Getting Started with WIMD: Your First Week

Welcome to WIMD! Whether you've been meaning to get your finances organized for years or you're just starting to pay attention to where your money goes, you're in the right place. This guide will walk you through your first week with WIMD.

Day 1: Connect Your Accounts

The first step is connecting your bank accounts. WIMD uses Plaid and SimpleFin to securely connect to your bank—you authenticate directly with your financial institution, and we receive read-only access to your transactions.

Start with your most-used accounts. You can always add more later. Once connected, WIMD will pull in your recent transaction history—usually the past 90 days.

Day 2: Review AI Categorization

By day two, your transactions will be automatically categorized by our AI. Take 10-15 minutes to scroll through and see how it did.

The AI is good, but it's not perfect. It might categorize your gym membership as "Shopping" instead of "Health & Fitness." When you correct a categorization, WIMD learns from it. After a few corrections, similar transactions will be categorized correctly in the future.

Tips for Reviewing

• Focus on recurring transactions first—these will keep coming back
• Don't worry about getting every historical transaction perfect
• Look for patterns the AI might have missed (e.g., all your coffee shops)

Day 3: Set Up Transaction Rules

Now that you've seen your transactions, it's time to create rules for the ones that repeat. Rules automatically categorize transactions based on criteria you define.

For example, if your landlord's name appears in your rent payments, create a rule: "When description contains 'JOHN SMITH RENT', categorize as Rent."

Common Rules to Set Up

• Rent or mortgage payments – Usually has a consistent description
• Subscription services – Netflix, Spotify, gym memberships
• Utility bills – Hydro, gas, internet
• Regular transfers – Savings contributions, investment accounts

Day 4: Customize Your Categories

WIMD comes with sensible default categories, but your spending is unique. Maybe you want to track "Coffee" separately from "Dining Out." Maybe you need a category for "Side Hustle Expenses."

Go to Settings → Categories and make it yours. You can rename categories, change icons, create new ones, or merge existing ones.

Day 5: Create Your First Project

Projects help you track spending toward a specific goal. This could be:

• A savings goal (vacation, emergency fund, down payment)
• A spending project (home renovation, wedding)
• Debt payoff tracking

Create a Project, set a target amount, and start linking relevant transactions. Even if you're just starting to save, seeing that progress bar fill up is motivating.

Days 6-7: Explore and Refine

By the end of your first week, you should have a clear picture of your finances. Spend these days exploring:

• Spending insights – Where is most of your money going?
• Account balances – What's your overall financial picture?
• Trends – How does this month compare to last month?

Don't stress about making everything perfect. The goal of week one is to get set up and start seeing your data. You'll refine your setup over time as you learn what matters to you.

Pro Tips

1. Check in weekly – Even 5 minutes a week keeps you aware of your spending.
2. Use the mobile experience – Quick categorizations are easy on the go.
3. Don't over-categorize – Start simple. You can always add more detail later.
4. Invite your partner – If you share finances, household budgeting features help you both stay on the same page.

You're All Set

That's it for your first week. You've connected your accounts, reviewed your categorization, set up rules, customized your categories, and created a Project. You're now ahead of most people when it comes to understanding your money.

The real magic happens over time. As weeks turn into months, you'll have a complete picture of your financial life—and the clarity to make better decisions.