Custom Budget

How to build your own budget structure in Forbidden Finance with custom groups, flexible allocation types, and per-group rollover settings.

Overview

The Custom budget method gives you a blank canvas to build exactly the budget structure you want. You define your own groups, choose how each group is allocated (fixed amount, percentage of income, or remainder), and configure rollover independently for each group. There are no pre-set categories or required structures -- you decide everything. This method is available on Pro tier and above.

Custom is ideal for people who have tried other methods and know exactly what they want, or for anyone whose financial situation does not fit neatly into the other eight methods. You get the power of Zero-Based budgeting's detail with the flexibility to break any rule.

How to Set Up a Custom Budget

Open the Budget Wizard

Navigate to Budget and tap Create Budget. Select Custom from the method list.

Enter your monthly income

Enter your total monthly take-home pay.

Create your groups

Add as many groups as you need. Name them whatever makes sense for your life: Bills, Fun Money, Side Hustle Fund, Wedding, Vacation -- anything goes.

Choose an allocation type for each group

For each group, select one of three allocation types:

Fixed amount: A specific dollar amount (e.g., $1,200 for Rent).
Percentage: A percentage of your income (e.g., 15% for Savings).
Remainder: This group gets whatever is left after all other groups are funded. Only one group can be the remainder group.

Configure rollover per group

For each group, decide whether unused funds carry forward to the next month. You can enable rollover for some groups (like Vacation) and disable it for others (like Groceries).

Assign spending categories

Map your transaction categories to the appropriate groups.

Activate your budget

Review and tap Activate.

Allocation Types Explained

Type	Behavior	Best For
Fixed amount	The same dollar amount every month, regardless of income changes	Rent, loan payments, fixed subscriptions
Percentage	Scales with your income -- if income goes up, the allocation goes up	Savings, investing, flexible categories
Remainder	Receives whatever is left after all other groups are funded	Discretionary spending, buffer funds

You can mix all three types in a single budget. For example, use fixed amounts for bills, percentages for savings, and a remainder group for everything else.

Important: Only one group can use the "remainder" type. If you need multiple flexible groups, use percentages for the others and reserve remainder for your most flexible category.

Example Setup

Monthly income: $7,000.

Group	Type	Allocation	Rollover
Bills & Housing	Fixed	$2,400	Off
Groceries	Fixed	$600	Off
Savings	Percentage	20% ($1,400)	On
Vacation Fund	Fixed	$300	On
Investing	Percentage	10% ($700)	Off
Side Projects	Fixed	$200	On
Everything Else	Remainder	$1,400	Off

The Vacation Fund has rollover enabled, so unused money accumulates month over month. After six months of underspending by $50/month, the Vacation Fund has an extra $300 banked for a trip.

If your income increases to $7,500, the Savings group automatically adjusts to $1,500 (20% of $7,500), Investing adjusts to $750, and the Everything Else remainder absorbs the rest of the change.

Tips

Use the remainder group as your "spending money" bucket. Fund your obligations and savings first with fixed amounts and percentages, then let the remainder be your guilt-free spending allowance.

Enable rollover for sinking funds (Vacation, Holiday Gifts, Car Maintenance) where you are saving toward a specific future expense. Disable rollover for daily spending categories that should reset each month.

With full flexibility comes full responsibility. A Custom budget with too many groups can become difficult to maintain. Start with 5-8 groups and add more only if you find you need finer control.