> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.budgetbandit.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Assign your first dollars

> Assign everything in Ready to Assign until the number reaches zero.

Budgeting in Budget Bandit is one task: take the money in Ready to Assign and hand
it out to categories until nothing is left to assign. You are deciding what each
dollar is for before you spend it.

## Find Ready to Assign

Open the Budget page. Ready to Assign sits at the top. It is the money that has
arrived in your accounts but has no job yet.

When you add an account with a balance, that balance shows up here. Add a $2,400
checking account and Ready to Assign reads $2,400.

More on the number itself: [Ready to Assign](/concepts/ready-to-assign).

## Assign money to categories

<Steps>
  <Step title="Cover what must be paid first">
    Start with the bills that come no matter what — rent or mortgage, utilities,
    minimum debt payments. Type the amount each one needs into its category's
    assigned field. The category's Available amount goes up by what you assign, and
    Ready to Assign goes down by the same amount.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Fund what you spend day to day">
    Move to groceries, gas, eating out, anything you spend on regularly. Assign
    what you expect to need this month. You are guessing the first time — that is
    fine. You will adjust as real numbers come in.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Give the rest a job too">
    Whatever is left still needs to go somewhere. Savings, a sinking fund for an
    annual bill, debt above the minimum, or a "fun money" category. Money with no
    job tends to leak.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Drive Ready to Assign to zero">
    Keep assigning until Ready to Assign reads \$0. Zero is the goal — it means every
    dollar has a job. This is what "zero-based" means, and it does not mean your
    accounts are empty.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## If you assign too much

If Ready to Assign goes negative, you assigned more than you have. Take money back
out of a category — lower an assigned amount, or move money between categories —
until Ready to Assign returns to zero or above.

Moving money between categories is normal and expected. Plans change mid-month.
See [Assign and move money](/budgeting/assign-and-move-money).

## Set targets so categories tell you what they need

Instead of guessing every month, give a category a target: $600 a month for
groceries, or $1,200 saved by December for a trip. The category then shows how
much it still needs, and [Auto-assign](/budgeting/auto-assign) can fill the gaps
for you.

Start here: [Set a target](/budgeting/set-a-target).

<Note>
  Type amounts in dollars. `600` and `600.00` both mean \$600. You can also type a
  quick sum like `40+25` into an assigned field and the app does the math.
</Note>

## Next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Your first week" icon="list-check" href="/getting-started/first-week">
    Record spending, reconcile, and make the budget match reality.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Cover overspending" icon="triangle-exclamation" href="/budgeting/cover-overspending">
    When a category goes red, here is how to fix it.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

If a number looks off, see [Budgeting troubleshooting](/troubleshooting/budgeting).