Spend from an Envelope

Spending isn’t a separate action you take on an envelope directly. It happens automatically whenever you record a transaction and tag it with that envelope. This page explains that link; for the full mechanics of recording a transaction, see the Transactions guide.

How Spending Affects an Envelope

Every transaction you record can be tagged with an envelope. When it is:

The envelope’s spent amount increases by the transaction amount.
Its remaining balance (allocated minus spent) decreases to match.
If spending pushes the envelope past its allocated amount, it’s marked overspent, visible on the dashboard and on the envelope itself, and never blocked by Moniqo.

Steps

From the Envelopes page, select Add Transaction on the envelope you’re spending from, or open the envelope’s detail page and use Add Transaction there.
Fill in the transaction details (amount, account, date, payee) as described in the Transactions guide. The envelope is pre-filled for you.
Save the transaction. The envelope’s spent and remaining amounts update immediately.

You can also tag a transaction with an envelope from the regular transaction entry flow. Add Transaction from an envelope is just a shortcut that pre-fills which envelope to use.

Notes

An envelope’s spent amount is always a computed total of its tagged transactions, so you can’t edit it directly. To correct a spent amount, edit or delete the transaction itself.
Every envelope’s detail page shows the full list of transactions tagged to it, along with a running balance; see Manage Envelopes.

Tips

Tag transactions with an envelope as you record them, rather than in a batch later. It keeps your remaining balances accurate day to day, which is most of the value of using envelopes at all.
If a purchase spans more than one category (a shopping trip with both groceries and household items), consider splitting it into separate transactions so each envelope reflects reality.

Next Steps

If an envelope runs low before you expect it to, see Move Money Between Envelopes to cover the difference from elsewhere in your budget.

Spend from an Envelope