To learn more about what Unallocated money is and what you can do with it, read our help article: What is Unallocated Money?

In this article we’ll cover some common questions related to Unallocated money.

​What is Unallocated Money?

Money that is in your Account(s) but has not been assigned to an Envelope is Unallocated. For example, say you’re just getting started, and you create an Account with a balance of 1000. Since you haven’t filled your Envelopes yet, Unallocated would also be 1000. If you were to fill your Envelopes with 700, then Unallocated would read 300.

Another way to think of Unallocated is that it’s the difference between your Account(s)’ total balance and your Envelopes’ total balance. Accounts total balance – Envelopes total balance = Unallocated. 

You can read more about where Unallocated money comes from and what you can do with it in this other help article: What is Unallocated Money?

Why is my Unallocated balance so high?

There are a few reasons why your Unallocated balance can be higher than you expect.

• You just recorded an income. Use your income to fill your Envelopes an Envelope Fill (link).
• You have Envelopes with negative balances. Pay back these Envelopes from your Unallocated balance with an Envelope Fill and it will be closer to what you expect.
• When you delete an Envelope, the balance of that Envelope becomes Unallocated.
• When you add a new Account, or edit an existing one, the money starts out Unallocated.

Why is my Unallocated balance so low?

If your Unallocated balance is low,

• You may have filled your Envelopes with more money than you have in your Account(s). If this is the case, just keep recording incomes as you receive them to pay back your Unallocated.
• If you create a Credit Card Account that you pay off in full every month, your Unallocated can also look lower than what you expect. You can try filling your Envelopes with the money you have available in your Checking, Savings and Cash Accounts, so you don’t fill with more than you would have if you were to pay off your credit card in full right now.
• You may need to finish entering all your Accounts or incomes. These will increase your Unallocated balance.
• Your Account balances might be inaccurate — check them against your real-life balances to make sure they’re showing the correct balances. If the balances in Goodbudget are lower than in real life, you may be showing less Unallocated than you should have.