Monarch Money Walkthrough: Setting Up Your Budget and Linking Bank Accounts

Setting Up Your Budget

• Customize your dashboard by going to the top right corner and clicking on "Customize"
• Toggle on and off whatever you want to see, and drag to rearrange the order of items
• The "Getting Started" section will show you your overall budget, income, and expenses for the month
• The "Spending Trend" will show you your spending this month compared to last month
• The "Transactions Review" will show you any transactions that need to be reviewed

Linking Your Bank Accounts

• If you're brand new to Monarch Money, it will likely prompt you to link your accounts
• If you're not brand new or want to add more accounts, go to the left-hand side and click on "Accounts"
• On the top right, click "Add an Account" and search for the bank account, credit card, or other account you want to add
• For example, let's add a Chime account
• Click on the account and it will show you different options for linking it (e.g. Plaid, MX, F City)
• Type in your username and password for the account and it will link
• If you're having issues with connectivity, try linking it a different way

Setting Up Your Budget (Continued)

• Go to "Settings" and then "Categories"
• If you're brand new, it will pop up showing you some of the things you can do
• Click "Next" through the screens or skip it
• Monarch Money comes with 60 preset categories, which are very generic
• I highly recommend customizing the categories to your needs
• You can organize your expenses into groups (e.g. all car stuff in one group)
• You can have fixed bills, variable expenses, and savings categories
• You can edit and customize the categories by clicking on them and renaming them

Customizing Your Budget

• You can drag and drop categories to rearrange them
• You can also rename categories and edit them
• You cannot delete categories in Monarch Money, but you can deactivate or disable them
• You can move entire groups by clicking on the top of the group and dragging it
• You can budget by category or by group (personal preference)

Examples of Customizing Your Budget

• I have a fixed bill category for my mortgage, car payment, and other regular expenses
• I have a variable expenses category for things like gas and groceries
• I have a savings category for short-term and long-term savings
• I have a syncing fund for things like home improvement and education expenses
• You can adjust your budget to fit your needs and preferences

Customizing Your Budget with Monarch Money

Deleting and Recategorizing Transactions

• You can delete a category, but if it has transactions attached to it, you need to recategorize those transactions first
• To delete a category, go to the categories page, find the category you want to delete, and click the edit button. Then, select "delete" and choose a new category to move the transactions to

Moving Transactions

• To move transactions to a new category, go to the transactions page, find the transactions you want to move, and click the edit button. Then, select the new category you want to move the transactions to

Deactivating Categories

• To deactivate a category, go to the categories page, find the category you want to deactivate, and click the edit button. Then, select "deactivate" and confirm that you want to deactivate the category

Recategorizing Transactions Using the "Vacation" Category

• If you have a category that you only use when you're on vacation, such as "Taxi and Ride Share", you can recategorize the transactions in that category to a new category, such as "Vacation"
• To do this, go to the categories page, find the "Taxi and Ride Share" category, and click the edit button. Then, select the "Vacation" category as the new category for the transactions

Creating a Fixed Expense Category

• You can create a fixed expense category, such as "Charity", and set it to a specific amount every month
• To do this, go to the categories page, click the "+" button to create a new category, and enter the name of the category. Then, set the budget amount to the fixed amount you want to allocate to that category

Deleting Unwanted Categories

• If you have a category that you no longer want to use, you can delete it. However, if the category has transactions attached to it, you need to recategorize those transactions first
• To delete a category, go to the categories page, find the category you want to delete, and click the edit button. Then, select "delete" and choose a new category to move the transactions to

Using the "Other" Category

• You can use the "Other" category as a catch-all category for transactions that don't fit into other categories
• This can be useful for transactions that you don't want to forget to budget for, but that don't fit into a specific category

Keeping Your Categories Organized

• It's a good idea to keep your categories organized by grouping similar transactions together. For example, you can create categories for "Food and Dining", "Transportation", and "Housing"
• You can also create subcategories within each category to further organize your transactions. For example, you can create subcategories for "Food" such as "Groceries", "Restaurants", and "Takeout"

Using the Average of Past Transactions to Set Your Budget

• When setting your budget, you can use the average of past transactions to help guide your decision
• This can be useful for transactions that are irregular or unpredictable, such as rent or utilities

Adjusting Your Budget as Needed

• As you track your expenses and income, you may need to adjust your budget to reflect changes in your financial situation
• You can adjust your budget by clicking on the category you want to adjust and entering a new budget amount

Using the "Cash Flow" Tab

• The "Cash Flow" tab is a great way to visualize your income and expenses
• You can use this tab to see where your money is going and to identify areas where you can cut back

Using the "Bar Chart" to Visualize Your Expenses

• The "Bar Chart" is a great way to visualize your expenses and to identify areas where you can cut back
• You can use this chart to see which categories are the largest and to identify areas where you can cut back

Automating Your Budget with Rules

• You can automate your budget by setting up rules for your transactions
• There are two main ways to adjust the rules in Monarch Money: in your transactions and in your budget settings
• You can use the rules to automate tasks such as categorizing transactions, assigning budget amounts, and sending reminders

Automating Transactions and Creating Rules in Monarch

Marking Transactions for Review

• If you need to review a transaction, you can mark it as "needs review" if you're on a joint account with your spouse
• Click on the person's name to review the transaction
• Marking a transaction as "needs review" will not change the category or the transaction itself

Creating Rules for Transactions

• To create a rule, go to the "Customize Rules" option in the top right corner of the transactions tab or in the "Settings" menu
• Rules can be customized using an "if-then" statement, where the condition on the left side of the statement determines the action on the right side
• For example, you can create a rule that categorizes all transactions from a specific merchant as a certain category

Examples of Rules

• Merchant: You can create a rule that categorizes all transactions from a specific merchant, such as Walmart, as a specific category, such as "Groceries"
• Amount: You can create a rule that categorizes transactions based on a specific amount, such as a monthly payment of $125 for child activities
• Categories: You can create a rule that categorizes transactions based on a specific category, such as "Shopping", and then mark all transactions in that category as "needs review" for your spouse to review

Setting up Syncing Funds in Monarch Money

• You can link syncing funds to your Monarch Money account to track your savings goals
• Create a category for each syncing fund, and toggle on the rollover feature
• Set a starting balance for each fund, or enter 0 if it's empty
• The budgeted amount is how much you plan to save, the actual amount is how much you've spent, and the remaining amount is how much you have left to spend
• The rollover feature allows you to roll over any remaining balance to the next month

Transferring Funds to a Separate Account

• If you have syncing funds going to a separate account, you'll need to transfer the funds to that account
• Set your budgeted amount for the month, and transfer that amount to your separate savings account
• When you pay for something, it will be categorized and come up under the actual amount
• When you need to pay a bill, transfer the necessary amount from your savings account back to your checking account

Creating Goals and Paying Off Debt

• In Monarch Money, you can create goals and track your progress towards paying off debt
• To create a goal, go to the "Goals" tab and select "Credit Cards" as your goal
• Choose how many credit cards you have, and link the credit card you're trying to pay off
• Set a target amount for your goal, and choose how much you want to pay each month
• The goal will track your progress, and you can see how much you've paid and how much you still need to pay

Transferring Payments to a Goal

• When you make a payment towards your credit card debt, you can transfer the payment to your goal
• Go to the "Transactions" tab, and apply the payment to your goal
• The payment will be tracked in your goal, and you'll see how much you've paid and how much you still need to pay

Additional Tips and Resources

• If you're having trouble with credit card debt, consider using a credit card counseling service or working with a financial coach
• Evolving Money is a YouTube channel that focuses on Monarch Money and offers more detailed help and tutorials
• If Monarch Money isn't the right budgeting app for you, check out our video on our favorite budgeting apps