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Set realistic budget caps
Last 2–3 months of real spend as the floor. Aspirational caps fail.
Last updated: 2026-05-242 min read
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Realistic budget caps in Extrack come from real history, not aspirations. Open the Categories page, switch the period view, and use the average of your last 2–3 months as the baseline. Round up by 10–15% for variance. If you want to spend less, do it gradually — drop the cap by 5% next month, not 30%.
A 5-step method
Five quick steps to land on caps that survive a year:
- 1. Look at the last 3 months of spend per category.
- 2. Take the average. Add 10–15% buffer.
- 3. That is your starting cap.
- 4. Live with it for 2 months — adjust if consistently off.
- 5. Only then try lowering caps where you want to spend less.
Frequently asked
How many caps should I set?
Start with the overall cap plus 2–3 of your biggest categories (typically Food, Subscriptions, Transport). Add more once those are stable.
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