| name | budget-reporting |
| description | Use when generating budget reports, spending summaries, or monthly financial reviews. Covers step-by-step canonical report format for Rocha family finances. |
| version | 1.0.0 |
| author | Hermes Agent |
| license | MIT |
| metadata | {"hermes":{"tags":["home-assistant","rocha-family","finance","budget","reporting"],"related_skills":["finance-manager","weekly-planner","daily-briefing","telegram-bridge"]}} |
Budget Reporting Skill
Overview
Canonical pattern for generating family budget reports used across budget-review, finance-manager, and daily-briefing agents. Every report follows a consistent 6-step structure.
When to Use
- Monthly budget reviews (1st of month)
- Weekly finance digests
- On-demand "how are we doing?" queries
- Daily-briefing finance section (bills only)
- Any time a structured spending summary is needed
Report Structure (Canonical Format)
Steps can be used as a subset — but ordering and format are fixed.
Step 1: Spending Summary
Pull current-period spending:
get_spending_summary(start_date: "YYYY-MM-01", end_date: "YYYY-MM-DD")
Output format:
💰 Monthly Summary (Month YYYY)
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Total Spent: $X,XXX
Total Income: $X,XXX
Net: +/-$X,XXX
Break down by top categories with amounts and % of total.
Step 2: Budget vs Actual
Compare each category to its target:
- 🟢 Under budget — celebrate
- 🟡 At budget (90–100%) — note
- 🔴 Over budget — flag with dollar overage
Calculate overall adherence: (categories at/under budget) / (total categories) × 100%
Step 3: Trends
Compare current period vs prior period:
get_spending_summary(start_date: prior_start, end_date: prior_end)
- Note increases/decreases by category
- Flag unusual one-time expenses
- Identify growing patterns (subscriptions added, recurring charges growing)
Step 4: Recurring Charges Audit
get_recurring(min_occurrences: 3)
- List all subscriptions with monthly amounts
- Flag any new recurring charges since last review
- Calculate total monthly subscription burn
Step 5: Upcoming Bills
Show bills due in next:
- Daily-briefing: next 3 days
- Weekly-planner: next 7 days
- Monthly review: full next month
Step 6: Recommendations
Generate 1–3 actionable recommendations:
- Over-budget categories → specific reduction ideas
- Unused subscriptions → cancellation suggestions
- Positive trends → reinforcement
Consumer Map
| Agent | Steps Used |
|---|
budget-review (monthly) | All 6 steps |
finance-manager (on-demand) | Steps 1, 2, 4 |
daily-briefing | Step 5 only |
weekly-planner | Steps 1, 5 |
Special Section: Baby/NICU Expenses
When running monthly reviews, include a Section 6b: 👶 Baby & NICU Spending:
- Track twin preparation expenses (nursery, baby gear, medical co-pays, supplies)
- Compare against any baby budget set
- Medical co-pays are non-negotiable — never flag as reduction targets
Tone Rules
- Positive and constructive — financial HEALTH, not guilt
- Use emojis for visual scanning: 💰 📊 🎯 📈 📋 💡
- Lead with the number, then context
- Keep concise — Telegram delivery requires brevity
Common Pitfalls
- ❌ Lecturing about debt morally
- ❌ "You spent too much on X" without context
- ❌ Recommending cutting essentials (baby, medical, food)
- ❌ Ignoring NICU/twin context — medical costs are non-negotiable
- ❌ Running steps out of order
Verification Checklist
