Step 1
Set up what you want to track
- Open the Categories tab
- Find your setup and category list
- This is not your transaction history
Open Categories to organise what you track.
Use this page for setup, not transaction history.
This read-only overview does not save anything.
Step 2
Read the monthly budget card
- Check the current calendar month
- Income funds the monthly budget
- Add budget opens the income form
Monthly budget shows this month's recorded income.
Our sample total is eighty-five thousand rupees, not a live bank balance.
Add budget opens the income form; avoid recording the same income twice.
Step 3
Allocation is not spending
- Limits allocated: INR 35,500
- Left to allocate: INR 49,500
- These figures are not remaining cash
Allocated to categories totals the configured limits: thirty-five thousand five hundred rupees.
Left to allocate is forty-nine thousand five hundred: income minus those limits.
Limits repeat monthly; these figures are not spending or remaining cash.
Step 4
One place to add a category
- Find My categories
- Add category opens the editor
- Choose Expense, Savings or Debt
My categories has one central Add category button.
Choose Expense, Savings or Debt; grouping is automatic.
Custom editing may need an ad unlock; built-in budget edits do not.
Step 5
Search before adding another
- Find Search categories
- Search looks for matching names
- Clear it to see the broader list
Search categories finds matching names.
Clear an active search to restore the broader list.
Search does not change your total allocation.
Step 6
Money you owe has its own group
- Find My loans & debts
- Home Loan is a sample debt category
- Repayment targets are not payments
My loans and debts holds money you owe.
Home Loan is a synthetic example.
Repayment targets are plans, not saved payments.
Step 7
Savings and accounts stay separate
- Find Savings & accounts
- Emergency Fund is a sample goal
- Contributions need recorded transactions
Savings and accounts holds categories such as Emergency Fund.
Set a monthly contribution or overall goal here.
Goals do not create deposits; record actual money movements separately.
Step 8
Credit cards are a kind of debt
- Find My credit cards
- ICICI Platinum is synthetic sample data
- Use your actual card terms
My credit cards separates card debt from other loans.
ICICI Platinum is sample data, not a connected account.
Credit cards are You-owe Debt categories, not another category purpose.
Step 9
Money owed to you is different
- Find Money lent
- Family Loan belongs to Owe you
- Collection targets are not cash received
Money lent means money owed to you.
Family Loan uses Owe you, not You owe.
Collection targets do not record cash received.
Step 10
Custom expenses get their own group
- Find My expense categories
- Pet Care has a sample spending limit
- A limit is not a saved purchase
My expense categories contains custom categories, such as Pet Care.
This budget label is a limit, not a saved purchase.
Existing income categories may appear separately; Income is not a new-editor option.
Step 11
Built-in categories have fixed basics
- Find Default Categories
- Edit budget changes an expense limit
- Built-in names and icons stay fixed
Default Categories contains Pennie's built-in categories.
Edit budget changes an expense limit.
Built-in names and icons stay fixed.
Subcategories are entered with transactions, not on this page.
Step 12
Disabled is not deleted history
- Find Disabled Categories
- Enable restores a disabled category
- Disabling affects Dashboard and reports
Disabled Categories are unavailable for new transactions, like Closed Loan.
Enable restores a disabled category.
Disabling hides it from Dashboard and reports, but does not erase its saved transactions.
Step 13
Choose your next setup task
- Need Help opens the public guide
- Use the right category purpose
- Next: default versus custom categories
Need Help opens Pennie's public guide.
Next, learn default versus custom categories.
Creating a category alone does not teach notification suggestions; confirmed saved transactions do.