Your First Spending Plan

What's a Spending Plan?

A spending plan is exactly what it sounds like: a plan for your spending.

Before money leaves your account, you decide where it goes. Not after. Before.

This is different from tracking expenses after the fact. Tracking tells you what happened. A spending plan tells your money what to do.

In Solvent, we use a method called zero-based budgeting. It sounds technical, but it's simple: your income minus your planned spending equals zero. Every dollar has a job.

Why “Spending Plan” Instead of “Budget”?

Words matter.

“Budget” feels like restriction. Like someone telling you what you can't have. Like a diet.

“Spending plan” feels like intention. Like you're in charge. Like you're choosing where your money goes because you've decided what matters.

Same math. Different relationship.

Before You Start

To create your first spending plan, you'll need:

• Your accounts set up — So you know what you're working with
• Your expected income for the month — What's coming in?
• About 20-30 minutes — The first time takes longer. After that, it's faster.

Got those? Let's go.

Step by Step: Creating Your First Spending Plan

Step 1: Set Your Income

In the Spending Plan section, you'll first enter your expected income for the month.

If you have a regular salary, this is straightforward. If your income varies (hello, freelancers), use your best estimate or your minimum expected income. You can always adjust as money comes in.

Step 2: List Your Categories

Solvent comes with common categories to start, but you can customize them to match your life:

Fixed Expenses (these don't change much)

• Rent/Mortgage
• Utilities
• Insurance
• Subscriptions
• Loan payments

Variable Expenses (these flex month to month)

• Groceries
• Transportation/Gas
• Dining out
• Entertainment
• Personal care

Financial Goals

• Debt payments (beyond minimums)
• Savings contributions
• Goal funding

Step 3: Assign Amounts

Now, go through each category and assign a dollar amount.

Start with your fixed expenses—those have to be paid. Then move to your variable expenses. Finally, allocate what's left to your financial goals.

The goal is to get to zero. Income minus all planned spending equals zero.

If you have money left over, that's great—assign it somewhere intentional (savings, debt, goals).

If you're short, that's information. You'll need to either increase income or reduce spending somewhere. The plan makes this visible before it becomes a problem.

Step 4: Review and Save

Look at your completed plan. Does it reflect your priorities? Are you funding the things that matter to you?

If something feels off, adjust. This is your plan. It should feel like yours.

Your First Month Won't Be Perfect

Each month, you'll get better at predicting. You'll learn your patterns. You'll refine your categories. By month three, you'll wonder how you ever lived without this.

Planned vs. Actual

Once your plan is set, you'll start logging transactions. As you do, Solvent shows you planned vs. actual—what you intended to spend vs. what you actually spent.

This is where conscious spending lives.

When you see you've used 80% of your dining budget with a week left in the month, you have a choice. Not a lecture. A choice.

You might decide to eat at home for a week. You might decide dining out is worth it and adjust something else. Either way, you're choosing consciously.

Tips for Your First Spending Plan

Start simple

Don't create 47 categories. Start with 10-15. You can add more as you learn your patterns.

Be realistic

If you've been spending $600 on groceries, don't plan for $300. You'll just feel like a failure. Start where you are.

Plan for the unexpected

Include a “Buffer” or “Miscellaneous” category. Life happens.

Review weekly

Especially in the beginning. A quick weekly check-in helps you stay conscious without feeling overwhelmed.

Adjust without shame

Moved money from one category to another? That's not cheating. That's conscious spending in action.

What Comes Next

With your spending plan in place, you're ready to start logging transactions. Each one is a ten-second check-in with your plan. Category. Amount. Done.

Over time, you'll build a clear picture of your relationship with money—not just where it goes, but why.

You've set up your accounts. You've made your plan. Now comes the practice.

And that's where everything changes.