Track fixed monthly obligations (rent, insurance, and bills your bank does not flag)

Fixed obligations are committed monthly costs, rent or mortgage, insurance, a tax installment plan, that your connected banks may not clearly flag as recurring. They sit on the Transactions page next to your detected subscriptions, because both are the same kind of thing: money that leaves every month whether you think about it or not. Clarity uses them as your income floor in every financial snapshot and spending answer.

How to do it

1. Tell Clarity about a fixed cost: name, category, and monthly amount - "my rent is $1,650 a month" or "add my car insurance, $165/month."
2. Clarity previews the entry.
3. Confirm. It is added to your floor immediately.

You can also add, edit, or remove them directly from the Fixed Obligations card on the Transactions page.

Why this matters

Without your fixed obligations recorded, a financial snapshot only sees what your connected banks captured, which understates your real monthly floor. If Clarity notices you have none recorded while answering a snapshot or budget question, it will say so and offer to capture them right there.

Common questions

What counts as a fixed obligation versus a detected subscription?

A detected subscription is something Plaid recognized as a recurring charge on a connected account. A fixed obligation is anything you tell Clarity about directly, most often costs paid outside a connected account (a landlord who takes a check, an insurer billed elsewhere) or costs your bank does not clearly tag as recurring.

Does this affect my budget categories?

No, budgets and fixed obligations are separate. Fixed obligations are the floor Clarity subtracts from income before talking about discretionary spending; budgets are per-category caps on discretionary spend.

What if a fixed cost changes, like a rate renewal?

Tell Clarity the new amount the same way you added it; it updates the existing entry rather than creating a duplicate.