How a monthly budget works
A monthly budget compares what comes in (salary, income, refunds) with what goes out (housing, groceries, transport, subscriptions…) over a month. The difference shows what is left to save or to cover unexpected expenses.
Key takeaway
Simple categories
A few broad categories are often enough to see where money goes: fixed costs (housing, energy, insurance, subscriptions), everyday spending (food, transport) and one-off spending. Comparing several months helps tell an exceptional expense from a trend.
Budget and wealth
A transfer to your savings account or brokerage account is not an expense: the money simply changes account. Between two accounts tracked in the budget, PortefeuilleZen treats it as a neutral internal transfer; to a savings or investment account outside the budget, it shows as savings, never as consumer spending. Money coming in is never counted as income by default: an unqualified incoming transfer stays "to categorise".
Your bank labels
Bank transaction labels often contain sensitive data (name and IBAN of a counterparty, masked card number, references). PortefeuilleZen cleans them before anything is stored and keeps only a readable label (for example "Transfer received"), never the raw text.
Attention