Frequently Asked Questions
Can I save my budget to a file?
How do I add a new expense?
How do I print a report?
How do I upgrade to the latest version of Rainy Day Budget?
How much does Rainy Day Budget cost?
I am receiving _______ error when I run the program.
I have a feature to suggest or a comment to make.
What motivated you to make Rainy Day Budget?
Why do the amounts calculated in the Payday feature seem a little off?
Can I save my budget to a file?
Yes. You can save your budget to a file on your computer by selecting the export option from
the menu on the reports screen. To import a budget from a file, select the import button on
either the startup menu or from the menu on the reports screen.
How do I add a new expense?
To add an expense, please follow the following instructions:
- After creating a new budget and adding income sources, click the "Next" button to be taken to the "Expenses"
screen.
- The "Expenses" screen is divided in to two parts, the top part is for pre-tax expenses (typically deducted
from your pay-check by your employer), and the bottom part is for all other expenses. To add a regular
expense, click the "Add New" button on the bottom part of the screen.
- Enter a name of the expense, like "Electric Bill".
- Next, you must determine if the bill is typically a dollar amount or a percentage of your income. Most bills
will be a dollar amount, while a few, like a 401k plan, may be based off of a percentage of your income. Select
the appropriate symbol ($ or %) from the drop-down list next to the amount box.
- Enter the bill amount or percentage of your income.
- Now you will select how often you receive this bill for the above amount by selecting one of the available
options: Annually (or once per year), Monthly (or once per month), Bi-Monthly (or twice per month), or Weekly
(or once per week). If none of those options fits your particular needs, you may also select how often you
receive the bill by selecting the "Every ____ Days" option. If, for example you have an expense that comes
every 60 days, then you can simply select 60 from the drop-down list.
- Next is an optional step of selecting a bank account where you will be keeping the money to pay for this
particular bill. There will only be options available in the drop-down list if you entered bank information on
the first budget setup page in step 1. This program does not actually connect to your bank account in any way
or store any sensitive bank information, it simply allows you to specify the bank account for your convenience.
- Finally, you can select who will be responsible for the payment of this bill. There will only be options
available in the drop-down list if you created a joint budget and entered the information for a second person on
the first budget setup page in step 1.
- When you click "OK", the expense should be added to the bottom list underneath the auto-generated "Tax" entry
which is created based on the information that you provided when entering income sources.
NOTE: the amount that shows up in the expense list may not match the amount you entered in to the expense form.
This is because the page display settings may not match the frequency on the bill that you entered in step 6. At the
top of the expense page you have the option of viewing all amounts in Annual, Monthly, Bi-Monthly, or Weekly amounts.
If your bill was entered as a weekly amount and the Annual page setting is selected then your bill will be multiplied
by approximately 52, for the 52 weeks in the year. Also note that if you select the expense you added and click the
"Edit" button to the right, the amount of the bill on the edit form will have been converted to an annual amount, which
means if your bill was entered as a weekly amount then your bill will be multiplied by approximately 52, for the 52
weeks in the year. You can enter a new amount and a new frequency as needed.
How do I print a report?
To print out a report, please follow the following instructions:
- Open the Rainy Day Budget program. If you have created a budget file already, it will appear in the menu.
Please select the budget from which you would like to print a report and click the "Open" button.
- You will be taken to the Budget Overview page. At the top of the window, select the print button.
- A print dialog will open up. There are two reports that you can print, the Budget Overview or Sub-Account
Statements. If you don't have any sub-accounts set up (from the savings page in the budget setup), the bottom
section of the dialog will be disabled. To print the Budget Overview check the box next to the text.
- When you check the Budget Overview box, the drop-down list below the box will be enabled. You can select how
to scale the report amounts by selecting any of the options from the drop down list. This works the same as
the corresponding buttons at the top of the Budget Overview page.
- Press print preview to preview the document and format the page layout, or click the "Print" button to
print.
- A print dialog will come up, make sure that the printer you would like to use is selected and click "Print".
(Note: for additional help on this step, click the '?' button at the top right corner of the window.) Besides
the Sub-Account report, this is the only report that the program is currently set up to print.
How do I upgrade to the latest version of Rainy Day Budget?
When you upgrade Rainy Day Budget all user data will be lost. Before you upgrade, is important to
use the Export tool (located on the Reports page) to save all data that you wish to keep to a file.
After exporting all important data, use the Windows Add/Remove Programs tool to Uninstall Rainy Day
Budget (Navigate to Start --> Control Panel to access the Add/Remove Programs tool). Next, download
the latest version of Rainy Day Budget from the Downloads
page, and follow the regular installation instructions found there. After installation, run Rainy
Day Budget and use the Import tool to reload your data into the program.
How much does Rainy Day Budget cost?
Rainy Day Budget is completely free and contains the full version of the
program, not just a trial version. The program can be redistributed to others
as long as it is transmitted in its entirety.
I am receiving _______ error when I run the program.
Any problems with running the program can be addressed on the Rainy Day Budget
Support page.
I have a feature to suggest or a comment to make.
We would appreciate receiving any questions, comments, or suggestions that you
may have. Please submit your comments via the feedback portion of the
Support page
What motivated you to make Rainy Day Budget?
Not too long after my wife and I got married we drafted up a budget. Unfortunately, creating a
budget and implementing it are two different things, and the budget went unused. A few months
later, I was laid off from my job and the need for a solid budget became increasingly more urgent.
I spent a good amount of time making an Excel spreadsheet that dynamically handled our budget.
my wife and I made a commitment to stick to the new budget and were quickly surprised how far we
were able to stretch what money we had. Soon thereafter, I got a new job and we have again been
very surprised at how much money we have been able to save, when previously it just seemed to
dissipate to who knows where.
While my Excel spreadsheet worked really well, it was highly un-versatile and painful to update.
Thus came the birth of the "Rainy Day Budget" program. Upon seeing how powerful a budget can be,
I wanted everyone to see how great a budget is. So hopefully any of you who don’t have budgets, or
who have not seriously applied your budget, or who want an easier way to maintain your budget, will
find use for this program and see the success in budgeting that I have. While this program will
help you make a budget, remember that implementing it and sticking to it is up to you.
Why do the amounts calculated in the Payday feature seem a little off?
Details about this problem, and how to fix it can be obtained on the
Support page.
