How to Create a Monthly Budget in Rankk

A budget focuses on the money you have coming in and going out during the current month.

Financial planning looks further into the future.

For example:

• Budgeting helps you decide how much to spend on dining this month.
• Planning helps you see how investing more could affect your net worth over the next 10 years.

Learn more about how financial planning works in Rankk.

Your monthly budget may include:

• Income
• Housing
• Utilities
• Groceries
• Transportation
• Dining
• Shopping
• Entertainment
• Bills and subscriptions
• Debt payments
• Savings
• Financial goals

Your budget should match your real income, expenses, and priorities.

Connecting your main financial accounts gives Rankk a clearer view of your finances.

This may include:

• Checking accounts
• Savings accounts
• Credit cards
• Loans

Rankk can use the available information from these accounts to help you review recent income, bills, and spending.

Learn how to connect a financial account.

1. Open Rankk and go to the Budget section.
2. Select the option to create a new monthly budget.
3. Review your expected income.
4. Add or confirm your required bills.
5. Choose amounts for your everyday spending categories.
6. Decide how much you want to save or put toward debt.
7. Review the full budget and save it.

Rankk may suggest starting amounts based on your available financial information.

Review every amount and change anything that does not fit your month.

Expected income is the money you believe you will receive during the month.

This may include:

• Paychecks
• Freelance payments
• Business income
• Benefits
• Pension payments
• Other regular income

For example, if you expect two paychecks of $2,500, your expected monthly income would be $5,000.

Income can change, so confirm the amount before building the rest of your budget.

Learn more about how Rankk identifies income.

Start with expenses that must be paid.

These may include:

• Rent or mortgage
• Utilities
• Insurance
• Phone and internet
• Loan payments
• Credit card payments
• Childcare
• Recurring subscriptions

For example:

• Expected income: $5,000
• Rent and required bills: $2,400
• Money remaining: $2,600

Planning for required expenses first helps prevent you from spending money that will be needed later.

Next, choose amounts for flexible spending categories.

These may include:

• Groceries
• Dining
• Transportation
• Shopping
• Entertainment
• Personal care

Use your recent spending as a starting point.

For example, if you normally spend around $600 on groceries, a grocery budget of $200 may not be realistic.

A useful budget should help you improve while still being possible to follow.

Learn more about understanding your spending.

Your budget should not only cover purchases and bills.

You may also choose to put money toward:

• An emergency fund
• A home down payment
• A vacation
• Credit card debt
• Loans
• Investments
• Other financial goals

For example, you may decide to put $400 into savings and pay an extra $200 toward credit card debt.

Your total budget should not be greater than the money you expect to have available.

For example:

• Expected income: $5,000
• Required bills: $2,400
• Everyday spending: $1,500
• Savings and debt goals: $700
• Remaining amount: $400

That remaining amount can provide room for unexpected expenses or additional progress toward a goal.

As transactions appear, Rankk can compare your actual spending with your budget.

This can help you see:

• How much you have spent
• How much remains in each category
• Which categories are over budget
• Which categories are under budget
• Whether your savings are on track
• How much may still be safe to spend

Reviewing your budget regularly can help you make smaller changes before you run out of money in a category.

A budget does not have to stay the same for the entire month.

You may need to update it when:

• Your income changes
• A bill is higher than expected
• An unexpected expense appears
• You spend more in one category
• You spend less in another category
• Your priorities change

For example, if dining is $50 over budget but shopping is $100 under budget, you may decide to move part of the unused shopping amount to dining.

The goal is to keep your full budget working.

Check:

1. Whether your important accounts are connected.
2. Whether recent transactions have updated.
3. Whether a transfer is being counted as spending.
4. Whether a transaction is in the wrong category.
5. Whether your income or bills changed.
6. Whether pending transactions are included.

Learn more about:

• How Rankk categorizes transactions
• How Rankk handles account transfers

If the totals still appear incorrect, contact Rankk support.

Do not send your password, verification code, or full account number.