Planned vs. Actual: Using Your Spending Plan
The Plan Is Just the Beginning
You've created your spending plan. Every dollar has a job. You feel organized, maybe even optimistic.
Now what?
Here's where most budgeting apps fail: they help you make a plan, then leave you alone until the end of the month when they show you how badly you missed it.
Solvent works differently. Every transaction you log shows you where you stand—planned vs. actual, in real time.
Not a report at month's end. A conversation throughout the month.
What You'll See
When you log a transaction in Solvent, you choose a category. Let's say you spent $45 on groceries.
Solvent immediately shows you:
That's it. Simple information. No judgment, no red warnings, no guilt.
Just clarity: here's your plan, here's reality, here's where you stand.
The Power of Real-Time Awareness
This real-time feedback changes everything.
Without it:
You spend freely, check your bank balance occasionally, and discover at month's end that you overspent on dining out by $200. Oops. Nothing to do about it now.
With it:
Halfway through the month, you see you've used 70% of your dining budget. You have information. You can choose: eat at home more this week, or consciously decide that dining out matters enough to pull from another category.
The outcome might be the same. But one is unconscious drift. The other is conscious choice.
When Actual Exceeds Planned
It's going to happen. You'll overspend in a category. Maybe this month, maybe next. Definitely at some point.
When it does, you have options:
Option 1: Move money from another category
This is the most common response. You overspent on groceries, so you move $50 from entertainment. The entertainment category shrinks; groceries gets what it needed. This isn't cheating. This is exactly how zero-based budgeting is supposed to work.
Option 2: Let it ride and learn
Sometimes you overspend and there's nothing to move. That's data for next month. Maybe your grocery budget was unrealistic. Maybe this month was unusual. Either way, you know now.
Option 3: Find more income
For some people, the answer isn't spending less—it's earning more. A side gig, selling something, picking up extra hours. This is a valid choice too.
The point isn't that one option is right. The point is that you're choosing consciously, not discovering problems too late to do anything.
The Weekly Check-In
While you can track daily, many people find a weekly rhythm works best.
Once a week—maybe Sunday evening or Monday morning—spend five minutes reviewing your spending plan:
- Where do you stand in each category? Any surprises?
- Are you on track for the month? If you're halfway through the month, are you roughly halfway through your budgets?
- Does anything need adjusting? Move money if needed.
Five minutes a week. That's all it takes to stay conscious.
Patterns Over Time
After a few months of planned vs. actual tracking, patterns emerge.
You might notice:
- You always overspend on groceries in weeks with holidays
- Your entertainment budget is consistently underspent
- Gas costs spike in months with road trips
These patterns are gold. They help you build more realistic plans. Instead of guessing what groceries should cost, you know what groceries actually cost—for your life, your family, your choices.
Solvent keeps this history so you can look back and learn.
When Plans Change Mid-Month
Life doesn't wait for the first of the month.
Car breaks down. Medical bill arrives. Unexpected opportunity comes up.
When this happens, adjust your plan. Right then. Don't wait until next month. Open Solvent, move money around, and make a new plan that reflects your new reality.
A plan that doesn't match reality isn't a plan—it's a fantasy. Conscious spending means staying honest with yourself, especially when things change.
The Goal Isn't Perfection
Some months you'll nail it. Planned and actual will line up beautifully.
Other months? Not so much.
Both are fine.
The goal isn't a perfect match between planned and actual. The goal is awareness. Knowing where you stand. Making choices on purpose instead of by accident.
A “bad” month where you overspent but knew exactly what was happening is better than a “good” month where you accidentally stayed under budget but had no idea why.
Consciousness is the win. The numbers follow.