This tutorial covers creating your own budget manually, but if you have been using Quicken for awhile, you can also Let Quicken automatically create a budget which you can then edit. You can also create a copy of an existing budget, which is useful if you want to edit an existing budget but not replace it.
Why Create a Budget Manually from Scratch?
If you have been using Quicken for some time, you may want to create a budget manually so you are more involved with analyzing your spending patterns while establishing budgeted amounts. You can run a Quicken Category Report to get your average spending amounts, or use the Analyze button in the Quicken Budget Set Up as you set up your budget to see average amount for a category. The Analyze button is explained in Step 5 - Quicken Tools for Budgeting.
If you just started using Quicken, you will need to create a budget manually, from scratch, because Quicken needs several months of transactions to create a meaningful budget for you automatically.
Start Your Budget
To start creating you Quicken budget from scratch, click on Planning at the top of Quicken, then click on Budget. You can also click on the Financial Overview tab in Quicken, then click on the Budget link found under Tools on the right.
Quicken Tip: Quicken will save multiple budgets, but you can only use one budget at a time.
