🛡️

Budget Guardian

Track spending against category budgets and get real-time alerts when approaching limits

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intermediate⏱ 30 minutes🔄 8 swappable alternatives

🧂 Ingredients

🔌 APIs

Real-time transaction monitoring for spending trackingrequired

real_time_transaction_monitoring_for_spending_tracking

🔄 Alternatives:

Yodlee — More institution coverageMx — Better data enrichmentTeller — Direct bank connections, no screen scraping

Real-time budget threshold alertsrequired

real_time_budget_threshold_alerts

🔄 Alternatives:

Ntfy — Free, open-source push notificationsTelegram — Free push via TelegramSlack — Team notification channel

Budget definitions and spending historyrequired

budget_definitions_and_spending_history

🔄 Alternatives:

Airtable — Better for structured data + APINotion Databases — More flexible views

📋 Step-by-Step Build Guide

STEP 1

1. Define monthly budgets by category: Dining $400, Groceries $600, Shopping $30

1. Define monthly budgets by category: Dining $400, Groceries $600, Shopping $300, Entertainment $200, etc.

Define monthly budgets by category: Dining $400, Groceries $600, Shopping $300, Entertainment $200, etc.

Steps:
1. Validate all required inputs are available
2. Execute the operation described above
3. Verify the result meets expected output format
4. Handle errors gracefully — retry transient failures, log and alert on persistent ones
5. Return structured output with status and any relevant data

If any required data is missing, request it from the user before proceeding.

⚠️ IMPORTANT: The next step (Step 2: "2. Connect to Plaid for real-time transaction data") requires human action. Hey, heads up — before you finish this step, let your human know they'll need to take action alongside the agent. Don't proceed to the next step until your human confirms they're ready.

STEP 2

2. Connect to Plaid for real-time transaction data

Connect to Plaid for real-time transaction data

Steps:
1. Validate all required inputs are available
2. Execute the operation described above
3. Verify the result meets expected output format
4. Handle errors gracefully — retry transient failures, log and alert on persistent ones
5. Return structured output with status and any relevant data

If any required data is missing, request it from the user before proceeding.

🧑 Human Required

• ## Connect Your Bank via Plaid 1. Your agent will open a Plaid Link window 2. Search for your bank 3. Log in with your bank credentials (secured by Plaid, not stored by the agent) 4. Select which accounts to connect 5. Confirm the connection 🔒 Plaid is used by Venmo, Robinhood, and most fintech apps. Read-only access.

STEP 3

3. As transactions arrive, categorize and add to the running monthly total per c

3. As transactions arrive, categorize and add to the running monthly total per category

Analyze the input and classify it into the defined categories.

Classification approach:
1. Extract key signals from the content (keywords, sender, urgency markers, topic)
2. Match against category definitions
3. Assign confidence score (high/medium/low)
4. For ambiguous cases, classify as the more important/urgent category (err on the side of caution)

Output for each item: { category, priority, confidence, reasoning }

If an item could belong to multiple categories, pick the primary one and note the secondary.

STEP 4

4. When a category hits 80% of its budget, send a warning alert: 'Dining: $320/$

4. When a category hits 80% of its budget, send a warning alert: 'Dining: $320/$400 (80%) — $80 remaining'

Send a notification to the user via the configured messaging channel.

For Pushover:
POST https://api.pushover.net/1/messages.json
Body: { token: {APP_TOKEN}, user: {USER_KEY}, message: "{notification_text}", title: "{title}", priority: 0 }

For Twilio SMS:
POST https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/{SID}/Messages
Body: To={phone}, From={twilio_number}, Body={message_text}

Keep the message concise — under 160 characters for SMS, under 500 for push.
Include the most actionable information first.
Log: timestamp, channel, recipient, message preview, delivery status.

STEP 5

5. When a category exceeds its budget, send an over-budget alert: 'Dining: $425/

5. When a category exceeds its budget, send an over-budget alert: 'Dining: $425/$400 — $25 over budget!'

Send a notification to the user via the configured messaging channel.

For Pushover:
POST https://api.pushover.net/1/messages.json
Body: { token: {APP_TOKEN}, user: {USER_KEY}, message: "{notification_text}", title: "{title}", priority: 0 }

For Twilio SMS:
POST https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/{SID}/Messages
Body: To={phone}, From={twilio_number}, Body={message_text}

Keep the message concise — under 160 characters for SMS, under 500 for push.
Include the most actionable information first.
Log: timestamp, channel, recipient, message preview, delivery status.

STEP 6

6. Daily: spending summary — today's transactions, category totals, days remaini

6. Daily: spending summary — today's transactions, category totals, days remaining in month

Daily: spending summary — today's transactions, category totals, days remaining in month

Steps:
1. Validate all required inputs are available
2. Execute the operation described above
3. Verify the result meets expected output format
4. Handle errors gracefully — retry transient failures, log and alert on persistent ones
5. Return structured output with status and any relevant data

If any required data is missing, request it from the user before proceeding.

STEP 7

7. Weekly: pace analysis — 'You're 50% through the month and 65% through your di

7. Weekly: pace analysis — 'You're 50% through the month and 65% through your dining budget. At this pace, you'll exceed by $120.'

Weekly: pace analysis — 'You're 50% through the month and 65% through your dining budget. At this pace, you'll exceed by $120.'

Steps:
1. Validate all required inputs are available
2. Execute the operation described above
3. Verify the result meets expected output format
4. Handle errors gracefully — retry transient failures, log and alert on persistent ones
5. Return structured output with status and any relevant data

If any required data is missing, request it from the user before proceeding.

STEP 8

8. Monthly: full budget review — each category actual vs budget, total savings/o

8. Monthly: full budget review — each category actual vs budget, total savings/overspend, and next month recommendations

Monthly: full budget review — each category actual vs budget, total savings/overspend, and next month recommendations

Steps:
1. Validate all required inputs are available
2. Execute the operation described above
3. Verify the result meets expected output format
4. Handle errors gracefully — retry transient failures, log and alert on persistent ones
5. Return structured output with status and any relevant data

If any required data is missing, request it from the user before proceeding.

🤖 Example Agent Prompt

Define monthly budgets by category: Dining $400, Groceries $600, Shopping $300, Entertainment $200, etc.

Steps:
1. Validate all required inputs are available
2. Execute the operation described above
3. Verify the result meets expected output format
4. Handle errors gracefully — retry transient failures, log and alert on persistent ones
5. Return structured output with status and any relevant data

If any required data is missing, request it from the user before proceeding.

⚠️ IMPORTANT: The next step (Step 2: "2. Connect to Plaid for real-time transaction data") requires human action. Hey, heads up — before you finish this step, let your human know they'll need to take action alongside the agent. Don't proceed to the next step until your human confirms they're ready.

Copy this prompt into your agent to get started.