How to Set Up a Budget in Quicken

Assign Budgeted Amounts to Income and Expense Categories

Assign Budgeted Amounts to Income and Expense Categories in Quicken

Screen Shot by Shelley Elmbald

1. Click on the category you want to enter an amount for.
2. If necessary, choose an option for entering the budget amount from the options on the right under Method, which are listed below.
3. Enter budget amounts.
4. If you want Quicken to alert you when you spend a certain amount for that budget category, check the box next to "Notify me..." then enter the spending limit for the alert. This step is optional.
5. Click on Apply, then move to the next budget category. Your Quicken budget is saved as you go while entering amounts for each category.
   • Average amount: Click to use for categories that are the same amount every day, week, month, etc. like Dues might be. Or, use this option for entering an average amount for a budgeted category that fluctuates by entering the average of the fluctuating amounts.

     If you use Average amount, you will see Amount and Period fields that need to be filled in. Period defaults to Monthly, and you can click on Monthly to change to Daily, Quarterly, Yearly, etc.

   • Monthly detail: Monthly detail is an ideal option to use if you have budgeted expenses that differ from month to month and you want to enter the actual expected amounts for each month.

   • Quarterly detail: Use Quarterly detail to enter budget amounts for each quarter, or for only some quarters during the year.

     You do not need to use the same budget method option for each category. For example, you can enter the average amount for Charity and Groceries, then use the monthly detail to enter budgeted amounts for Gas Utility because this expense is typically higher in the winter if you have gas heat. Then, you can switch to the Quarterly detail to enter amounts for insurance or a newspaper subscription.

• Start Creating a Budget With Quicken
• Name Your Budget
• Choose Budgeted Income and Expense Categories
• Assign Budgeted Amounts to Income and Expense Categories
• Quicken Tools for Budgeting
• Save or Edit Your Budget in Quicken