Create a Category

Categories tell Common Cents what your money is for. If accounts answer where the money is, categories answer what the money should do.

Categories live inside category groups #

You cannot create a category by itself. Every category belongs to a category group.

That is not extra busywork. It is how the Budget view stays readable when your setup grows.

Examples:

• a Bills group with Rent and Internet
• an Everyday Spending group with Groceries and Gas
• a Goals group with Emergency Fund and Travel

How to add a category #

You can add a category from the Combo Palette, add actions, or from the Budget area itself.

The category form asks for:

• the category name
• the category group
• whether the category should roll over

If the group you need does not exist yet, you can add the group from inside the category flow instead of leaving the form.

What rollover means #

Rollover controls what happens to leftover available money.

• Turn rollover on when you want unused money to stay with that category.
• Turn it off when you want the category to reset more cleanly from month to month.

A good rule for deciding: if you want a category to accumulate money over time (like long-term savings) then select rollover. If you want the category to start at a zero balance each month (like bills) then do not select rollover.

Keep your first setup simple #

Start with a small set of categories you will use right away. You do not need to model every edge case on day one.

Good starter categories are usually the ones you spend from every month.

Next in Getting Started: Assign Money to Your Category.