If you’ve been following along and setting up Quicken as you work through this guide, you now know where your money is going, and where you stand regarding your upcoming bills and income. Knowing these critical facts about your finances sets the stage for the next huge benefit of Quicken: keeping your spending in line with your income. And relax, you don’t need to track each and every penny; tracking just a few critical spending categories is usually enough to keep your expenses under control.

How does Quicken do it? This will sound familiar: a section on the Home tab makes it easy to see if you’re coming in under your target or if you’re in danger of blowing your budget.

1. Click the Home tab

2. Click Get Started, in the Budget Your Spending section.

3. Enter a name for your budget and then OK. Quicken creates a budget for your recurring personal expense categories.

4. When you’ve finished, the Budget Your Spending section on the Home tab shows you how you’re doing with your overall spending.