How to Use Toggles in tMoney to Plan for Any Financial What-Ifs

Table of Contents

Introduction

Seeing where your money goes every month is important, but a great budget also helps you plan for what’s ahead. Being able to weigh the impact of different financial decisions can provide clarity, help you evaluate options more effectively, and ensure you’re making informed financial choices before committing to big changes.

The toggles in your tMoney budget allow you to create numerous custom scenarios, each assigned to toggle on or off specific groups of budget items. This lets you see how changes—like switching jobs, paying off debt, or adjusting spending habits—would impact your finances before making any real-life decisions.

By the end, you’ll know exactly how to use toggles like a pro to plan for any financial what-if. Let’s dive in!

Understanding Toggles in tMoney

Toggles let you turn specific budget items on or off, helping you visualize how different decisions impact your overall finances. You can create an unlimited number of toggles, each controlling any combination of budget items. However, to maintain clarity and prevent overlap, each budget item can only be assigned to one toggle at a time.

Life is full of financial decisions—moving to a new city, planning for a new addition to your family, or working toward becoming debt-free. Without toggles, comparing these scenarios could mean constantly adjusting the numbers in your budget, deleting and recreating budget items, or even managing multiple budgets just to see how different choices would affect your finances. Toggles remove that frustration by letting you instantly switch between financial situations in a single budget. Instead of making permanent changes every time you want to test an idea, you can create toggles that turn specific expenses and income sources on or off, helping you compare different scenarios effortlessly.

How to Create a Toggle in tMoney

To add a toggle:

  1. Drag up the sliding menu anchored to the bottom part of the screen. If the menu isn’t visible, tap the eye icon in the top-right corner of the app.
  2. Scroll to the bottom, passing the pre-created toggles, and tap Add Toggle button to create a new toggle.
  3. Give your toggle a name that represents the scenario you’re planning for (e.g., “Commuting Job” or “Debt”).

Once a toggle is created, you can edit any item in your budget and assign it a toggle. Then, by turning toggles on or off, you can quickly switch between different financial situations and instantly see how each one scenario impacts your budget.

To delete a toggle, go back to the Toggles screen in the sliding menu, slide the toggle to the left to reveal the Edit and Delete icons, then tap the Trash button to remove it.

Seeing Which Budget Items Are Controlled by a Toggle

As you start using toggles in tMoney to plan for different financial scenarios, you may eventually forget which budget items are linked to a particular toggle. Instead of manually checking each expense, you can quickly view all budget items controlled by a specific toggle in just a few taps.

To see which budget items are assigned to a toggle:

  1. Access the Toggles section by sliding up the anchored menu on the bottom of the screen.
  2. Locate the toggle you want to check.
  3. Tap on the toggle name, and a screen will pop up displaying each expense items assigned to that toggle.

This makes it easy to review and adjust your toggles as needed, ensuring you always have a clear understanding of how different financial scenarios impact your budget.

In the next sections, we’ll walk through three real-life examples to show how toggles can help you plan for major financial decisions.

Example 1: Comparing a Local Job vs. a Commuting Job

Job changes can have a big impact on your budget, not just in terms of income but also in the expenses that come with them. If you’re considering a job that requires a long commute, you’ll need to account for added costs like gas, bridge tolls, parking, and potentially even transit and/or ridesharing services. Instead of manually adjusting your budget every time you want to compare your options, you can use toggles in tMoney to quickly switch between your current and potential job scenarios.

Step 1: Adding Multiple Incomes

Before setting up toggles, make sure both your current and potential incomes are included in your budget.

  1. Navigate to the Budgeted Income section on the main screen.
  2. Enter your current job’s income if you haven’t already.
  3. Add your potential new job’s income as a second income source.

Now, you’ll be able to toggle between each income source when evaluating how each job affects your monthly budget.

Step 2: Creating Custom Toggles for Each Job Scenario

Next, you’ll create two toggles: one for the expenses unique to your current job and one for the expenses unique to your new commuting job.

  1. Access the Toggles section by sliding up the anchored menu on the bottom of the screen.
  2. Scroll to the bottom, passing the pre-created toggles, and tap Add Toggle button.
  3. Name the first toggle “Local Job” and save it.
  4. Add a second toggle named “Commuting Job” and save it.

These toggles will allow you to switch between your current and potential job-related expenses with a single tap.

Step 3: Assigning Expenses to the Right Toggles

Now, it’s time to assign your toggles to the appropriate job-related expenses. Since some commuting costs may not be a fixed monthly expense, you can accurately estimate them by going to the Budget Items section, tapping the Infrequent section, then using the Add Infrequent Item button.

  1. Edit any existing expenses tied to your current job (like gas, parking, or transit costs) and assign the Local Job toggle. To edit an expense, simply slide the expense to the left and tap the Edit icon.
  2. Go to the Budget Items section and select the Infrequent tab. Then tap Add Infrequent Item
  3. Add any new expenses that would come with the commuting job, such as:
    • Gas (Commuting)
    • Bridge tolls
    • Parking fees
    • Public transit
    • Ridesharing costs
  4. Under the “How often do you pay for this expense” section, tap Select Frequency button. Enter the frequency details based on how often you expect to visit the gas station and how much you expect to spend per visit. tMoney will calculate an estimated monthly cost for this expense, ensuring that your budget reflects the real impact of increased commuting.
  5. Tap on the Situational Toggle field
  6. Assign the Commuting Job toggle to this (and other related) new expenses.

Step 5: Evaluating the Budget Impact

Now that you’ve set up both toggles, you can switch between job scenarios and compare how each one affects your budget.

  • Toggle off the Local Job income and toggle on the Commuting Job’s income.
  • Turn off the Local Job toggle and turn on the Commuting Job toggle to now see your new expenses.
  • Compare new income with the commuting costs to determine if the job change makes financial sense.

By using toggles, you can make a well-informed decision about your job change before committing to it. In the next example, we’ll look at how toggles can help you visualize what your budget would look like if you were completely debt-free.

Example 2: What Life Could Look Like Without Debt

Many people say life feels unaffordable, but what if the real issue isn’t just rising costs—it’s debt? Monthly loan payments and credit card bills can consume a huge portion of your income, making it feel like you never have enough. But have you ever considered how much you can really afford if you paid off your debts?

With a simple toggle in tMoney, you can instantly switch between your current budget with debt and a future budget without it, giving you a clear picture of the financial freedom that comes with paying off what you owe.

Step 1: Adding All Debt to the Budget

Before setting up a toggle, make sure all your debt-related expenses are included in your budget. This includes:

  • Monthly credit card payments
  • Car loans
  • Student loans
  • Personal loans
  • Buy Now Pay Later loans
  • Any other recurring debt payments

If any of these aren’t already in your budget, go to the Add Expense section and enter them under the appropriate categories.

Step 2: Creating a “Debt” Toggle

A “Debt” toggle should already be pre-created. However if it’s not there, then we’ll create a toggle specifically for debt.

  1. Access the Toggles section by sliding up the anchored menu on the bottom of the screen.
  2. Scroll to the bottom, passing the pre-created toggles, and tap Add Toggle button.
  3. Name the toggle “Debt” and save it.

This toggle will allow you to switch debt payments on and off to see how they affect your financial situation.

Step 3: Assigning the Debt Toggle to Debt Payments

Next, you’ll assign each of your debt-related expenses to the Debt toggle.

  1. Edit each debt payment in your budget by simply sliding the expense to the left and tap the Edit icon.
  2. Tap on the Situational Toggle field
  3. Assign the Debt toggle to the item and save it.

Once all debt-related expenses are assigned, toggling this switch off will instantly remove all debt payments from your budget, allowing you to see what life would look like without them.

  • Look at how much extra money you free up each month.
  • Consider how you could redirect that money—whether toward savings, investments, or other financial goals.
  • Use this insight as motivation to accelerate your debt payoff plan and regain control of your finances.

In the next section, we’ll explore how toggles can also help when your budget is stretched too thin and you need to find ways to cut back.

Example 3: Cutting Non-Essential Spending to Create Breathing Room

If your budget shows that you’re stretching yourself too thin, it can feel overwhelming—but the problem might not be a lack of income. Often, the issue comes from non-essential expenses that quietly add up each month. Subscriptions, spontaneous shopping, dining out, and other discretionary spending may be making it harder to stay on top of your finances.

Instead of flipping back and forth between your real budget and your trimmed budget, you can create a Non-Essential Expenses toggle in tMoney. This allows you to instantly see what your budget would look like without certain expenses, helping you identify what can be reduced or eliminated to create more breathing room.

Step 1: Identifying the Problem(s)

First, take a look at your budget. If your expenses are higher than your income or you don’t have enough left over for savings and debt payoff, it’s time to evaluate where your money is going. Common non-essential expenses include:

  • Streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, etc.)
  • Online subscriptions and memberships
  • Eating out and food delivery services
  • Alcohol, marijuana, and entertainment
  • Impulse shopping for on Amazon, Temu, clothes, or hobbies

While these aren’t necessarily bad expenses, they can make it harder to meet your financial goals if left unchecked.

Step 2: Creating a “Non-Essential Expenses” Toggle

To make it easy to experiment with cutting back, create a toggle specifically for non-essential spending.

  1. Access the Toggles section by sliding up the anchored menu on the bottom of the screen.
  2. Scroll to the bottom, passing the pre-created toggles, and tap Add Toggle button.
  3. Name the toggle “Non-Essential Expenses” and save it.

This toggle will allow you to instantly remove non-essential expenses from your budget and see how much financial relief that creates.

Step 3: Assigning the Toggle to Appropriate Expenses

Next, go through your budget and assign non-essential expenses to the toggle.

  1. Edit each budget item that falls into the non-essential category. To edit an expense, simply slide the expense to the left and tap the Edit icon.
  2. Tap on the Situational Toggle field
  3. Assign the Non-Essential Expenses toggle to each of these expenses and save.

Now, when you turn this toggle off, all non-essential spending will no longer be calculated in your budget, giving you a clear picture of what your finances would look like without them.

Step 4: Evaluating the Budget Impact

Once the toggle is set up, turn it off and review your budget:

  • How much extra money do you free up by cutting non-essential expenses?
  • Does this help balance your budget or create more breathing room?
  • Could you reduce some of these expenses instead of eliminating them completely?

Seeing the numbers in real time can make it easier to decide what’s truly important in your spending and what can be scaled back. Now that you can see the difference, you have the power to make intentional changes.

If further adjustments are needed, explore other cost-saving strategies like increasing income.

By using toggles to experiment with spending cuts, you can make better decisions about where your money goes—without having to constantly edit and recreate your budget.

In the next section, we’ll explore even more ways you can use toggles to plan for financial what-ifs.

Other Scenarios to Consider

Toggles in the tMoney budgeting app can be used in countless ways to help you visualize different financial futures before making commitments. If you’re not sure where to start, here are a few additional ideas to inspire your own toggle setup:

1. Planning for Future Investing and Saving Goals

If you want to start consistently investing or saving but don’t have the breathing room in your budget yet, toggles can help you prepare.

For example, let’s say you want to:

Since you can’t afford these contributions just yet, you can still add them to your budget under the Optional spending category and create two toggles:

  • “Investing” toggle – Assign to the Roth IRA, Bitcoin, and Gold items in your budget.
  • “Saving” toggle – Assign to the general savings expense.

Turn both toggles off for now. Then, once your cash flow improves, simply toggle them back on and put your investment and savings plan into action.

2. Preparing for a Baby

If you and your partner are expecting or planning for a baby, toggles can help you see how your budget will shift before the baby arrives.

  1. Create a “Child Expenses” toggle.
  2. Add anticipated costs such as:
    • Diapers, formula, and baby supplies
    • Hospital and medical expenses
    • Childcare costs and early education
  3. Turn this toggle on and off to see how your finances will adjust with these new responsibilities.
  4. Will one of the parents be a stay-at-home parent? Toggle their income off to ensure you have a realistic expectation of your breathing room each month

This early planning ensures that when the time comes, you’re financially ready for the changes ahead.

3. Planning to Run a Business

Running a business usually has monthly expenses, and toggles can help you determine if you’re financially ready.

If you’re considering running a business, you may have monthly expenses such as:

  1. Website hosting
  2. Software subscriptions for accounting or accounting
  3. Marketing tools and advertising

By creating a “Business Expenses” toggle and adding these expenses to your budget, you can toggle them on and off to see how they would affect your cash flow. This allows you to plan for the transition before officially launching.

Conclusion

Toggles in tMoney allow you to simulate different financial situations without having to constantly edit and rebuild your budget. Whether you’re planning for a job change, paying off debt, adjusting spending habits, or preparing for life’s major milestones, toggles give you the flexibility to test different scenarios and make informed financial decisions.

By using the toggles in tMoney strategically, you can take control of your finances, visualize the future, and ensure that when changes come, you’re prepared. Download the tMoney budgeting app now and try setting up your own toggles today and start planning for your financial what-ifs!

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