Give every dollar a job. Assign your full income across categories until you hit exactly $0 remaining.
Zero-based budgeting means your income minus your expenses (including savings and debt payments) equals exactly zero. Every dollar that comes in is assigned to a category before the month begins. The concept was popularized in personal finance by Dave Ramsey and is used by millions of households to take control of spending.
The key insight is that "zero remaining" does not mean "zero in the bank." Savings, investments, and emergency funds are all budget categories. The point is to be intentional about where every dollar goes rather than wondering where it went at the end of the month.
Start by entering your monthly take-home pay (after taxes). Then work through each category and assign dollar amounts to every line item. The banner at the top tracks how much you have left to assign. Your goal is to get that number to exactly $0.
If you go over budget, the banner turns red and shows the overage. Adjust your categories until everything balances. The default categories cover the most common expense groups, but you can add, rename, or remove any category or line item to match your actual life.
While every situation is different, a common guideline is to spend roughly 25-35% on housing, 10-15% on transportation, 10-15% on food, 10-15% on savings and investments, 5-10% on insurance and health, and divide the rest among utilities, personal spending, and debt payments. The summary section below the budget shows your actual percentages for comparison.