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THE BUDGETING WIZARD

The Finish Line (Step 12)

Step 12 is where you close out the zero-sum. Hit Smart Allocate, drop remaining cash into goal pills, or nudge a category manually.

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The Finish Line is the final allocation step. The big "Amount left to assign" number at the top shows what still needs a home. When it hits $0 and turns lime, you're done.

Three ways to finish

  • Smart Allocate — one click, uses the priority waterfall (emergency fund → debt → investments → lifestyle).
  • Allocation pills — tap a category pill to nudge its allocation up by a preset amount.
  • Goal pills — if you've created goals on the /goals page, they appear here as pills. Drop extra dollars into a specific goal (vacation, new laptop, house deposit).

Good to know

Smart Allocate never touches what you've already set. It only fills the remaining gap, so use it whenever and as many times as you like.

Tip

If you over-shot, the remaining counter goes negative and red. Use the allocation pills to trim categories down, or roll back an investment contribution, until the counter reads $0.

More in The budgeting wizard

Picking a strategy in the Debt Destroyer (Step 9)

Step 9 lets you choose Snowball or Avalanche. Both use the same monthly budget — only the order of attack differs.

Using the Safety Net step (Step 7)

The Safety Net step sets your emergency fund target and tells Payday Audit how much to allocate each income deposit.

Using Workplace Investment Matching (Step 8)

Step 8 helps you track workplace investing and employer match amounts that are already handled before your take-home income arrives.