Another starting fresh method (#761)

Based on a discussion in #general-chat about starting fresh from
https://discord.com/channels/937901803608096828/940290142579605514/1400170231556603954

Thanks to Magnus Burnsides for this kick in the butt :-D

docs/advanced/restart.md

@@ -1,18 +1,49 @@
-# Restart your Budget (without removing transactions)
+# Restarting Your Budget
 
-If you've fallen behind on your budgeting and want to start fresh without starting from scratch, follow these steps to reset your budget:
+If you've fallen behind on your budgeting and want to start fresh without starting from scratch.
 
-## Step 1: Address Uncategorized Transactions
+This means that you want to reset your budget while keeping your categories, payees, rules and schedules. Bellow we have described two methods to restart your budget: one by deleting all transactions and another without deleting any transactions.
+
+If you're ok with truly starting completely from scratch, [just make a new file](/docs/getting-started/starting-fresh/).
+
+:::caution
+Remember to [back up your budget](/docs/backup-restore/backup) before making any significant changes to your budget.
+:::
+
+
+## Restarting Your Budget by Deleting Transactions
+
+### Step 1: Delete All Transactions
+- Click on *All Accounts* in the left sidebar.
+- Select all transactions by clicking the checkbox at the top of the list (or use the shortcut `Ctrl + A` on Windows or `Cmd + A` on Mac).
+- Click on the lilac dropdown menu at the top of the transaction list and select **Delete**.
+
+![Steps for deleting all transactions](/img/accounts/account-delete-all-transactions.png)
+
+
+### Step 2: Set Starting Balances
+- Go to each account and set the starting balance for today's date to the current amount in that account.
+
+### Step 3: Adjust Previous Months' Category Balances
+- Navigate to the month prior to your new start (e.g., the end of May, if the month you're restarting from is June).
+- Review each budget category:
+  - If a category has a **negative balance**, allocate additional funds to bring the balance to zero.
+  - If a category has a **positive balance**, click on the category and transfer the balance amount back to the **"To Budget"** area.
+
+
+## Restarting Your Budget Without Deleting Transactions
+
+### Step 1: Address Uncategorized Transactions
 
 - Go through any transactions that haven't been categorized.
 - If you're unsure where to assign certain transactions, create a temporary category named **"Budget Reset"**.
 - Once you've categorized all transactions, you can hide this temporary category.
 
-## Step 2: Reconcile Your Accounts
+### Step 2: Reconcile Your Accounts
 
 Using the **Reconcile** feature, bring your accounts up to date with a current balance. This ensures that your accounts reflect the actual available funds.
 
-## Step 3: Adjust Previous Months' Budgets
+### Step 3: Adjust Previous Months' Category Balances
 
 - Navigate to the month prior to your new start (e.g., the end of May, if the month you're restarting from is June).
 - Review each budget category:

docs/getting-started/starting-fresh.md

@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ This guide will walk through setting up a budget file fresh without migrating fr
 Before continuing, it might be a good idea to read about the [envelope method](/docs/getting-started/envelope-budgeting), or zero-sum
 budgeting as it's also called.
 
+If you want to restart an existing budget while keeping your categories, payees, rules, and schedules, you can follow the guide on [Restarting Your Budget](/docs/advanced/restart).
+
 ## 1. Setting up Accounts
 It is recommended to add all accounts you have to Actual.
 This includes all savings, checking, and investment accounts.
@@ -122,9 +124,9 @@ Should you put your credit card debts in this category?
 The answer is *it depends*. For some input on this, please read our article on 
 [Carrying Debt](/docs/budgeting/credit-cards/carrying-debt).
 
-3. **Daily expenses**.  Group your everyday expenses for a more organized and convenient way 
-of tracking. This makes it easy to report on expenditures that fluctuate from month to month. 
-Examples of spending categories in this group are Groceries, Household Items, Fuel, Eating Out, Clothing, 
+3. **Daily expenses**.  Group your everyday expenses for a more organized and convenient way
+of tracking. This makes it easy to report on expenditures that fluctuate from month to month.
+Examples of spending categories in this group are Groceries, Household Items, Fuel, Eating Out, Clothing,
 Personal Care, Gifts, Entertainment, Streaming services, News (paper) subscriptions, and Charities.
 
 
@@ -133,12 +135,12 @@ You should have at least one category named *Emergency Fund*. Other examples ma
 Replacing Stove, and Replacing Washing Machine.
 
 
-5. **Savings goals**.  This is where you keep your savings goals categorized *on budget*. What we 
-mean by on budget is that if you need to reallocate money, you may settle for a cheaper Vacation or 
-postpone the Car Replacement or the Bathroom Renovation for a few months. If you are saving for a 
-long view, like your retirement, we suggest you create an *off budget* account for those kind of 
-savings. Money allocated in off budget accounts takes more effort to reallocate as you need to 
-move the actual funds from your savings account or sell your stocks or global 
+5. **Savings goals**.  This is where you keep your savings goals categorized *on budget*. What we
+mean by on budget is that if you need to reallocate money, you may settle for a cheaper Vacation or
+postpone the Car Replacement or the Bathroom Renovation for a few months. If you are saving for a
+long view, like your retirement, we suggest you create an *off budget* account for those kind of
+savings. Money allocated in off budget accounts takes more effort to reallocate as you need to
+move the actual funds from your savings account or sell your stocks or global
 index funds (a few examples of long term saving methods).
 
 
@@ -173,9 +175,9 @@ For bills, your bank or credit card statements are good sources to establish you
 
 ### Use a spreadsheet to find your initial budget numbers
 
-You enter all your expenses in a spreadsheet, summarize them per month, and then calculate the average. 
-Now, you know what you need to budget per 
-month. Having the budgeted numbers somewhat higher than the calculated average might be a good idea. 
+You enter all your expenses in a spreadsheet, summarize them per month, and then calculate the average.
+Now, you know what you need to budget per
+month. Having the budgeted numbers somewhat higher than the calculated average might be a good idea.
 
 This way, you add small buffers in each category as prices rise; the same goes for your rent and mortgage.
 Adding some extra, albeit small, paddings along the way means you are better suited when this happens.
@@ -245,7 +247,7 @@ budgeting.
    as what you see in the *Spent* column. If done correctly, the sum under *To Budget* should
    correctly tell you how much money you have left.
 
-4. Set aside time to analyze your spending and income at the end of the month. Based on this, 
+4. Set aside time to analyze your spending and income at the end of the month. Based on this,
    you can add values to the upcoming months' Budgeted column.
 
 
@@ -286,9 +288,9 @@ This topic is so important on how to actually use Actual, that we have devoted a
 
 ## The next step in your budgeting journey
 
-A good next step is to read through the "Using Actual" section of the documentation.  This section has detailed explanations on the 
-features of Actual and how to use them. Some of the most useful features are [Rules](/docs/budgeting/rules/index.md), 
-[Schedules](/docs/schedules.md), [Reconciliation](/docs/accounts/reconciliation.md), 
+A good next step is to read through the "Using Actual" section of the documentation.  This section has detailed explanations on the
+features of Actual and how to use them. Some of the most useful features are [Rules](/docs/budgeting/rules/index.md),
+[Schedules](/docs/schedules.md), [Reconciliation](/docs/accounts/reconciliation.md),
 and [Reports](/docs/reports/index.md).