Run a monthly budget check-in with numbers you type

What you'll need

• A first pass already done with Make a monthly budget, or a simple list of needs, wants, and what is left
• This month's take-home pay and the amounts you actually spent, from your own notes
• No bank password and no full account numbers

Step 1: Compare the plan to this month

This is a monthly budget check-in. Use only the numbers I type. If a category is missing, ask. Do not invent a rent, a grocery bill, or a debt payment.

Plan I made earlier:
[paste the needs, wants, and leftover from your first budget]

This month's take-home pay: [amount]
What I actually spent, by category: [item: amount]
Bills I know are due before next payday: [name, amount, date]

Show me:
1. Where I spent more or less than the plan, using only these numbers
2. What is left after the bills I listed
3. Three cuts I could make from wants I already listed, with the amounts I gave you
4. Whether a 50/30/20 split (needs, wants, savings) even fits these numbers. If needs are already over half, say that and do not force the split

Do not suggest a new job, a new loan, or a price I did not type.

Step 2: Choose one cut and one bill

Pick one cut you will actually do, and one bill you will pay on the date you listed. Ignore the other two cuts until next month.

I will pause [one want] and pay [one bill] on [date].
Rewrite next month as a short table with those two decisions only.
Do not add a savings challenge or a new category.

Step 3: Save the prompt for next month

Copy the step 1 prompt into a note titled "budget check-in." Next month, replace the numbers. You do not need a new method. If the numbers live in a sheet, ask for a formula in the spreadsheet workflow instead of uploading the whole file.

Common mistakes

• Starting here with no first budget. Use the other page to sort the month once.
• Letting the chat fill a "typical" grocery amount. That number is fiction.
• Treating 50/30/20 as a grade. It is a lens. Your rent is your rent.
• Pasting a bank export that includes account numbers. Type the totals.

Privacy: what not to paste

Type category totals, not a downloaded statement full of account numbers, employers, or medical charges you would rather keep vague. "Pharmacy: 40" is enough if you do not want the drug names in a chat log. Never paste a password or a photo of a card. This check-in is not advice from a financial advisor. For tax, debt collection, or a loan, talk to a qualified person.

Director check: look before you use it

• Does every figure trace to a number you typed? If not, delete the row.
• Did you pick one cut, not three? Three cuts you will not do is a story.
• Is the bill date one you chose? The chat does not know your due date unless you typed it.
• Are you making a debt or tax decision from this table? Stop and ask a qualified person.

One extra tip

If the first sort is stale, rerun Make a monthly budget before this check-in. The two pages are a pair. They are not two different budgets. More money-adjacent guides, including comparing a purchase, are on the Life hub.