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New Item - Click if you want to add a new expense item description. You will be prompted to Select Category and choose the expense category to which you want to add an expense item. In Item Description, type the name of the new Current Item that you want to add to your expense list. Within New Item, you may also Reload Items, which allows you to reload all of the default budget expense items that were listed under Current Item, in case you deleted one in the past and you would like to use it again.
New Budget - Click if you want to create a new budget for the current user. You will be prompted to enter a Budget Name, Monthly Net Income, and monthly expenses for the various Budget Categories.
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Analyze Budget - Click to view suggestions on what you can do to adjust areas where you are overspending. BudgetSmart will offer suggestions only for those budget categories where your spending is over budget or where your saving is under budget.
New User - Click if you want to add a new user. The current budget will exit. The Add New User – Enter Information screen will appear and you will be prompted to enter your First Name and Last Name. the program will automatically assign you a User Name, but if you choose to, you can type in the User Name of your choice. If you choose, you can also assign a password for the new user. If you type in a password, you must select a question or type a question and answer to the question that will be used in case you forget your password later.
Switch Users - Click if you want to switch users. The current budget will exit. The BudgetSmart Login screen will appear and you will be prompted to select the desired User Name.
Exit - Click to exit the program. Your data will automatically be saved and backed up.
Edit Category – Click to change the names of any of the 12 master Budget Categories. You will be prompted to Select Category and then enter a new Category Name. Finally, type the new Category Name you wish to use and click Save.
Edit Item - Click to change the description of a budget expense item. You will be prompted to Select Category where the expense item appears and then choose the Current Item that you wish to edit. Then type the new expense item description.
Delete Item - Click to delete a budget expense item from a budget category. You will be prompted to Select Category, where you will select the budget category within which you want to delete a Current Item. Highlight the Current Item to be deleted and then click Delete. You are not permitted to delete a budget expense item that is currently being used. Within Delete Item, you may also Reload Items, which allows you to reload all of the default budget expense items that were listed under Current Item, in case you deleted one in the past and you would like to use it again.
Add Year to Budget - Click to extend the current budget into the next calendar year. BudgetSmart will automatically copy December’s budget data into each month of the following year.
Copy Budget - Click to make a duplicate copy of a budget. You will be prompted to Select Budget to choose the budget you want to copy. You will then Select Year to choose the year of the budget you want to copy. You will then be asked for a Budget Name for your soon to be copied budget. You can use this copy to analyze a financial scenario like buying a car or home and view its budget impact without altering your “master budget” (the budget you copied). To save time, BudgetSmart will retain the same category and expense items from the “master budget.” You can choose to copy your current notes to the new budget.
Delete Budget – Click to delete a budget that you no longer need. You will be prompted to choose Select Budget and Select Year of the budget that you want to delete. You have the option to delete all of the years or just one year for the budget you have chosen to delete.
Delete User – Click to delete a user who no longer needs to use BudgetSmart. You will be prompted to Select User to choose the user you want to delete. You may not delete the user who is currently logged on.
Current Monthly Budget - Click to view a bar chart that displays budgeted and actual expenses (by Budget Category) for the current month.
Year-to-Date by Category - Click to view a bar chart that displays budgeted and actual expenses (by Budget Category) for the entire year-to-date.
Year-to-Date by Month - Click to view a bar chart that displays budgeted and actual expenses (by month) for the entire year-to-date.
Spending by Budget Item - Click to view a bar chart that displays budgeted and actual expenses for each expense item in one Budget Category. The Report Options box allows you to choose the expense category from Select Category to display the expense items in that category. You can also select whether you would like to view data for a specific month or the entire year-to-date.
Current Monthly Budget - Click to view two pie charts that compare the percentage of budgeted vs. the percentage of actual expenses by Budget Category for the current month.
Year-to-Date by Category - Click to view two pie charts that compare the percentage of budgeted vs. the percentage of actual expenses by Budget Category for the entire year-to-date.
Calculator - Click to access a standard calculator.
Debt Calculator – Click to calculate the amount of interest you will pay on a specific Debt Amount, given Annual Interest Rate, and given Payment amount. The result shows you the Total Interest Charges, Number of Monthly Payments to pay the debt in full, and the Total Number of Years it will take to pay off the debt.
Future Savings Goals – Click to set your goals and determine the monthly savings required to achieve them. You will be prompted to Select Goal to choose a specific goal. You can then edit the Goal Description to describe the selected goal to meet your specific requirements. Click Next to proceed to the screen where you add the specifics for your goal. Add how much money you need to achieve your goal, when you need the amount you want to save, how much you have saved so far toward the goal, and what interest rate you expect to earn on the money you will be saving. Click Next and the calculation results appear. Click Add Savings to Budget to add the Monthly Savings Required to your budget.
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Contents and Index - Click to view BudgetSmart User Help text and screen shots to guide you.
About BudgetSmart - Click to view support information and the license agreement.
