By default, every budget category resets at the start of each month. If you budgeted $100 for car maintenance and spent $0, you start next month back at $100.
Turn on Rollover for a category, and any unspent balance carries forward as a credit. A $100 car-maintenance budget with $0 spent rolls into next month as $100 budgeted + $100 carried = $200 available.
When rollover is the right call
- Irregular categories — car repairs, vet visits, holiday gifts, annual subscriptions. The spend is real but doesn't hit every month.
- Sinking funds — saving up for a known future expense (camp, tires, the big trip) by budgeting a steady monthly amount that accumulates.
- Categories where overspending one month is normal — if your grocery budget naturally varies $50 month-to-month, rollover smooths it.
When to leave it off
- Reset-monthly categories — rent, mortgage, utilities. The bill is the bill; unspent room from one month isn't bonus money.
- Habit-shaping categories — restaurants, coffee, shopping. If the goal is to spend less, rolling unspent money forward weakens the constraint.
One important guarantee
Overspending neverrolls forward as a debt. If you spent $150 on a $100 rollover budget, next month starts fresh at $100 — you don't owe $50 against it. We're here to help you build good habits, not punish a one-off splurge.