How Trends works
If you haven’t already set up Fixed & Flexible spending for MM-Tweaks, start with the Getting Started documentation.
Most MM-Tweaks Trends reports are built from transactions and transaction history. They do not rely on Monarch’s Budget, Goals, or Recurring entries; transactions remain the source for comparisons, history, and pacing.
Think of Trends as a practical alternative to traditional budgeting. It uses actual transaction patterns—last month, the same month last year, the same quarter last year, and more—to provide useful guidance without requiring you to create budgets or manage rollovers manually.
For retirees, and anyone else who plans this year’s spending from last year’s activity, Trends pacing can make budgeting much simpler. Your guidance comes directly from past-period pacing.
Why pacing helps
Pacing keeps the comparison anchored to actual history. A budget amount can be changed during the year, but last year’s activity does not change. The practical question becomes: can I spend more than I did last year, or should I spend less?
When fixed expenses rise, pacing makes the increase visible in the totals. Separating Fixed and Flexible spending then shows where flexible spending may need to be reduced, without masking higher fixed costs by revising a budget amount.
If you find yourself repeatedly revising budget amounts or moving money between categories during the year, pacing removes that maintenance. There are no pacing targets or rollovers to set and update—the report adjusts automatically from your transactions. Use the green and orange highlights to see where spending has moved off pace, make an adjustment, and let Trends show when you are back on course.
Compare reports
The first three columns are determined by the selected Compare… subreport:
- Compare last month: Column 1 shows last month’s total, Column 2 shows this month’s total, and Column 3 shows the difference. This view is recommended primarily for new Monarch users who do not yet have historical data.
- Compare same month: Column 1 shows the total for the same month last year, Column 2 shows this month’s total, and Column 3 shows the difference. This is generally the preferred view.
- Compare same quarter: Column 1 shows the total for the same quarter last year, Column 2 shows this quarter’s total, and Column 3 shows the difference. This is useful for retirees, people making estimated IRS payments, or anyone who tracks spending quarterly.
Always compare to End of Month
When this option is enabled, the prior period uses its full-month total instead of stopping at today’s date. Normally, both columns show values through the same day. For example, on March 16, both Column 1 and Column 2 reflect activity through March 16.
Turn on Always compare to End of Month in Trends settings to make Column 1 represent the complete prior month—for example, March 1–31. This lets you compare the current partial month with a completed month. I prefer this setting because it provides a clearer month-to-month view without surprises later in the month.
Year-to-date pacing
Columns 4–6 show year-to-date comparisons: this year, last year, and the difference. This is the pacing view—an easy way to see whether spending is on track without using Monarch’s budget features.
I recommend separating Fixed and Flexible categories. Fixed spending tends to remain steady, while Flexible spending can vary substantially because of vacations, seasonal purchases, and expenses that shift between months.
Shading
Shading highlights the rows that may need attention, allowing you to focus on those lines. Four shading levels show the degree of deviation: greater than 15%, greater than 25%, greater than 50%, and greater than 100%.
Upcoming expenses
The final two columns are optional. They can be controlled in Settings with Hide future month columns — Remaining “this month” & next month.
- The first column shows last year’s expenses from tomorrow through the end of the month. For example, on March 16, 2026, it shows activity from March 17–31, 2025.
- The second column shows the total for the entire next month from last year.
Use these columns to compare expected remaining spending with the same periods from the prior year.
History reports
Click the date header in any Trends report to switch between today’s date and the last day of the previous month. This lets you review a report as of the end of last month at any time for a clean past-month review.
Every Trends report can be viewed by Account Group, category, or both.
Annual Budget
Annual Budget is a focused alternative for people who use Monarch’s Budget system. Added in response to user requests, it is the only MM-Tweaks report that reads Monarch budget data. MM-Tweaks does not add features to or change Monarch’s Budget page.
The Fixed Expense (MM-Tweaks) option in Category setup applies to every other Trends report, but not to Annual Budget. Annual Budget follows Monarch’s own Fixed, Flexible, and Monthly classifications, as well as your rollover settings.
The report presents the full year in one view. Completed months show actual spending, the current month shows Actual, Budget, and Difference, and future months show their budget amounts. The Total column provides the annual total.
By default, the annual Total uses the current month’s budget until the final day of the month. To use actual spending throughout the current month instead, enable Annual Budget Total uses current-month Actual (otherwise Budget until the last day) in Settings → Trends.
The Total column can also be highlighted green or orange to show how the annual total is pacing against last year—not against previous budget amounts. Monarch does not consistently provide budget history through its API. This highlighting can be turned on or off in Settings → Trends.
Annual Budget does not display last year’s amounts; it uses them only for the pacing highlights. For the supporting detail, use the three Compare reports in Trends.
When viewing the report by Group, the rows follow the organization of Monarch’s Budget screen. When viewing it by Category, the same organization is shown with all categories expanded. Double-click the leftmost column heading to switch between Monarch’s budget order and groups & alphabetical order.
Trends details
Click the > on the far right to open history drill-downs, month-by-month details, and the Month and Step charts.
The upper portion of the panel contains a graph that can compare a selected month across the last three years. Select Month to compare individual months, or Step to compare each month cumulatively with the months before it.
The lower portion contains a summary. Expand any available row to see additional detail.
Trends settings
Click the ⚙️ button to open settings specific to Trends.
