Getting Started with Creating a Budget
When you open the Quicken program for the first time, it might be a bit overwhelming, but don’t be afraid to dive in and try setting up a budget. It’s a relatively simple process, and you can always go back and change aspects of it (or start completely over). Windows users can find the tool by navigating to the “Planning” section of the program, then clicking “Get Started” under “Create a Budget.” Mac users can find the “Budgets” tab, then open it and click “Get Started.”
Getting the Most Out of Quicken’s Automatic Budget
Quicken automatically gathers your financial information from the past year or so to create a basic budget for you. It tracks spending amounts and highlights categories based on its best guesses about how you spend your money. It also collects income information and compares it against spending habits to create a rough budget outline.
Understanding Color Coding
While viewing the chart, the categories will be accompanied by bars of different colors. You can understand these colors to get a general idea of your financial progress at a glance. Generally, green means you are sticking to your budget, and red means you may have slipped, but you can glean more information from the colored bars. For example, gray bars indicate no activity. This means you either did not earn any income or did not spend any money in that area (depending on whether it’s an expense or income category).
Achieving Variable Budget Goals
Budget categories rely on strict amounts that reset every month, but you can change this by enabling carryover categories. For example, if you set your fuel budget to $50 but only spent $40 in one month, the default budget will reset the budget amount for the next month to $50. However, the carryover category will take into account the amount you saved in the previous month, and instead, will allocate a budget of $60 for fuel.
Using Quicken Category Groups
While it’s helpful to have a detailed breakdown of your spending, you may also benefit from setting up category groups to simplify the display.
For example, you may not need to know exactly how much you spent on fuel versus insurance payments versus car loan payments. Instead, you can set up a “Car” category group that tracks these related expenses in a simplified group. This makes it easy to quickly glance at your financial progress without getting bogged down in complicated financial details.
To set up a category group on Mac or Windows, you first need to open the Tools menu. From there, select Options, then “Set Category Groups.” This process will open a menu that allows you to create a new category group or edit a group you’ve already created.
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Source: https://www.thebalancemoney.com/how-to-create-a-quicken-budget-1294022
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