Allocate every dollar of income to a category using zero-based budgeting.
Creates a zero-based budget where every dollar of income is assigned a job — spending, saving, or debt repayment — until the remaining balance is exactly zero. Analyzes your current spending patterns to create a realistic starting budget, then identifies reallocation opportunities.
spending_summary — get current spending by category to inform budget allocationstransaction_search — find income transactions to establish total monthly incomeRun transaction_search with query: "paycheck OR salary OR direct deposit OR income OR freelance" and months: 3 to identify all income sources.
Calculate average monthly income from the results. If income is variable, use the lowest of the 3 months as the planning baseline.
Run spending_summary for the last 3 months to get average spending per category.
Build the initial budget template using actual spending as the starting point:
ZERO-BASED BUDGET
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Monthly Income: $X,XXX.XX
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NEEDS (Target: 50% = $X,XXX)
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Housing/Rent $X,XXX (actual: $X,XXX)
Utilities $XXX (actual: $XXX)
Groceries $XXX (actual: $XXX)
Transportation $XXX (actual: $XXX)
Insurance $XXX (actual: $XXX)
Minimum Debt Payments $XXX (actual: $XXX)
Healthcare $XXX (actual: $XXX)
WANTS (Target: 30% = $X,XXX)
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Dining Out $XXX (actual: $XXX)
Entertainment $XXX (actual: $XXX)
Shopping $XXX (actual: $XXX)
Subscriptions $XXX (actual: $XXX)
Personal Care $XXX (actual: $XXX)
SAVINGS & DEBT (Target: 20% = $X,XXX)
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Emergency Fund $XXX
Retirement $XXX
Extra Debt Payment $XXX
Other Savings Goals $XXX
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TOTAL ALLOCATED: $X,XXX.XX
REMAINING TO ASSIGN: $0.00
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Compare actual spending to the 50/30/20 guideline. Flag categories where actual exceeds the guideline.
If total actual spending exceeds income, identify the largest "wants" categories and suggest reductions to bring the budget to zero.
If there is surplus after covering all actuals, suggest allocating it to savings or debt repayment.
Present the final budget with all dollars assigned and remaining balance at exactly $0.
=SUM(BudgetColumn) should equal your income. If not, adjust until it does.=Income - SUM(B2:B30) — this cell should read $0.