Most banks let you download a transaction history as a CSV, a plain text file of rows and columns. It is the simplest way to work with your own spending data without connecting an account to anything. It is also full of small traps.
This guide walks through the process, and is honest about what a list of transactions can and cannot tell you.
Check the file before you use it
5 things to do
Ticks are for this visit only. Nothing here is saved anywhere.
The process
Download
Export the period you want from your bank, as a CSV.
Look
Open it and check the shape using the list above.
Map
Tell whatever tool you are using which column is the date, the description and the amount.
Review
Look for duplicates and anything that looks wrong before it counts.
Categorize
Give each transaction a category, or skip the ones that do not matter.
What a CSV cannot tell you
A transaction list tells you what happened. It does not tell you what is coming: the bill due Friday, the subscription renewing next week, the balance you need to keep. It also does not know which of your accounts you meant to keep out of your spending.
That is why a list of transactions alone gives you a description of the past, not a plan. To plan, you need your bills, your income and your balances, alongside it.
Watch for the double count
Two things commonly go wrong. A file that overlaps with one you imported before will duplicate rows. And a transfer between your own accounts can appear as both spending in one and income in the other. Look at anything that shows up twice with the same date and amount before you trust a total.
No bank login needed
Downloading a file yourself means you never give a third party access to your account. The trade-off is that it is a snapshot you have to refresh. For a monthly habit, that is often exactly enough. If you want a simpler starting point, see how to make a monthly budget for the first time.