Cake Budget
how-to beginner 2 minutes

How to Create Your First Slice

Learn how to create budget slices (virtual envelopes) to organize and track your spending

Last updated: October 10, 2025

Slices are virtual envelopes that help you organize your money into specific budget categories. Think of them as labeled jars where you set aside money for different purposes—groceries, rent, emergency fund, vacation, etc.

What You’ll Accomplish

By the end of this guide, you’ll have created your first budget slice and understand how to allocate money to it.

Prerequisites

  • ✅ A Cake Budget account
  • ✅ At least one bank account connected (recommended)

Two Ways to Create Slices

Cake Budget offers two ways to create slices:

The quickest way to get started with pre-configured slices that include smart defaults and automation rules.

Steps:

  1. Navigate to Slices in the main navigation menu
  2. Click the “Templates” button (with lightning bolt icon) in the top right
  3. Browse the available templates:
    • Recommended Templates: Common budget categories like Groceries, Emergency Fund, Transportation, etc.
    • Additional Templates: More specialized categories available when you toggle “Show All”
  4. Select one or more templates by clicking on them (you’ll see a blue checkmark)
  5. Use “Select All Recommended” to quickly choose all suggested templates
  6. Review your selections (shows count at the bottom)
  7. Click “Create X Slices” to create them all at once

What’s Included in Templates:

  • Pre-set target amounts based on common budgets
  • Recommended timeframes (monthly, quarterly, yearly)
  • Automation hints (e.g., “Auto-categorizes grocery purchases”)
  • Emoji and color coding

Pro Tip: Templates are perfect for getting started quickly. You can always edit the amounts and settings afterward to match your specific needs.

Option 2: Create Custom Slice

For unique budget categories not covered by templates.

Steps:

  1. Navigate to Slices in the main navigation menu
  2. Click “Add Slice” button in the top right
  3. Fill in the slice details (see sections below)
  4. Click “Create Slice” at the bottom of the form

Slice Form Fields Explained

Basic Information

Name (Required)

Give your slice a descriptive name that makes sense to you.

  • ✅ Good examples: “Monthly Groceries,” “Emergency Fund,” “Summer Vacation”
  • ❌ Avoid: “Misc,” “Stuff,” “Other”

Emoji (Optional)

Add a visual identifier to quickly spot your slice in lists. Enter any emoji (max 2 characters).

  • Examples: 🏠 for rent, 🚗 for car, 💰 for savings, 🍕 for dining out

Color (Optional)

Choose from 20+ colors to visually organize your slices. Click the color button to open the palette.

Slice Type (Required)

Choose the category that best fits this slice:

  • Expense: For things you’ll spend money on (groceries, bills, entertainment)
  • Goal: For money you’re setting aside (emergency fund, vacation, house down payment)
  • Debt: For paying down debt (credit cards, loans)
  • Protected: For money you never want to spend (ultra-emergency funds)

Amount Details

Target Amount (Required)

Set the amount you want to save or budget for this slice.

  • For expenses: Your monthly budget for this category (e.g., $500 for groceries)
  • For goals: Your total savings goal (e.g., $5,000 for emergency fund)
  • Minimum: $0.01

Current Amount

If you already have money set aside for this category, enter it here. Otherwise, leave at $0.

Important: This is just the starting balance. You can manually adjust this later using the “Move Funds” feature.

Target Date (Required)

Set a deadline for reaching your target amount.

  • For expenses: Typically the end of the month
  • For goals: When you need the money (vacation date, tax deadline, etc.)
  • Cannot be in the past

Auto-Contribution Settings

Auto-contributions automatically move money into this slice on a fixed schedule.

Toggle “Enable Manual Auto-Contribution” to set up:

  1. Contribution Interval: How often to contribute

    • Daily, Weekly, Biweekly, Monthly, Quarterly, or Yearly
    • Available intervals depend on your target date

  2. Contribution Amount: How much to contribute each time

    • Calculated automatically based on your target amount, current amount, and target date
    • You can override the suggested amount

  3. Source Account: Which bank account to pull money from

  4. Contribution Start Date: When auto-contributions should begin

Important Notes:

  • Auto-contributions check your account balance before processing
  • If there’s not enough money in the source account, the contribution won’t happen
  • For paycheck-based funding, use Funding Schedules instead—they’re smarter about detecting income and can handle percentages

Recurring Settings

For expenses that repeat regularly (like monthly bills, rent, groceries).

Toggle “This is a recurring slice” to set up:

  1. Advancement Frequency: When should the target date advance?

    • Monthly (most common), Weekly, Biweekly, Quarterly, Annually, or Daily

  2. Balance Reset Policy: What happens to leftover money?

    • Keep balance: Money rolls over to next period (great for credit cards, utilities)
    • Reset to $0: Fresh budget each period (great for monthly grocery budgets)
    • Reset to specific amount: Maintain a minimum balance (great for emergency funds)

Common Examples:

  • Credit Card Payment: Monthly advancement, Keep balance
  • Monthly Grocery Budget: Monthly advancement, Reset to $0
  • Emergency Fund: Monthly advancement, Reset to $1,000

Additional Information

Notes (Optional)

Add any notes about this slice’s purpose or rules you want to remember.

  • Max 250 characters
  • Examples: “Weekly grocery runs, max $125/week” or “3-6 months of living expenses”

Status (Edit Mode Only)

Toggle the slice active/paused. Paused slices won’t show in active lists but maintain their balance.

What Happens Next?

After creating your slice:

  1. View Your Slice: It appears in your Slices list
  2. Allocate Money: Use “Move Funds” to transfer money from your accounts into the slice
  3. Assign Transactions: When you categorize bank transactions to this slice, money is automatically deducted from the slice balance
  4. Track Progress: See if you’re “On Track” to meet your goal based on funding schedules and auto-contributions
  5. Set Up Automation: Create rules to automatically categorize transactions to this slice

Real-World Examples

Example 1: Monthly Grocery Budget

Scenario: You spend about $500/month on groceries and want a fresh budget each month.

Settings:

  • Name: Monthly Groceries 🛒
  • Type: Expense
  • Target Amount: $500
  • Target Date: End of month
  • Recurring: Yes
    • Frequency: Monthly
    • Reset Policy: Reset to $0 (fresh budget each month)

Result: Every month, your slice automatically resets to $0 and you get a fresh $500 budget. Any overspending or underspending doesn’t carry over.

Example 2: Emergency Fund

Scenario: You want to save $5,000 over the next 6 months with automatic monthly contributions.

Settings:

  • Name: Emergency Fund 💰
  • Type: Goal
  • Target Amount: $5,000
  • Current Amount: $0
  • Target Date: 6 months from now
  • Auto-Contribution: Yes
    • Interval: Monthly
    • Amount: $833 (calculated automatically)
    • Source: Checking Account
    • Start Date: Tomorrow

Result: Every month, $833 is automatically moved from your checking account into this slice. In 6 months, you’ll have $5,000 saved.

Example 3: Annual Car Insurance

Scenario: Your car insurance costs $1,200/year. You want to save $100/month so you’re ready when the bill comes.

Settings:

  • Name: Car Insurance 🚗
  • Type: Expense
  • Target Amount: $1,200
  • Target Date: Policy renewal date (e.g., September 15)
  • Auto-Contribution: Yes
    • Interval: Monthly
    • Amount: $100
    • Source: Checking Account
  • Recurring: Yes
    • Frequency: Annually
    • Reset Policy: Keep balance (in case policy cost changes)

Result: You save $100/month. When the $1,200 bill comes, your slice has enough to cover it. Any leftover money rolls over for next year.

Pro Tips

💡 Start with Templates: Save time by using slice templates that come with smart defaults and auto-categorization rules.

💡 Keep It Simple: Create 3-5 slices for your biggest spending categories first. You can always add more later.

💡 Be Realistic: Set target amounts based on your actual spending, not aspirational amounts. Review your past transactions to see real patterns.

💡 Use Recurring Wisely: If an expense happens monthly (rent, utilities, subscriptions), make it recurring to avoid manual target date updates.

💡 Combine with Rules: After creating slices, set up automation rules to automatically categorize transactions to the right slice.

💡 Review Regularly: Check your slices weekly to see if you’re on track and adjust as needed.

Troubleshooting

Q: Can I edit a slice after creating it? A: Yes! Click on any slice in your Slices list to view details, then click “Edit Slice” to modify any settings.

Q: What if I set the wrong initial amount? A: No problem. Use the “Move Funds” button in the slice details to adjust the balance by transferring money between your accounts and slices.

Q: Can I delete a slice? A: Yes, but only if it has no transactions assigned to it. If it has transactions, you’ll need to reassign them to a different slice or unassign them first.

Q: How many slices can I create? A: Unlimited! Create as many as you need to organize your budget effectively. Most users have 5-15 slices.

Q: What’s the difference between Auto-Contribution and Funding Schedules? A: Auto-contributions happen on a fixed schedule (e.g., every Friday) regardless of account activity. Funding schedules detect your paycheck and automatically allocate a portion to slices when income arrives. For most people, funding schedules are smarter and more flexible.

Q: Do I need to connect a bank account to create slices? A: No, but it’s recommended. Without a connected bank account, you can’t use auto-contributions or funding schedules. You’ll need to manually track everything.

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