The short version
- Automatic card-payment reserves are optional and start on. Learn how debt priority works and how to turn it off.
- Payoff plans are estimates. Testing a scenario does not create a payment or move money.
- A loan can optionally connect to a payment envelope. Review the connection and save a goal only when you want it.
Insights read your ledger; they do not rewrite it
Trends, Spending Breakdown, Reports, Net Worth, Debt, FIRE, Card Rewards, and statement-cycle views calculate from your accounts, transactions, assignments, and settings. Opening an insight does not create a transaction or move money. If a result looks wrong, correct the underlying account, transaction, category, or date rather than trying to edit the chart.
Debt progress and payoff planning
Mark a debt account as tracked and add its interest rate and minimum payment to use Debt Insights. Debt Progress shows balance history and repayment progress. Debt Method compares payoff approaches, while the Payoff Simulator tests extra payments or a target payoff date. Statement-cycle Detail separates purchases, fees, interest, payments, and principal movement inside one cycle.
These are planning calculations. Your lender's statement remains the source for the actual amount due, interest calculation, and payment deadline.
Connect a loan to a payment envelope
A loan payment-envelope connection is optional. From the loan account, choose Connect payment envelope or Connect envelope. Choose an eligible existing envelope or create one, then review the money and future assignments involved before confirming.
An existing envelope keeps its name, group, and history. The connection review explains any current reserves or future assignments moving from an older payment envelope. It does not rewrite past payments. An envelope funded as part of a shared group is not silently converted into a separate loan envelope.
Next, review a monthly payment goal and due day. Save it if you want that goal, or leave it for later. For example, a $300 monthly goal asks your budget to set aside $300; it does not send $300 to your lender.
You can change or unpair the connection from the account's editing flow. Unpairing preserves the envelope, its assignments, goal, and recorded payment history; it removes the loan-specific connection and inspector tools. Older planning links may show Finish connection before the full payment-envelope behavior is available.
Try a payoff plan without making a payment
- Check the loan's balance, APR, and minimum payment in account settings. A missing APR is not treated as zero interest.
- Open Payoff simulator from the loan account or the connected envelope's goal section.
- Try a monthly payment, an exact payoff deadline, or a one-time extra payment. Compare the estimated date, interest, and chart paths.
- If you want to use the recurring plan, review the suggested monthly goal and save it explicitly.
The one-time extra payment in a simulation is not added to your recurring goal. Recorded history and projected balances are different: the chart does not turn a projection into a transaction. Interest estimates may differ from your lender's actual calculation.
Record what actually happened to the loan
Use the loan account's Add activity menu to record a payment, lender credit, charge, or interest on its actual date. A payment records both account sides as a transfer. The connected payment envelope shows the reserved cash used without counting a second expense in reports.
Record lender interest separately with Add interest. Simulator estimates do not post interest, and these forms do not automatically split a payment into principal, interest, and escrow. A lender credit reduces what you owe; it does not create Ready to Budget money.
Update balance lets you confirm the cleared loan balance. Confirming it reconciles cleared records without an adjustment. If it is wrong, review the proposed balance adjustment before applying it. Pending activity stays unlocked.
FIRE and card rewards
FIRE planning uses the assumptions you enter, such as savings, spending, and growth, to show a possible path toward financial independence. Card Rewards estimates value from the reward rules you configure and eligible spending in ReadyCents.
Both are estimates. They help compare scenarios but do not promise investment returns, card eligibility, or redemption value.
Business budgets, taxes, and exports
A Business subscription keeps a business budget separate from personal and household budgets under one account. Mark relevant transaction lines for taxes, choose a tax group and fiscal year, and use reports or CSV exports to prepare records for bookkeeping.
