Blog
Articles about the product, privacy, and habits that make budgets easier to live with.
16 April 2026
Import Transactions in Five Minutes: Here's How
Learn how to import transactions into Luma with file uploads, automatic categorization, and better control over your personal finances.
Read article9 April 2026
The Ten-Minute Weekly Budget Reset
A simple weekly habit that keeps your spending aligned with your goals, without budgeting feeling like another chore piled onto your week.
Read article1 April 2026
You Own Your Bank Data: Here's How to Get It Out
A practical guide to downloading your transactions from Norwegian banks as a CSV file, so you can actually work with your spending data in any budgeting tool or spreadsheet.
Read article24 March 2026
Getting a CSV File out of DNB Nettbank
Step by step: how to export your transactions from DNB nettbank to CSV so you can use them in your budgeting tool. Covers date filters, the Excel semicolon quirk, and history limits.
Read article16 March 2026
SpareBank 1 hands you a CSV in one click
Step-by-step export from SpareBank 1's online bank, including the small twist where the button labelled 'Export to Excel' actually gives you a CSV file.
Read article9 March 2026
Handelsbanken has no CSV button: here is the way around
How to find your account statement and transactions inside Handelsbanken's private online bank, and what to do when you actually need the numbers in a spreadsheet or budgeting tool.
Read article4 March 2026
Exporting from Bulder is easier than you might think
Bulder has no online banking on a PC, so the export lives entirely in the app. Here is the menu path, the CSV quirks, and the weekly rhythm that keeps the whole thing painless.
Read article26 February 2026
Skip the direct bank connection: three reasons CSV still wins
Ten minutes with a downloaded statement beats a live feed for most people. Here is why a manual CSV import gives you better oversight than plugging a third party straight into your bank.
Read article20 February 2026
Split your salary across 8 categories for a clearer overview
A simple, copy-and-paste budget template for Norwegian earners, with worked figures for a 35 000 kr net salary across rent, food, electricity, transport and savings.
Read article11 February 2026
Weekly or monthly budget: which one actually fits you?
A practical comparison of weekly and monthly budgeting, and a four-step recipe that combines both so a heavy week two does not wreck the whole month.
Read article4 February 2026
Five CSV import mistakes that turn ten minutes into an hour
Strange characters, doubled transactions, amounts that refuse to add up. The five CSV import problems we see most often, and a five-minute fix for each.
Read article28 January 2026
Five quiet minutes with your bank statement
A calm walk through what a Norwegian bank statement actually shows, what the most common fields mean, and how to get on top of your finances in a single short session each week.
Read article28 January 2026
The GDPR rights every budgeting app user actually has
A practical guide to your data privacy rights when using a budgeting app in Norway, plus six questions worth answering before you sign up.
Read article21 January 2026
What “unlimited transactions” means on Free and Plus
Many budgeting apps say “unlimited,” but the word can mean different things. Here is what it means in Luma, and where the only real limit between Free and Plus sits.
Read article13 January 2026
No, you don't need to import every day
Luma's free plan gives you 8 import sessions a month. A weekly rhythm uses just 4 to 5 of them, leaving real buffer for the weeks something goes off plan.
Read article6 January 2026
After one month all 23 categories sat empty
Most people who give up on a budget make the same mistake: too many categories. Here is a concrete setup with seven categories that actually holds through the whole month.
Read article29 December 2025
Will eight imports a month be enough for you?
The free Luma plan gives you 8 import sessions per month. For most people that is plenty, with room to spare. Here is the honest take on when Plus is actually worth it.
Read article22 December 2025
You don't need one rule per shop
Most people set up far too many category rules. Two or three well-chosen rules for what you buy most often will do more for auto-categorisation than a long list of rules you eventually stop maintaining.
Read article15 December 2025
Your data belongs to you, not the app
Three common misconceptions about data export from budgeting apps, and what you are actually entitled to under GDPR.
Read article10 December 2025
If a budget app is free, who actually pays?
Five ways a free app can make money, what each one means for your privacy, and the questions that reveal which model your app is really running.
Read article3 December 2025
Four cracks in your bank's own money overview
The bank's own money overview is free and needs zero setup. Here are four situations where it falls short, and what a dedicated budget app does differently.
Read article26 November 2025
When your first payday meets Lånekassen
A concrete monthly budget on a 31 500 kr take-home, with room for the student loan, rent and a bit of life.
Read article18 November 2025
Two incomes, one home, 30 000 kr out the door every month
A worked monthly budget for couples with a mortgage and shared building costs, plus a simple rule for splitting expenses fairly when one of you earns more.
Read article12 November 2025
The budget line that absorbs parental-leave surprises
Why small unexpected costs can topple a budget when NAV's parental benefit replaces your salary, and how a single fixed line in the monthly plan smooths the bumps month after month.
Read article4 November 2025
The rate you can't move, the spending you can
After two rate cuts in 2025, mortgages are still around 5 percent and groceries still bite. Here's what 1 percentage point really costs on your loan, and the three numbers a budget actually fixes back.
Read article28 October 2025
Save or pay off debt first? The maths behind the answer
When the rate on your debt is higher than the rate on your savings account, the choice is simpler than it feels. 50 000 kr in card debt shows why.
Read article21 October 2025
Your student loan is a monthly salary, not pocket money
A no-frills monthly budget for a full-time student in 2025/2026, with concrete figures for housing, food, transport and a small buffer at the end.
Read article13 October 2025
Three envelopes that take the sting out of December
The average Norwegian spent 24 900 kr on Christmas last year. Splitting the bill across three pots from October means December's salary does not have to absorb all of it.
Read article6 October 2025
Your tax refund feels free, and that is the whole problem
The average refund in 2025 was 15 200 kroner. Three concrete moves, in order, that put the money to work before it melts into everyday spending.
Read article26 September 2025
What Are You Actually Doing with 60,000 kr in June?
Holiday pay replaces your June salary, it is not extra money. With four buckets and a plan ready by May, you can avoid blowing it all on one trip.
Read article18 September 2025
Electricity Is Not a Fixed Cost. Set the Right Amount Before October.
Norwegian households use two to three times more electricity in January than in July. Here is a practical approach to budgeting for electricity as the variable expense it actually is, before the heating season begins.
Read article10 September 2025
Find Your Forgotten Subscriptions in 20 Minutes
The average Norwegian pays over 600 kr a month on streaming services alone. A quick scan of your bank statement can free up several hundred kroner a month you didn't know you were losing.
Read article3 September 2025
Get Started in 15 Minutes: Your First Tour of Luma
From app to budget in 15 minutes. Connect your bank account, approve automatic categories, and get a complete overview of your personal finances from day one.
Read article26 August 2025
Understanding import sessions
An import session is a single upload of transactions from your bank. Here's what it means and why it matters for keeping your budget in check.
Read article15 August 2025
Duplicate transactions on import: how to avoid them
Import duplicates destroy your budget accuracy. These best practices keep your transactions clean and your numbers reliable.
Read article8 August 2025
Three reasons to export your budget from Luma
Personal budgeting gets more powerful when you take your data out of the app and into Excel or Google Sheets. Here's when and why it matters.
Read article1 August 2025
From your bank to Luma in five minutes
Export a CSV from your online banking and upload it to Luma to start budgeting. The complete step-by-step process and what can go wrong.
Read article25 July 2025
Budget structure: categories or category groups?
Discover when to split expenses into subcategories and when a simple list is enough. Real examples from three different households.
Read article16 July 2025
Three minutes on payday: the checklist that secures your whole month
Three simple steps to take when your salary hits your account. A checklist that locks in your budget and savings for the entire month.
Read article9 July 2025
Budget vs reality: why it deviates and what you do with it
Your budget is a plan, not a prediction. Learn how to read the gaps between plan and reality, and use them to make smarter financial choices next month.
Read article