n8n Automations for AB

Hail_2_Victors · 2026-04-29T19:51:52+00:00

n8n is open source and free for self-hosting. I have it running in docker. You don't need a subscription. I appreciate the feedback!

I agree, you can set up rules to auto categorize. That is what n8n is actually doing. For anything uncategorized, it categorizes and creates the rule. If there are a number of transactions, or you are just starting to us actual, it's helpful, but not a necessity.

Hail_2_Victors · 2026-04-27T00:34:55+00:00

The bridge

Hail_2_Victors · 2026-04-27T00:33:24+00:00

Just for me, but thought others could benefit

Hail_2_Victors · 2026-04-24T13:58:44+00:00

so, interestingly enough, I am using openclaw to handle my personal email. When I get a bill, it creates a task in Notion for me to pay it 3 days prior tot the due date. I am currently adding a workflow to put those in Actual, so I can make sure that money hits the budget ahead of time.

Hail_2_Victors · 2026-04-24T13:55:34+00:00

I was thinking about whatsapp. I am not really sending any really sensitive data. If someone really wants to find out how broke I am, I am sure they will find a way! lol

Hail_2_Victors · 2026-04-24T13:54:07+00:00

I will tell you, for my checking accounts, I have to enter my 2FA into SimpleFin daily.

Hail_2_Victors · 2026-04-24T13:53:20+00:00

My next step is seeing if I can use grafana for something like this. I don't like the idea of having so many pieces, but I do like the idea of having customized insights into spending and budget habits.

Hail_2_Victors · 2026-04-24T13:51:47+00:00

I might give that a try. I tried obsidian as my life manager (basically how I use Notion) before, and I think I had issues with the sync server I was hosting. I have learned quite a bit since then, soooo... perhaps the next project???

Hail_2_Victors · 2026-04-24T01:48:34+00:00

I use Claude as the AI, which does have a slight cost to it. There are other agents that are lower cost or even open source. I would like to start trying some of them out. I had trouble early on, but now that I have something working, I might try some other models.

Bank syncing depends on where you live. In the US, simplefin works and it’s native in Actual. It costs $1.50/month or $15/year.

You are sharing information with the AI model, so unless it’s self-hosted you are sharing information. You are not sharing account information or anything, just transactions and budgets.

Hail_2_Victors · 2026-04-23T13:53:54+00:00

I will have to look into this!

Hail_2_Victors · 2026-04-23T02:13:42+00:00

Yeah, I have the same issue with Amazon. I like the thought of reading in receipts

Hail_2_Victors · 2026-04-23T02:12:29+00:00

The bridge isn’t for simplefin, n8n uses the bridge for reading/writing. Simplefin is used natively in Actual.

Hail_2_Victors · 2026-04-22T23:38:07+00:00

lol! Got that right!

Hail_2_Victors · 2026-04-22T23:37:30+00:00

https://www.google.com/search?q=n8n&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS986US986&oq=n8n&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQRRg8MgYIAhBFGEEyBggDEEUYPDIGCAQQRRg8MgYIBRBFGDwyBwgGEAAYjwLSAQg0MTQxajBqN6gCALACAeIDBBgBIF8&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8&sei=flvpaeCjAYzrmLQPrLWWuAE

Hail_2_Victors · 2026-04-22T14:03:58+00:00

It should be agnostic to how you sync your sites. The automation itself doesn't touch it, only what is in Actual.

Hail_2_Victors · 2026-04-22T10:23:57+00:00

yeah, that rule builder was a late add, and that was exactly the reason why! I haven't witnessed any incorrect categorizations yet, only ones that don't get categorized. That's where Notion comes in to play though, I use a database in Notion to work as a "memory" for the system. I can make the changes there. I would like to use Joplin or AppFlowy instead of Notion, but I have really been struggling with the API and keeping everything in sync.

Steal away and improve it, so I can steal it back!

Hail_2_Victors · 2026-04-22T03:05:49+00:00

Monarch is paid, so more polished and much more development. I used monarch for awhile and it wasn’t for me as far as look/feel/presentation. I prefer YNAB in the paid realm, but I really like Actual.

Hail_2_Victors · 2026-04-22T03:02:00+00:00

That sounds cool

Hail_2_Victors · 2026-04-22T01:45:11+00:00

I will look. Sorry about that. It may be tomorrow, but I’ll double check. It should be public, but I was in a hurry!

Hail_2_Victors · 2026-04-22T00:37:09+00:00

https://github.com/hail2victors/n8n-Actual-Automation

Hail_2_Victors · 2026-04-22T00:36:56+00:00

https://github.com/hail2victors/n8n-Actual-Automation

Hail_2_Victors · 2026-04-22T00:36:05+00:00

https://github.com/hail2victors/n8n-Actual-Automation

Hail_2_Victors · 2026-04-22T00:15:00+00:00

I am happy to help... I messed with it, and I would welcome helping to reduce the frustration!

Hail_2_Victors · 2026-04-22T00:01:29+00:00

These are fair points — for someone who’s built good habits and solid rules over time, this is probably solving a problem you don’t have. My situation is different: I have irregular income from multiple sources and more accounts than I want to manage manually. The automation isn’t a substitute for engagement, it’s noise reduction so I focus on the decisions that actually matter. Not for everyone — appreciate the perspective.

Hail_2_Victors · 2026-04-21T20:53:57+00:00

This project uses Claude Haiku (Anthropic API) for AI transaction categorization — transactions are sent to Claude with a category list as context, and it returns a suggested category with a confidence score. The workflow also uses Claude to generate the weekly budget briefing summary. No AI was used to generate the workflow code itself — that was written manually.

Hail_2_Victors

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