Budget Review

/budget-review — Budget Variance Analysis

Analyze the current month's budget performance with trend context, anomaly detection, and savings rate tracking.

MCP Tool Map

• Monthly aggregates: actual-budget.analytics(operation="monthly_summary")
• Category breakdown: actual-budget.analytics(operation="spending_by_category")
• Budget targets: actual-budget.budget
• Transaction detail: actual-budget.transaction
• Account balances: actual-budget.analytics(operation="balance_history")

Scripts

• scripts/budget_variance_analyzer.py — materiality-filtered variance analysis with favorability classification; feed it actual-budget.analytics spending data and budget targets

Steps

1. Pull Current Month Data

• actual-budget.analytics(operation="monthly_summary") for current and prior 3 months
• actual-budget.analytics(operation="spending_by_category") for current month
• actual-budget.budget for current month budget targets by category

2. Variance Analysis

Compare actual spending to budget by category:

## Budget Variance — [Month Year]

| Category | Budget | Actual | Variance | % | Status |
|----------|--------|--------|----------|---|--------|
| | | | | | Over/Under/On Track |

### Summary
| | Amount |
|---|--------|
| Total Budgeted | |
| Total Spent | |
| Net Variance | |

Flag categories with:

• Overspend >10% or >$100
• Underspend >25% (potential missed entries or timing)

3. Trend Analysis

Compare current month to rolling 3-month average:

### Spending Trends
| Category | 3-Mo Avg | This Month | Delta | Trend |
|----------|----------|-----------|-------|-------|
| | | | | Rising/Falling/Stable |

Flag categories with sustained rising trends (3+ consecutive months of increase).

4. Anomaly Detection

Scan for unusual patterns:

• Single transactions >2x the category's monthly average
• New payees not seen in prior 3 months with amounts >$100
• Categories with zero spend that normally have activity
• Duplicate or near-duplicate transactions (same payee, same amount, same day)

5. Savings Rate Calculation

### Savings Rate
| Metric | Amount |
|--------|--------|
| Total Income | |
| Total Expenses | |
| Net Savings | |
| Savings Rate | X% |
| 3-Month Avg Savings Rate | X% |
| YTD Savings Rate | X% |

6. Output

## Budget Review — [Month Year]

### Key Findings
- [2-3 headline observations]

### Variance Summary
[Table from Step 2]

### Trend Highlights
[Notable trends from Step 3]

### Anomalies
[Flagged items from Step 4]

### Savings Rate
[Metrics from Step 5]

### Action Items
- [Specific budget adjustments or follow-ups needed]