Tags: track a project across categories
Categories answer "where did I plan for this?" Tags answer "what was this really?" You need both, because life doesn't spend in straight lines.
The problem tags solve
Say you drive an EV. Charging happens at home (Utilities), on road trips (the trip's category), around town (Transport). Three envelopes, all correct — and no single number for the question you actually have: what does charging cost me?
Don't build a Charging category; that would fight your budget. Tag it instead. The trip charging stays budgeted under the trip — and still shows up when you ask about charging. One transaction can carry several tags. The numbers overlap on purpose: a lens, not a ledger.
Step 1 — Pick a word
One project, one tag: ev-charging, kitchen-remodel, bozer-trip.
Short enough to type without sighing.
Step 2 — Tag as you go
On the Transactions screen, the 🏷️ Tags button on any row. You're already there a few times a week categorizing; tagging rides along on the same habit. Two extra seconds per row that belongs to the project.
Step 3 — Let categories do the repetitive part
If everything in a category belongs to the project, stop tagging by hand:
give the category default tags (set them on the
Categories screen). Every transaction landing in
that category wears the tag automatically. A "Kitchen remodel" category
with a kitchen-remodel default tag tags itself.
Step 4 — Read the answer
Two places:
- Quick look: click any tag chip on a transaction — or use the 🏷 filter — and see everything wearing it.
- The number: Reports → the Tags report. Each tag shows this month, the six-month total, and how many transactions wear it. That's your answer: what charging costs, what the remodel has actually swallowed, what the trip really came to.
When the project ends
Nothing to clean up. Stop tagging. The tag keeps its history in the report for as long as you care, then quietly stops mattering. Tags are cheap — that's the point. The budget is the plan; tags are the questions you ask it. Ask freely.