Managing Envelopes
NeoBudget uses the envelope method of budgeting. The idea is that you're putting cash into physical envelopes. When you go to the grocery store you pull out the "Grocery" envelope and pay with that cash. But really, who uses cash these days? NeoBudget uses virtual envelopes but the concept is the same.
First click on the "Manage Envelopes" button in the bottom left corner of an account. This pulls up a page that lets you create new envelopes, change their names, give them a unique color, and reposition them by dragging them around the screen.
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Adding and Editing Envelopes
To add a new envelope click on the "New Envelope" link on any of the empty spaces. A popup box appears that lets you set the name and color of your envelope. If you don't know where to start you'll find some suggestions for common envelopes on the right side of this box.
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Editing envelopes works in a similar way. On an existing envelope click on the "Edit" link and this same popup box appears. You can change the name and color then click "Save."
Moving Envelopes Around
NeoBudget is designed to be visually oriented. As such most people like to organize similar envelopes together. You can move envelopes around by clicking and dragging on an envelope then drop it on an empty slot.
If you want to put an envelope in a position that already has an envelope you'll need to first move that envelope out of the way.
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Archiving Envelopes
Sometimes envelopes are not needed any more. You wouldn't want to delete them because they contain transaction history that you'll want to keep but you also don't want them visible for day-to-day use. This is where archiving comes in handy. You can archive an envelope to hide it from your list of envelopes but it still stays around for historic purposes.
To archive an envelope you must first make sure all the money has been moved out of it to somewhere else. You can only archive an envelope that has a 0.00 balance. Then click on the "Archive" link.
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Notice that now you'll see a link named "Show 1 archived envelope." Clicking on this lets you see all your archived envelopes. You can restore an archived envelope by dragging it back up to your envelope list.
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Later if you view a transaction that was at one point allocated to an archived envelope you'll see this archvied envelope again. But under normal circumstances all your archived envelopes will be hidden.
Next we'll set a starting balance for your account.
