How to add income

When money enters your life — a paycheck, a freelance payment, a refund — you need to record it in Aspire and then assign it to categories so it has a job.

Recording income

1. Open the Transactions tab.
2. In the next empty row, enter:

Once saved, your Available to budget balance will increase by that amount.

Assigning the income

After recording the income, head to the Category Transfers tab to give those new dollars a job:

1. Look at the Available to budget amount — it should reflect your new income.
2. For each category that needs funding, add a transfer from “Available to budget” to that category.
3. Use the Category Selector on the right side to check each category’s Monthly Amount and how much has been funded so far this month.
4. Keep going until Available to budget reaches zero.

Not sure how to prioritize? Fund in this order:

1. Immediate obligations (rent, utilities due soon)
2. Everyday needs (groceries, transportation)
3. Upcoming bills (insurance, subscriptions)
4. Savings and goals
5. Discretionary spending (dining, entertainment)

Handling different income scenarios

Regular paycheck

If you get paid the same amount on a predictable schedule, this is straightforward. Log the income on payday, then fund your categories.

Variable income (freelance, tips, commissions)

When your income varies:

• Budget only what you’ve actually received — never future income
• Fund your most critical categories first
• When additional income arrives, fund the next priority
• Consider building a buffer category that holds one month’s expenses to smooth out the ups and downs

Refunds and reimbursements

When you receive a refund for something you previously spent:

• Record it as a transaction with the amount in the Inflow column
• Categorize it to the same category you used for the original purchase (e.g., a clothing return goes back to “Clothing”)
• This restores the balance in that category

Alternatively, you can categorize refunds to Available to budget and reallocate from there — either approach works.

Side income or one-time windfalls

Tax refunds, bonuses, or selling something on Marketplace — treat these like any other income. Log the amount in the Inflow column, then decide deliberately where to assign it. Resist the urge to immediately spend a windfall; assign it to categories like savings or debt payoff first.

Tips

• Log income immediately when it hits your account. This makes the money available for assignment right away.
• Don’t leave money in Available to budget. Unassigned money is money without a plan. Even if you’re saving it, assign it to a savings category.
• If paid twice monthly, you can fund half your categories on the first paycheck and the rest on the second. The Category Selector’s “funded this month” view helps you track what’s already been covered.

Related reading

• How to move money between categories
• Category Transfers Tab overview
• The Aspire Method