorder category groups (Bills, Needs, Wants, etc.)
• Reorder categories inside a group
• Move a category from one group to another
• Add, rename, or delete groups

The order you set here is the order you'll see on the Budget tab. No budget math changes. Just rearrangement.

The gear menu (top-right button)

Tap the gear icon for a short menu with two actions.

Manage Categories

Rename, reorder, regroup, delete, or add categories. Same place you went during setup. Changes are non-destructive: renaming keeps transaction history attached, and moving a category between groups doesn't touch any caps or progress.

Reset Budget

Clears all your monthly caps and starts over. Your transactions, accounts, category definitions, and history all stay. Only the limits are reset.

Use when: you want to rebuild your limits from scratch without losing any of your data.