Methods
50/30/20 budget (manual in Expense Trail)
Map needs, wants, and savings to category groups.
Map needs, wants, and savings to category groups.
Not financial advice
This explains a popular framework and how to approximate it with manual categories, wallets, and budgets in Expense Trail—not personalized advice.
The method (brief)
Roughly 50% needs, 30% wants, 20% savings/debt—adjust to your reality.
Map to Expense Trail
Create category groups Needs / Wants / Savings. Set monthly category budgets that mirror your targets.
List take-home income in an income category.
Assign category budgets totaling ~100% of income.
Log spending manually—no bank feed adjusts this for you.
Review Reports weekly and rebalance caps.