Custom budget periods

This feature is managed from the Budget screen's period picker.

Accessing Custom Budget Periods

You can access custom budget periods by:

• Opening the Budget screen
• Tapping the current period in the top bar
• Switching from Month to Other Periods

An Edit button with a calendar icon (tooltip Edit) always appears next to the period name in the Budget screen header. When a custom period is selected, it opens that period’s editor. When a calendar month is selected, it opens the month editor instead (see Budget Screen).

What a Custom Budget Period Changes

When you select a custom period:

• The Budget screen uses that period's start and end dates instead of a calendar month
• Budget plans are loaded from that custom period instead of monthly plans
• Transactions and recurring previews are limited to that selected date range
• The top bar shows the custom period name, or its date range if it has no name

If the selected period ends before today, the Budget screen header also shows a small history icon to make it clear that you are viewing a past period.

Period Picker Layout

The Budget period picker opens as a full-screen selector with two tabs in the title area:

• Month - Standard month-based budgeting
• Other Periods - Your custom budget periods

Month Tab

The Month tab works like the normal month selector:

• Choose any month
• See income and expense totals on the tiles
• Switch the global budget view back to monthly mode

Selecting a month automatically clears the active custom budget period and returns the app to month-based budgeting.

Other Periods Tab

The Other Periods tab shows your saved custom periods grouped by timing:

• Future - Periods that have not started yet
• Active - Periods that include today
• Previous - Periods that already ended

Future and Previous groups can be collapsed or expanded. The Active group stays open. Previous periods load their totals when the group is expanded.

If there are no saved custom periods yet, the screen shows an empty state with a button to create one.

Period Card Information

Each custom period card can show:

• Name - Optional custom title
• Date range - The start and end dates
• Planned badges - Planned income and planned expenses
• Actual badges - Actual income and actual expenses in the period
• Trailing total - The current remainder/balance for the period
• Selection highlight - Indicates the active budget period
• More button - Opens actions for that period

If a period has a custom name, the picker shows that name with the date range underneath. If there is no custom name, the date range is used as the main title.

Selecting a Custom Period

Tap a period card to switch the Budget screen to that period.

When the picker is being used for full budget switching:

• The selected custom period becomes the active budget scope
• The Budget screen reloads immediately
• The picker closes after the new period is applied

The Use this period action in the more menu does the same thing.

Creating or Editing a Custom Period

Use the Add button in the picker header, or open an existing period and choose Edit.

The editor contains these fields:

Name

• Optional
• Lets you give the period a short label like Paycheck Cycle, Vacation, or School Term
• If left empty, Budgetum displays the date range instead

Start Date and End Date

• Define the exact inclusive range of the period
• If you move one boundary past the other, the editor automatically keeps the dates in a valid order

Budget Amount

• Optional
• If left empty, planned income is based on the period's income-category plans
• If set, the custom amount becomes the period's main income/budget total on the Budget screen

All Transactions

This switch controls whether the Budget screen includes only planned categories or the full category set inside the date range.

• On - Show all transactions in the selected date range, including categories that do not have a plan in this custom period
• Off - Limit the budget view to categories linked to this custom period's plans (while still allowing related planned sections to appear)

Income Section

This switch controls whether the income section is visible while that custom period is active.

• On - Show income categories and income totals normally
• Off - Hide the income section from the Budget screen for this period

Saving

Tap the checkmark in the top bar to save the period.

When you create a new period from the picker, Budgetum saves it, reloads the list, and automatically switches the Budget screen to the newly created period.

Managing Existing Periods

Open the more menu on a period card, or long-press the card, to access:

• Use this period - Apply it to the Budget screen
• Edit - Change its name, dates, or options
• Delete - Remove the custom period after confirmation

Deleting a custom period also deletes the plans stored specifically for that period.

If you delete the period that is currently selected, Budgetum returns the budget view to normal month mode.

When a Period Ends

If the custom period selected on the Budget screen has ended, Budgetum asks once what to do next. The dialog appears the next time you open the app or return to it from the background while the Budget tab is shown and no other screen is open. If you are on another tab at that moment, it waits until the next time. It is titled "<period> has ended", using the period's name or its date range, and shows the next dates.

• Not now — closes the dialog. The period stays selected and the dialog does not appear again for it. Tapping outside the dialog does the same.
• Move dates — keeps the same period and changes its dates to the next ones. Its plans and settings stay as they are. The period's previous results are no longer shown as a separate period; your transactions are not changed. When the new dates end, Budgetum asks again.
• Create next period — creates a new period with the next dates and selects it. The new period gets the same Budget amount, All Transactions and Income Section settings, and a copy of all category plans and set plans. The ended period stays unchanged in the Previous group.

Next dates:

• A period covering whole months continues by the same number of months, following the calendar. For example, Sep 1 – Sep 30 continues as Oct 1 – Oct 31, Sep 15 – Oct 14 as Oct 15 – Nov 14, and Jan 1 – Dec 31 as the next full year.
• Any other period continues with the same number of days. For example, a 14-day period Sep 6 – Sep 19 continues as Sep 20 – Oct 3.
• If several cycles were missed while the app was not opened, Budgetum goes straight to the cycle that includes today. It does not create the periods in between.

Name: if the name ends with its only number, the number goes up by one per cycle: Paycheck 3 becomes Paycheck 4, and Budget 2026 becomes Budget 2027. Other names are kept as they are, including names with a date range or more than one number. Two periods can have the same name; the picker shows each one's dates.

When the dialog does not appear:

• The period has no plans: no category or section plans, no set plans, and no Budget amount.
• A period with exactly the next dates already exists.
• You chose an already-ended period in the picker, for example to review past spending from Previous.
• You saved the period in the editor with an end date in the past.
• The dialog was already shown for this period, even if the app was closed without answering it.
• The selected period has not ended yet, or a calendar month is selected.

Using Plans with Custom Periods

Custom periods keep their own budget plans, separate from monthly plans.

This means:

• A category can have one plan for March 2026 and a different plan for a custom period that overlaps March
• Copy/import plan actions can use monthly plans or another custom period as the source
• Reopening the same custom period restores its saved plan values

This also makes custom periods useful as plan templates. For example, you can keep reusable periods for things like pay cycles, travel budgets, seasonal spending, or event planning, then copy those plans into a new month or another custom period when needed.

Tips for Using Custom Budget Periods

1. Name repeated periods clearly - Labels like Paycheck 1, Paycheck 2, or Summer Trip make them easier to recognize in the picker.
2. Use a custom budget amount for fixed-cycle budgeting - This is helpful when you budget against a paycheck amount rather than planned income categories.
3. Turn off All Transactions for stricter budgeting - This keeps the view focused on categories that are actually part of the custom plan.
4. Hide income when it is not useful - For spending-only periods, turning off the income section can simplify the screen.
5. Review past periods from the Previous group - It is useful for checking completed trips, pay cycles, or short-term plans without changing your monthly history.