What’s Chase Spending Planner? A breakdown on what the tool is and how to use it

Managing money effectively is a life skill that can help you achieve financial stability and reach your financial goals. Knowing how you spend money may be helpful because it can help you make informed financial decisions, avoid unnecessary debt, and save for your future needs. Understanding your spending habits can help you prioritize your expenses, eliminate wasteful spending, and ensure that your financial resources are aligned with your values and long-term plans.

 

So, how can you keep track of your spending to help build healthy habits? Chase Spending Planner is a financial tool available in the Chase Mobile^® app  and on Chase.com for Chase customers that can give you a closer look into how much you‘re spending and what you're spending on.

Let’s break down some things to know about Chase Spending Planner and how to use it to help support your financial goals.

What’s Chase Spending Planner?

Spending Planner is a digital tool for Chase checking and credit card customers that can help users monitor their spending.

When you access the tool, you can see a visual graph of your spending over the past few months, including how much you spend on average in a month, and what categories (e.g., entertainment, groceries, and gas) you’re spending on.

The tool aims to help users in a few different ways:

• It can help users track spending by category
• It can help users compare their spending across different periods
• It can help users identify patterns in their spending
• It can help users create a budget

How do I find and start using Chase Spending Planner?

If you have a checking, or credit card account with Chase, you can access the Spending Planner tool from your desktop computer or the Chase Mobile^® app.

On desktop: Navigate to Chase.com, log-in, and access the tool under the “Manage Your Spending Plan” section under the “Plan, Track, or Manage” dashboard.

On mobile: Once you sign into the app, scroll down and click “Track your spending habits” on the main page.

Once you access the tool, you’ll have access to your spending information for your Chase accounts — there’s no additional sign up beyond accessing the tool either logged in to your account on your desktop or via the Chase Mobile^® app.

What information does Chase Spending Planner provide?

When you access Chase Spending Planner from the Chase Mobile^® app or Chase.com, you’ll see two tabs: “Spending Summary” and “Budget.”

In the “Spending Summary” tab, you’ll see how much you’ve spent in the current month, six months of your spending in a bar chart (you can also click to see your spending as a table), and your average monthly spending over the last six months.

As you scroll further down the tab, you’ll see your spending by category for the month, and options to download your spending data (this year and the previous one).

Beyond that information, at the top of the dashboard, you’ll see options to view your spending in different months, by quarter, or by year.

How does Chase Spending Planner list my spending by category?

If you’re curious about what you’re spending money on, Chase Spending Planner can break down your spending into 17 categories. These categories include:

• Bills & utilities
• Gas
• Fees & adjustments
• Entertainment
• Health & wellness
• Personal
• Professional services
• Gifts and donations
• Groceries
• Food and drink
• Shopping
• Education 
• Home
• Automotive
• Cash out
• Travel
• Miscellaneous

Chase Spending Planner will show you the percentage of your spending in each category. It will also show you the total dollar amount you spent per category. Click on a particular category of your spending that you’re interested in analyzing further, and you can see the exact transactions by category. You can also access all of your transactions for the time period you’re looking into.

 

How Chase Spending Planner may be able to help you make better financial decisions and support your financial health

You may not always realize where your money is going in your busy day-to-day life. Chase Spending Planner can help you become more aware of how much you’re spending, what categories you’re spending money in, and your spending patterns over time. Here are five ways the tool may be able to help.

1. It gives you the ability to see all your Chase spending in one place

The Chase Spending Planner will bring in information from all your Chase accounts, including credit cards and checking accounts, into a single dashboard so you can see spending from Chase accounts in a single place.

2. See when you’re spending the most and when you’re spending the least

With Chase Spending Planner, you can get a monthly, quarterly, or even an annual look into how you’re spending money. You’ll be able to see the months you spent more and figure out why, which may help you make better financial choices.  

3. See what categories you spend the most in

Getting a category-level view of your spending may influence you to shift your spending habits. For instance, if you see that you’re spending a generous amount on travel each month and because of that have little ability to save, you might want to see if you would be able to spend less of your income in this category going forward.

4. The download transaction feature can help with tax filing

When tax season comes around, you may find yourself looking for information on your spending.

If you access the tool through your mobile phone, you’ll be able to download PDF versions of your transactions for the last calendar year.

If you access the tool via your desktop computer you’ll be able to download transactions in a spreadsheet (CSV), Quicken Web Connect (QFX), Quicken or Microsoft Money (QIF), or QuickBooks Web Connect (QBO) format for the last two years.

5. Within Spending Planner, you can create a customized budget based on your spending

You can use the budget feature in Spending Planner to create a customized budget based on your income, how much you want to save, and how much you aim to spend in different categories.

Final thoughts

Knowing how you’re spending money can be a helpful step in your personal finance journey. Ultimately, this awareness may help you on your journey to build a secure financial future.