Set up and manage budgets and recurring activity

Budgeting can feel like a lot when you are just starting. The basic idea is simple: choose how much you want to spend during a period, then compare your actual activity with that limit. Fireball helps you do this without requiring you to predict every purchase perfectly.

If you are new, start here

Use Fireball's Single Budget first. It is marked Simple because it gives you one total spending limit instead of asking you to plan every category. This gives you a clear picture of your overall spending. Over time, use Insights to learn your spending patterns. If you want more detail later, switch to Category Budgeting and set limits for individual categories.

1. Open Budget.
2. Choose Single Budget.
3. Choose a period. Monthly is a simple starting point because many bills are monthly. If you are paid weekly or fortnightly, it may make more sense to choose this. You can have the budget period to start on payday, turn on Align to payday when Fireball offers it.
4. Enter your spending limit: the most you plan to spend during that period. This is separate from your income.
5. Tap Add Budget. If Fireball shows Continue first, finish the setup screen and then tap Add Budget.

Your first limit does not have to be perfect. Treat the first few weeks as practice. You can change the limit after you see how your real spending looks.

What the budget choices mean

When you have no budgets yet, Fireball asks How would you like to budget? You can change modes later, so there is no permanent choice.

- Single Budget (Simple) uses one total spending limit for all the expenses Fireball counts in the budget.
- Category Budgeting (Detailed, Zero-based) gives separate limits to categories such as Food, Transport, or Entertainment. Choose this when you want to decide where each part of your spending should go.
- Flex Budgeting (Flexible) starts with income, subtracts fixed costs, and treats the rest as flexible spending money. It can be useful when you plan around your pay and fixed commitments, but it is not the easiest place to begin if budgeting is new to you.

Category Budgeting also has an optional Zero-based planning setting. Its simple idea is to give every dollar a job by planning where your income should go. Goal contributions and confirmed transfer commitments count as jobs too. You can turn it on or off later in Budget Settings.

Switching modes does not delete your work. Open the budget's gear icon, choose Budget Settings, and use Budget Mode to choose Category, Flex, or Single. Fireball saves each mode's budgets separately, so you can switch back later.

What the budget options mean

When you create or edit a budget, Fireball shows only the options that apply to it:

- In Category Budgeting, choose a category. Fireball may show suggestions under Your spending, or you can choose Select a category… and use Show all.
- Enter Spending Limit for a Single Budget or Budget Limit for a category budget.
- Choose the period Fireball offers, such as Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly, Quarterly, or Annually.
- If Fireball asks about Budget income, you can add an estimate or choose Skip for now. You can set it up later.
- Roll over unspent carries unused budget into the next period. It can be useful when you are building up money for an occasional larger expense, such as gifts or an annual bill. Leave it off if you want each period to stand on its own.
- Pause budget temporarily stops tracking an existing budget. It does not delete the budget.

Continue moves to the next setup screen when one is needed. Add Budget creates a budget, while Save Changes updates one you already have.

Read your budget without overthinking it

Your budget card compares your limit with the activity Fireball counts for the current period. Look for three simple questions:

1. What is my limit?
2. How much has Fireball counted so far?
3. How much time is left in this period?

The gauge can show forecast spend or spending remaining. If you prefer to see what is left, open the budget gear icon, choose Budget Settings, and turn on Show remaining budget.

Not every payment leaving an account is spending. Transfers are kept out of spending totals, and Single Budget excludes loan payments and savings transfers. This is why a budget total may not match the total of every bank debit.

Change a budget later

Tap the budget card for the current period to edit it. You can change its limit, period, rollover choice, or pause it, then tap Save Changes.

If you use Category Budgeting, tap + and choose Add budget when you want a separate limit for another category. Single Budget uses one overall spending limit.

If you are unsure what to change, change only the limit. Keep the rest the same until you have a few weeks of information. That makes it easier to understand why the number moved.

What recurring activity means

Recurring activity is something you expect to happen repeatedly, such as rent, a streaming subscription, a salary, or a regular transfer. It helps Fireball show what may happen next in forecasts and budgets.

A recurring item is an expectation for future activity. It is not a second copy of every transaction in your bank history. Confirmed recurring charges are counted in Activity and Budget, so review them before relying on the forecast.

Review Fireball's recurring suggestions

Fireball looks for patterns in your transaction history. A match in Needs review is a suggestion, not a fact you must accept.

1. Open Activity and choose Recurring.
2. In Needs review, tap Review or Confirm.
3. Check the name, amount, frequency, type, and the next expected date. For income, also check the source and the Next payday.
4. If the details are correct, choose Looks right or Confirm, depending on the sheet Fireball shows.
5. If it is not a repeating item, choose Not recurring for a charge or Exclude income for detected income.

If Fireball shows New payment details found, compare the new details with your real bill. Choose Keep my details only when the new details are the ones you want to use. If a bill or income is temporarily stopped, use Pause recurring charge or Pause recurring income when that option is available.

Add recurring activity yourself

To add a recurring charge that Fireball has not detected:

1. Open Activity and choose Recurring.
2. Tap +, then choose Recurring charge.
3. Enter the expense details in Add Transaction. The Recurring transaction switch starts on, so choose a frequency and check the next expected date before saving.
4. Save the transaction.

This creates the transaction you entered and an expected repeating item. It does not create future bank transactions automatically.

To add expected income:

1. Open Activity and choose Recurring.
2. Tap +, then choose Recurring income.
3. Enter the source, amount, frequency, and Next payday.
4. Tap Save income.

The income entry is used for planning. It does not rewrite your bank history.

A simple routine to follow

If budgeting still feels confusing, keep the routine small:

1. Open Budget once a week and compare the limit with the current period's activity.
2. Check Activity > All for obvious category problems. Use Organise and correct your transactions for the steps to change categories, transfers, or refunds.
3. Open Activity > Recurring and review only the items under Needs review. Confirm a suggestion only when you recognise it.
4. Adjust your limit after you have enough real spending to learn from. You do not need to rebuild your whole budget every week.

If Budget check-ins is on, Fireball may suggest a review when Category spending stays higher or lower than planned. Treat the suggestion as a prompt to review your limit; budgets never change automatically.

Fireball may also place a newly detected or changed recurring charge or income under Needs review. Check the amount and frequency before confirming it; recurring suggestions are not accepted automatically.

If a budget still does not make sense

First check the current period. Then check Recurring for an item with the wrong amount or frequency. If you use pending spending in your forecast, you can review Include pending spending in Budget Settings. If the issue is a transaction category, transfer, or refund, follow the separate transaction guide linked above.

If the numbers still do not match what you expect, contact support (in app or on the website) instead of guessing or deleting your history.

The in-app email includes privacy-safe diagnostic information. Do not include passwords, bank login details, full account numbers, or raw transaction details. If the email option does not open, email support@heliosstudio.app.