guide for starting fresh

.github/actions/spelling/allow/keywords.txt

@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ Firefox
 flyctl
 Formik
 htpasswd
+HSA
 IBANs
 iex
 importtransactions

docs-sidebar.js

@@ -132,6 +132,7 @@ const sidebars = {
         'getting-started/tips-tricks',
         'getting-started/sync',
         'getting-started/manage-files',
+        'getting-started/starting-clean',
         {
           type: 'category',
           label: 'Migration',

docs/accounts/index.md

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ Actual makes a distinction between accounts being **for** budget or **off** budg
 
 **For budget** accounts affect the budget, and transactions can be categorized. These are accounts where you want to track cash flow and use the budget, like checking accounts and credit cards.
 
-Depending on your usage, savings accounts can either be on or off the budget. If you're not sure, we recommend keeping it off the budget at the start.
+Depending on your usage, savings accounts can either be on or off the budget. If you're not sure, we recommend keeping it on budget at the start.
 
 ## Adding a new account
 

docs/getting-started/starting-clean.md

@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+---
+title: 'Starting Fresh'
+---
+For most users it's best to start fresh with a blank file.
+This guide will walk through setting up a budget file fresh without migrating from a previous budget software export.
+
+## 1. Setting up Accounts
+It is recommended to add all accounts you have to Actual including all savings, checking, and investment accounts.
+These accounts should match what shows up in your Bank or Credit Union.
+For example, if you have a savings, checking, and credit card account with Bank of America, add each as a separate account in Actual.
+### On or Off Budget
+On budget accounts are included towards the funds available in your budget, while off budget accounts are only for viewing or tracking and ease of transfers.
+Off budget accounts are included in the net worth report.
+It is usually best to err towards putting accounts on budget versus off.
+The most common off budget accounts would be investment type accounts such as a 401(k), IRA, HSA, brokerage account, loans, and asset tracking such as your home and car value.
+
+Savings accounts can be off budget, but it is recommended to put them on budget.
+That way you can use the budget categories to view where you plan to use those savings funds in the future.
+
+In some situations it may make sense to put a credit card account off budget. This is generally not recommended unless you are not using that card for any spending and are exclusively paying it off.
+
+### How to Setup Accounts
+The process of adding an account is detailed [here](../accounts/#adding-a-new-account).
+
+For bank syncing, Actual currently has built in support for [goCardless](../advanced/bank-sync) which works for most EU/UK banks.
+For other bank syncing option see the [community projects page](../community-repos).
+
+## 2. Setting up your Budget Categories
+
+Now that your accounts are set up and your current balance is accurate, you can start adding budget categories.
+As a rule of thumb, make as many categories as you can think of.
+It is easier to merge categories later than it is to manually move transactions to a new category down the road.
+
+By default, Actual will start you off with a few basic expense categories Food, General, Bills, Bills (Flexible), and Savings. Some others you may want to add would be rent/mortgage, taxes, eating out, specific utilities, subscription services, charitable donations, child care, gifts, fun money, or debt payment, just to name a few.
+
+When creating your categories don't just think of your bills, think of your goals too.
+The categories aren't just a name of an expense, it is a bucket that will hold your money.
+That bucket can be assigned to both normal expenses like bill and groceries, and to savings goals like a down payment on a house or a vacation to Bali.
+If you have an investment account that you contribute to, make a category for that.
+
+You also have the ability to make multiple income categories.
+Maybe you have multiple income streams, make a category for each one.
+You may also want a category for interest and dividends.
+
+### How to Setup Categories
+While making these categories, remember that all money entering or leaving your budget needs a category.
+
+The process for adding and working with categories is found [here](../budgeting/categories/#add-a-category).
+
+## 3. Assign Available Funds
+Now that you have your accounts and categories set up, you're at the fun part.
+You get to budget! 
+Actual uses a style of budgeting called zero-sum budgeting, or envelope budgeting.
+In this style you allocate all available funds between you categories.
+This can be referred to as giving all your money a "job".
+One dollar (or whatever your currency is) may be used for Netflix while the next dollar may be for savings.
+Giving every dollar a job forces you to be honest about where you money is going because each dollar can only have one job.
+
+Every one has a different situation so there isn't a once size fits all way to assign your available funds.
+Detailed below are a few strategies you can use.
+### The Basics
+The basic idea with zero-sum budgeting is that you can only budget what you have, and all you have should be budgeted.
+If you budget more than you have one month, the over budgeted amount will be deducted from what you have available the next month.
+So to start, decide what your most important categories are.
+Those important categories might be rent, food, and utilities.
+Assign what you need for those categories, then repeat the process for the next most important categories until your to budget amount for the month reaches zero.
+When you get a paycheck or other income continue filling in where the funds are needed.
+
+As you go along you will start to get a good view of where your money is going.
+If you don't like how things are going, make changes.
+If you're happy, great!
+Keep budgeting to keep track of your progress on your goals.
+
+A more detailed breakdown of how budgeting in Actual works is provided [here](../budgeting/)
+
+### Credit Cards
+If you currently are carrying credit card debt in an on budget account you will need to capture that debt in a category.
+A guide on how to handle that can be found [here](../budgeting/credit-cards)
+
+### The Month Ahead Method
+It can be hard to know where to budget your funds when you get paid in the middle of the month, or get multiple paychecks per month.
+One way to handle this is called the "month ahead" method.
+This consists of holding everything you make this month and only budgeting it next month.
+The goal is to not need any of this month's income for this month's bills, but pay all of this month's bills with last month's income.
+Actual makes this easy by allowing you to hold your available funds for the next month by clicking the **To Budget** amount at the top of the budgeting screen
+
+
+## 4. Keep Budgeting
+Now that you have set up your budget, you can start importing transactions and tracking your spending and saving.
+The best next step is to read through the "Using Actual" section of the documentation.  This section has detailed explainers on the features of Actual and how to use them.  Some of the most useful features are [Rules](../budgeting/rules), [Schedules](../budgeting/schedules), [Reconciliation](../accounts/reconciliation), and [Reports](../reports-filters/reports).
+
+If you feel a bit overwhelmed, don't worry.
+Starting budgeting is confusing, especially if you are new to zero-sum budgeting.
+It is a strict, but powerful, way to handle personal finance.
+If you have questions feel free to ask on our [Discord](https://discord.gg/8JfAXSgfRf).
+There are many people that have gone through the same confusion and will be happy to help you out!