How to budget without linking your bank account
A plain method for budgeting from statement files you download yourself, with no bank login handed to any app, and a monthly routine that stays light.
Guides
Short, plain how-tos for budgeting from statement files. Each one says when it was last updated and links to its sources.
How do you get your statements in?
Download a file from your bank, then import it. These guides cover the method, the file types and two banks.
Statement file formats explained
What each bank statement file type is, which carry running balances, and why a text PDF is the last resort for importing into a budget.
How to download transactions from TD Canada Trust
Download your TD account activity as a spreadsheet (.CSV) from EasyWeb and import it into Tally, which reads TD's five-column file without headers.
How to download a Wise statement for budgeting
Get a Wise account statement or transaction history as a CSV file and import it into Tally, where each currency becomes its own account.
How Tally catches duplicate transactions
Every imported row gets a fingerprint, so re-importing a file never counts anything twice. How it works, and the one case it cannot match.
How do you read your budget?
What the numbers in Tally mean, and how rules, rollover and currencies work.
What safe to spend means
Safe to spend is the lowest your cash balance is projected to dip in the next 60 days. See the method, a worked example and "Lowest point ahead".
How budget rollover works, with a 3-month example
Rollover carries unspent and overspent money into next month for any category you choose. See a 3-month example and when to turn it off.
How rules sort your transactions in Tally
Rules put each imported transaction into a category. Learn how first match wins, how contains, exact and regex work, and how remember this builds a rule.
How to budget in two currencies
Keep each currency in its own account, then view totals by currency or combined. A CAD and MXN example, and what the approximately sign means.
What should you know before choosing an app?
Dated overviews of the Canadian picture, with sources.
Mint alternatives in Canada
A fair look at budgeting apps Canadians can use since Mint closed: Monarch, YNAB, PocketSmith, Toshl, Actual Budget and Tally, with sources and dates.
Open banking in Canada in October 2026
Canada's official open banking, called consumer-driven banking, is not live yet. What is published so far, and why file import works either way.
Weighing up other apps?
Tally is in development and has no public sign-up. The comparison pages say plainly what each app does better.