ADHD Budget Planner — Complete User Guide

1. Overview

The file is an ADHD Budget Planner designed around short actions, visual feedback and reduced friction. The interface contains Dashboard, Transactions, Budget, Income, Expenses, Bills, Savings, Debt, Wallets, Wishlist, Alerts, Calendar, Reports and Settings sections.

2. Interface & Navigation

The desktop layout uses a fixed sidebar. On smaller screens the sidebar becomes a mobile drawer and a bottom navigation bar appears.

3. Getting Started

Step 1 — Set your profile

Open Settings, enter your name if desired and select a currency. The available currency choices in the interface are Rs/PKR, USD, EUR, GBP and INR.

Step 2 — Check your wallets

The planner starts with Cash and Bank wallets. Add additional wallets if you want separate accounts.

Step 3 — Add income

Record your salary, freelance income or other earnings. Choose the wallet receiving the money.

Step 4 — Add expenses

Record everyday spending with a name, amount, category, wallet and date.

Step 5 — Set your budget

Open Budget and assign monthly limits to categories.

Step 6 — Add recurring bills/income where needed

This reduces repeated manual entry for scheduled money events.

4. Dashboard

Safe to Spend

The main dashboard card displays Safe to Spend (This Month), a progress indicator, the current month and a traffic-light indicator. The displayed hint changes according to the planner's calculations.

Guilt-Free Spending Pot

The dashboard includes a separate spending pot. Its default setting is 10% of monthly income. The percentage can be changed in Settings under Fun Money %.

Quick Add

The default buttons include Food, Transport, Bills, Shopping, Fun and Other. Each button has a preset category, emoji and amount. The dashboard also has a one-line input.

One-line example

Type Burger 500 and press Enter or Add. The planner attempts to identify the numeric amount and the spending description/category.

Dashboard statistics

• Income (Month)
• Expenses (Month)
• Savings
• Debt

Visual sections

The dashboard also contains Spending by Category, Monthly Trend and Recent Transactions.

5. Transactions

The Transactions page is the central view of recorded income and expenses.

Search and filters

• Search by text.
• Filter by All Types, Income or Expenses.
• Filter by month.
• Sort by Newest First, Oldest First, Highest amount or Lowest amount.

A transaction count and summary area are displayed above the transaction list.

6. Budget & Rollover

Monthly Budget

The Budget page lets you set a budget for each category. The interface describes the budget as resetting every month.

Budget vs Actual

Use this area to compare planned amounts against actual spending.

Rollover

Enable Carry over unused budget to next month when you want unused budget to be added to the next month's available budget.

7. Income

The Income page provides a dedicated form and income history.

Income history can be searched from the same page.

8. Expenses

The Expenses page records spending separately from income.

Existing expenses can be searched and filtered by category and wallet.

9. Bills & Recurring Bills

Add a bill with a name, amount and due date. A bill can be marked as Monthly, Weekly, Yearly or No recurrence.

Automatic recurring behavior

The underlying app checks recurring items and can automatically post due recurring bills as expenses. The code also advances the next due date according to the selected recurrence.

10. Savings Goals

Create a goal with:

• Goal Name
• Target amount
• Current amount
• Target Date

The Savings page then displays your savings goals. Use separate goals for objectives such as an emergency fund, vacation or a major purchase.

11. Debt & Payoff Plan

Add each debt with its name, balance, interest percentage and minimum payment.

Payoff strategies

• Avalanche: Highest-interest debt first.
• Snowball: Smallest-balance debt first.

You can enter an Extra Monthly Payment and review the generated payoff plan.

12. Wallets

Wallets represent money accounts. The default setup contains Cash and Bank.

To add a wallet, provide a name and opening balance. Income can increase a wallet balance and expenses can decrease it.

13. Wishlist & 48-Hour Cool-down

The Wishlist is designed for impulse purchases. Add an item and its amount, then wait 48 hours.

Suggested process

1. Add the item instead of buying immediately.
2. Leave it on the Wishlist during the cool-down.
3. After 48 hours, review whether you still want it.
4. Only then decide whether to purchase it.

This is one of the planner's distinctive ADHD-oriented friction-reduction features.

14. Alerts & Reminders

The Alerts page displays the financial alerts generated by the planner. The navigation badge provides a quick indication when alerts exist.

Bill-related and other financial conditions can surface here depending on the current data.

15. Financial Calendar

The Calendar page provides a monthly calendar view. Use the previous/next controls to move between months. Selecting a date can show financial details for that date.

This is useful for connecting spending, income and bill activity to specific dates rather than looking only at totals.

16. Reports

Monthly Report

Review the current financial period's summary.

Annual Report

Review annual-level financial information.

Category Breakdown

See spending organized by category.

Summary

Use the summary area for a higher-level view of the stored financial data.

17. Settings, Categories & Data Management

Profile

• Your Name
• Currency
• Fun Money %

The default Fun Money percentage is 10%, and the field accepts a configurable percentage within the app's allowed range.

Appearance

Choose Light or Dark theme. The top-right theme button also toggles the theme.

Categories

Create a new category with a name and emoji. Categories can then be used for expense organization and Quick Add configuration.

Data Management

• Export JSON: Save the planner's data as JSON.
• Export CSV: Export financial data in CSV form.
• Import JSON: Restore/import previously exported JSON.
• Print / PDF: Use the browser print dialog to print or save as PDF.
• Reset All Data: Clear the planner's stored data.

18. Focus Mode, Streaks & ADHD-Friendly Features

Focus Mode

The Focus toggle changes the interface into a more minimal view by hiding elements marked for hiding in focus mode. This is intended to reduce visual distraction.

Streak

The sidebar displays an activity streak. The app stores the last active date and maintains a streak counter.

Freeze Days

The default state includes 2 freeze days. The underlying logic can preserve a streak when the activity gap meets the freeze condition, consuming a freeze day.

Motivation & celebration

The planner includes motivational messaging and a visual celebration effect for certain successful actions.

Dark Mode

Dark mode changes the interface theme and is saved with the rest of the planner state.

19. Recommended Daily / Weekly / Monthly Workflow

Daily — 1 to 3 minutes

1. Record income received today.
2. Add expenses immediately through Quick Add or Expenses.
3. Check Safe to Spend.
4. Look at Alerts if the badge is active.

Weekly — 10 minutes

1. Open Transactions.
2. Check for missing or incorrectly categorized expenses.
3. Review budget progress.
4. Review upcoming bills.
5. Check Wishlist items that have passed the 48-hour cool-down.

Monthly — 15 to 30 minutes

1. Review monthly spending and reports.
2. Compare budget versus actual.
3. Check savings progress.
4. Review debt payoff progress.
5. Confirm recurring income and bills.
6. Export a backup JSON.

20. Backup & Data Safety

The app stores its state in browser localStorage under the key adhdBudgetPlanner. The interface describes the product as local, with no cloud and no tracking.

What this means in practice

• Your planner data is tied to the browser/device storage where it was entered.
• Clearing browser storage can remove the saved data.
• Changing devices does not automatically transfer the data.
• Use Export JSON regularly for portability and recovery.

21. FAQ & Troubleshooting

My data disappeared. What should I check?

First check whether you are using the same browser/profile and whether browser storage was cleared. If you previously exported JSON, use Import JSON.

Why is Safe to Spend showing zero?

The dashboard is data-driven. Start by recording current income and expenses and setting relevant budgets.

Can I use another currency?

Yes. Settings provides Rs/PKR, USD, EUR, GBP and INR.

Can I use dark mode?

Yes. Use the top-right theme button or Settings → Appearance.

Can I prevent an impulse purchase?

Use Wishlist and allow the built-in 48-hour cool-down to run before deciding.

Can I track debt using both methods?

Yes. The Debt page provides Avalanche and Snowball strategy options.

Does the app need an online account?

The source describes it as local, with no cloud and no tracking. Its data persistence uses browser localStorage.

22. Quick Reference

Source Scope Note

This guide is based on the supplied ADHD Budget Planner — PaxmaHub HTML file and its implemented interface/code. The source identifies the product as “ADHD Budget Planner — PaxmaHub” and provides the browser/local-storage architecture and UI shown in this guide. It does not establish external financial advice, cloud synchronization, bank connectivity or lender integrations.