Beacon Budget funds your expenses automatically by lining up two things: your funding schedule (when money comes in) and each expense’s due date (when the bill is due).
Every time your funding schedule runs, Beacon works out how much to move into each bucket so the money is there by the due date. You set it up once. After that it keeps pace with your bills on its own.
Here’s how each piece fits together.
Create a funding schedule
A funding schedule tells Beacon how often to move money into your buckets. Most people match it to their pay schedule, but it can be anything:
- Weekly
- Bi-weekly (every other Friday)
- Monthly (the 15th and the last day)
- Daily
- A custom recurring pattern
To create one:
- Open the side panel (the menu that replaced the Profile tab).
- Select Funding Schedules.
- Tap the Add (+) button.
From there you’ll set a few things.
Name
Pick something you’ll recognize later, like “Biweekly Paycheck” or “Side Hustle Income.”
Frequency
Select the next upcoming date the schedule should run. It has to be in the future. Then choose how often it repeats.
Say you’re paid every other Friday. Select your next payday, and set it to repeat every 2 weeks.
Funding source
This is where the money comes from to fund your buckets.
- By default, it pulls from Free-to-Spend.
- For a more advanced setup, you can set the source to another bucket instead. This is how you fund next month’s expenses in advance, walked through at the end of this guide.
Status
- Active runs the schedule automatically.
- Paused turns it off for now without deleting it.
Once you save, the schedule is ready to fund your expenses.
Create an expense group
Expense groups keep your buckets organized. A few common ones:
- Housing
- Bills and Utilities
- Groceries
- Transportation
- Loan Payments
- Entertainment
- Education
To create one:
- Go to the Buckets tab.
- Tap the indicated area, or long-press the Add (+) button.
- Enter a name, a color, and an emoji.
You can change the emoji anytime by tapping the emoji field.
Create an expense
Expenses are your recurring obligations: rent, Netflix 📺, groceries, electricity, insurance, and the like.
Each expense has three parts:
- A target amount
- A due date
- A funding schedule
Beacon moves money into the bucket every time that funding schedule runs.
Create from scratch
- Open your Buckets page.
- Tap Add.
- Fill in the details.
Create from a transaction
- Open a transaction in Activity.
- Tap the ellipsis (⋯) in the top right.
- Select Create Expense.
This one is handy when you’re reviewing recent spending and realize a purchase should have been an expense all along.
Expense setup fields
Name
What the expense is, like “Rent,” “Netflix,” or “Electric Bill.”
Assign to group
Choose an expense group. You can create a new one right from this screen if you need to.
Balances
Current is an amount you want to add to the bucket right away. You need available Free-to-Spend funds to enter a current balance. Use it when:
- A funding just happened.
- The expense is coming up soon.
- You want to top it off immediately.
Target is the amount the expense is expected to be. If you’re not sure, round up a little so you don’t underfund it. For example, if groceries run you $400 to $500 a month, set the target to $500.
Schedule
Select the next due date, which has to be in the future, then choose how it recurs:
- Monthly on the 1st
- Every 3 months
- Yearly
- A custom recurrence
Funding
Pick which funding schedule pays for this expense. This is the link between when money is added and when the bill is due.
Spending type
- Merchant if you usually spend at the same place.
- Category if the merchant varies but the purpose stays the same.
Contribution types
This is the part that decides how much moves each time. You have three options, and the right one depends on the kind of bill.
Reach Target Balance
Fill up to the target, then stop.
Reach Target Balance automatically adjusts each contribution so the bucket reaches its target by the due date without overfunding. When the bucket is fully funded, the contribution drops to $0 until more is needed.
Here’s the math it runs:
- It looks at your target amount, your current balance, and the number of funding events left before the due date.
- Then it divides:
Remaining Needed ÷ Remaining Fundings = Next Contribution
If you get ahead, contributions shrink. Once the target is reached, funding stops.
Example
- Target: $1,000
- Current: $200
- 4 fundings left
$800 ÷ 4 = $200 per funding.
Now say you manually add $100. The remaining need drops to $700, and there are still 4 fundings left, so each one becomes $175.
Hit $1,000 early? Contributions stop.
Best for:
- Fixed bills
- Known, exact amounts
- True sinking funds
Flexible Catch-Up
Stay consistent, even when you’re ahead.
Previously called “Set Aside Target Amount.” Same behavior, new name. You don’t need to do anything if you’re already using it.
Flexible Catch-Up tries to keep your contributions steady, but it raises future contributions if spending or a missed funding puts the bucket behind schedule. That way the bucket still reaches its target by the due date. If you’re on track, it keeps contributing the same amount each time.
Here’s the difference from Reach Target Balance: Flexible Catch-Up doesn’t stop once the target is reached. That’s useful when you want unspent money to roll into the next cycle as extra savings.
Example
You want $400 available for groceries by the end of the month, funded by two paychecks. Beacon starts by contributing $200 from the first paycheck.
If you spend $150 before the next funding lands, Beacon may increase the next contribution so the bucket still reaches $400 before the due date.
It’s a good fit when you want the target ready on time even if spending happens early.
Best for:
- Variable expenses
- Funding an expense gradually over time
- Cases where you’ll spend before the bucket is fully funded
Some examples: utilities, shared household expenses, medical expenses, and semi-variable bills.
Fixed Contributions
Same amount every cycle.
Fixed Contributions moves the same planned amount each funding cycle, no matter what the bucket balance is. Spending doesn’t change future contributions.
This one fits when you think in terms of “I want to budget $X per paycheck toward this category.” It helps to line up the bucket frequency with your funding schedule frequency so the math stays simple.
Example
You budget $400 a month for groceries, funded from two paychecks, so Beacon contributes $200 per paycheck.
Even if you spend between funding cycles, future contributions stay the same. So if you spend exactly what you contribute, the bucket naturally trends toward $0 by the end of the cycle.
Best for:
- Planned budget allocations
- Spending categories
- Consistent budgeting habits
Some examples: groceries, dining out, gas, personal spending, and vacation savings.
Which contribution type should I choose?
| If you want to… | Recommended type |
|---|---|
| Reach an exact balance by a due date | Reach Target Balance |
| Stay on track even if spending happens early | Flexible Catch-Up |
| Budget the same amount every cycle | Fixed Contributions |
Partial spending
When partial spending is enabled and a transaction is larger than the bucket balance, the remainder comes out of Free-to-Spend.
When it’s disabled, Beacon won’t auto-spend beyond the bucket balance.
Bucket types
Expense
Recurring obligations. Funded and spent from checking accounts.
Goal
Funded and spent from checking accounts. Best for short- to mid-term goals.
Vault
Funded from savings only, and it can’t be spent directly. Best for mid- to long-term goals.
How Beacon decides how much to move
Every time your funding schedule runs, Beacon looks at:
- Your current bucket balance
- The target amount
- The due date
- The funding frequency
- The remaining funding events
Then it answers one question: how much do I need to move right now so this bucket is ready on time? It recalculates each run, so the plan keeps up as bills and spending change.
Advanced: fund next month in advance
This one builds on everything above, so get your regular funding schedule and expenses running first. Once those are in place and the current month is covered, you can start funding next month before it begins, so your bills come out of money you set aside last month. This is the setup behind getting a month ahead.
The idea is to keep one holding bucket, a buffer, worth about a month of expenses, and have next month’s expenses draw from it instead of straight from your paycheck. It takes two funding schedules working together. One fills the buffer from your income, and one funds your expenses from the buffer.
1. Create the buffer bucket
- Go to the Buckets tab and tap Add.
- Name it something you’ll recognize, like “Buffer” or “One Month Ahead.”
- Set the target to about one month of your essential expenses.
2. Fill the buffer from your paycheck
Connect the buffer to your normal paycheck funding schedule, the same way you connect any expense. A slice goes in every payday. Give it time, since filling a full month usually takes several months of small contributions.
3. Point your expenses at the buffer
Once the buffer holds about a month of expenses, create a second funding schedule that your expense buckets will use.
- Open the side panel and select Funding Schedules.
- Tap Add (+) to create a new schedule, and set its frequency to match your paydays.
- For Funding source, choose your buffer bucket instead of Free-to-Spend.
- Save the schedule.
Then, on each expense, set its Funding to this new buffer-sourced schedule.
4. Let it run
Now your expenses fill from the buffer, which holds last month’s money, while your paycheck keeps refilling the buffer. The money still moves on your normal cadence. The only change is where each expense’s funding comes from, and that is what puts you a month ahead instead of a paycheck behind.