Bank transactions from online marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy only show the payee and total amount, making budget categorization nearly useless. By connecting bank transaction data with order confirmation emails using an AI agent (Hermes), purchases can be matched and split into individual line items with meaningful categories. The agent uses Gmail CLI tools to find order emails, fuzzy-matches them to bank charges by amount and date, then splits or recategorizes transactions automatically in Actual Budget. The result transforms a single opaque 'Shopping' entry into granular spending data across categories like Household, Electronics, and Kitchen — without requiring manual review of every order.
Table of contents
Starting with Actual #Finding the missing context #Letting the agent make the first pass #Seeing where the money went #Connecting the pieces #205 Impressions