The BUDGET section is the most detailed section of HUGO so it can be a bit confusing. But it is also the most effective part of HUGO when keeping on top of your energy bills. So here is a guide on how to get the best out of the BUDGET section in HUGO.
1. INPUT YOUR RATES
Make sure you input your tariff and standing charges and set an end date in the future (preferably when your contract ends). Otherwise all the data in HUGO will default to the energy price cap and if your not paying this the data won’t be accurate in the USAGE, BUDGET or TARIFFS section.
2. SET A BUDGET TARGET
Work out what you want to pay either daily, weekly, monthly and yearly for gas/electricity. Then the BUDGET section will show you how your performing against this and you can view your performance on a daily, weekly, monthly yearly basis against this target.
TIP: Reset the budget in the winter and summer as our usage patterns change seasonally. Otherwise expect to be lower than your budget in summer and higher in the winter.
TIP: The GRAPH view can show you how your doing against the BUDGET switch between PRO-RATA and PROJECTED GRAPHS views to see which you prefer.
3. WHAT DOES PRO-RATA TARGET MEAN?
So on the main BUDGET screen PRO-RATA means the amount you should have spent against your BUDGET for the month on a given date. So if in May 2022, I have a total budget of £31 for electricity, by 15th May I should have spend £15 on a PRO-RATA basis. The white PRO-RATA line shows where you should be on the 15th May. So on 15th May if you have spent £13 the app will show you under the PRO-RATA budget and the bar colour will be green. If your at £17 on 15th May you are over the PRO-RATA target and the bar colour is red. So green is good and red is a warning sign.
4. WHEN I SWITCH TO PROJECTED WHAT DOES THIS SHOW?
In the main BUDGET section the PROJECTION button is basically what you will spend if you carry on at the same rate for the week, month or year. So again if I spent £17 by the 15th May and then switch to PROJECTION view your PROJECTION will be £35.12. If my target is £31 I’ll need to reduce usage the rest of the month to get back within my target by the end of the month. So the projection is designed to keep your spending on track.
5. WHAT DOES THE SEASONAL AVERAGE BUTTON SHOW?
If you set a budget of £1,200 per annum for gas your budget is £100 per month. Based on the average seasonal temperatures for each month of the year we know that actually you should only spend 4% of this budget is June and 16% in January (as examples). So the seasonal average adjusts the BUDGET data to show you if you are above or under BUDGET based on historical seasonal averages. This section also keeps a record of what you have spent historically each month.
