# Step 1: Intro to Budgeting

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You're on Step 1 of Lunch Money's Budgeting Guide!
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<figure><img src="/files/j5hRNQ4g60xZW0e66hP7" alt="" width="375"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Welcome to Lunch Money's budgeting feature guide! We're excited to walk you through it step by step, making sure you understand each feature along the way.

The best part? There's no "right" or "wrong" way to budget in Lunch Money. You get to pick what works for you. We give you the tools, and you decide how to use them!

#### Here's what we'll cover:

1. [**Setting up your budget foundation:**](/guides/budgeting/step-2-setting-up-your-budget.md) Configure your budget period, income settings, and rollover options to match your financial life.
2. [**Navigating the Budget page:**](/guides/budgeting/step-3-navigating-the-budget-page.md) Learn where everything lives and what all those numbers mean.
3. [**Budgeting your money:**](/guides/budgeting/step-4-budgeting.md) Discover different ways to assign money to categories - from manual entry and budget presets that save you time, to moving money between categories and making adjustments as your needs evolve.
4. [**Helpful extras:**](/guides/budgeting/step-5-miscellaneous-features.md) Explore additional features like historical spending views and budget breakdowns to elevate your budgeting game.

By the end of this guide, you'll understand not just how to use Lunch Money's features, but when and why to use them. We'll show you multiple approaches so you can find what works for your budgeting style.

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**Note**: If you were a beta tester and previously tried the new budgeting feature, please review the [migration guide](/migrating-to-budgeting-v2.md) to ensure a smooth transition for your category group budgets and income rollovers settings.
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Ready to take control of your money? Let's get started! 👇

<a href="/pages/uaIoTbs2wXcGLiSTcVYU" class="button secondary" data-icon="arrow-right">Go to Step 2: Settings up your budget</a>


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