How to track interest and fees

Interest charges and fees are real expenses that reduce your money — they deserve to be tracked just like groceries or rent.

Why track interest separately?

If you lump interest into your debt payment category, you can’t see how much of your payment goes toward principal vs. interest. Tracking them separately gives you:

• Visibility into the true cost of carrying debt
• Motivation to pay off balances faster (watching $50/month go to interest stings)
• Accurate Spending Reports showing fees as a distinct expense

Setting up an Interest & Fees category

On the Configuration tab, create a new Reportable category (✧):

• Name: “Interest & Fees” (or split into “Credit Card Interest” and “Bank Fees” if you want more granularity)
• Monthly Amount: Leave at $0 — you don’t want to budget for interest, you want to see it as a cost you’re trying to eliminate
• Goal Amount: Not needed

Recording interest charges

When your credit card statement shows an interest charge:

This increases what you owe on the credit card (the account balance goes up) and shows the interest as spending in your reports.

Recording bank fees

Same approach for overdraft fees, monthly maintenance fees, ATM fees, or wire transfer charges:

Recording loan interest

For loans (mortgage, auto, student), your monthly payment typically includes both principal and interest. You have two options:

Option A: Simple (recommended for most people) Log the full payment amount against your loan payment category. Don’t split it. This is simpler and still gives you accurate tracking of total outflows.

Option B: Split for visibility If you want to see exactly how much goes to interest vs. principal each month:

1. Log a split transaction — one row for principal (categorized to the loan payment category) and one for interest (categorized to Interest & Fees)
2. Your loan statement will show the breakdown

Option B is more work but gives you richer data in reports.

Using reports to track interest over time

Once you’re logging interest consistently:

• Spending Reports will show “Interest & Fees” as a category with monthly totals
• Trend Reports will show whether your interest costs are going up or down over time
• As you pay down debt, you should see interest charges decrease month over month

This declining trend line is one of the most satisfying things to watch in a debt payoff journey.

Tips

• Don’t fund the Interest & Fees category. Leave it at $0 Monthly Amount. When interest hits, it’ll show as overspent — which is technically accurate. Cover it by moving money from Available to budget or another category.
• Check statements for hidden fees. Annual fees, balance transfer fees, and foreign transaction fees are easy to miss. Log them all.
• If interest motivates you, add up your total yearly interest and put that number somewhere visible. That’s the price of carrying debt.

Related reading

• How to pay off debt
• How to handle credit cards
• Spending Reports Tab overview