We've said this before and we'll keep saying it: the great thing about Money Dashboard is that not only can you see where your money is going, you can also compare how you're spending your money against how you think you should be spending your money.
Follow these simple steps to set yourself a budget and start seeing how much money you're really spending on driving your car:
Step 1: Add your accounts
When you add your accounts, not only will Money Dashboard load your account balances but it will also load your most recent transactions. As your transactions load into Money Dashboard they will be automatically tagged, so whether you buy your fuel from Tesco, Shell or any of the other well known fuel stations, Money Dashboard will aim tag all your fuel transactions for you.
Step 2: Tag your Transactions
For any of your transactions which have not been automatically tagged, use the tagging tool in the Transactions panel to group similar spend. Don't forget it's not until you have grouped your spending that you can really start to see how you're spending your money.
For any of your transactions which have not been automatically tagged, use the tagging tool in the Transactions panel to group similar spend. Don't forget it's not until you have grouped your spending that you can really start to see how you're spending your money.
Step 3: Review your Spending
Once you've managed to group your spending go to the Tracking screen and you can clearly start to see how much you're spending on fuel.. Don't forget, whenever you use the car you're using fuel: travel to work, trip to the supermarket, pop round to see friends; it all adds up.
Step 4: Set yourself a Budget
In the Budgets screen set yourself a realistic budget; don't forget you can always make changes as the month goes by.
Regularly review how you're doing against your budget in the Tracking screen. If the budget you have set is too high then lower it and allocate the difference to another budget or towards your savings. If it's too low then something else will have to give!
You can adjust your budget at any point throughout the calendar month but at the end of the month the budget is fixed. Your historical budgets can be viewed in the Tracking screen but they can't be changed.
Follow these few simple steps today for setting yourself a budget and start seeing how much money you're really spending on fuel.
