The double-entry accounting is what makes GnuCash so wonderful to use. Everything has to balance. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. If you tak

The double-entry accounting is what makes GnuCash so wonderful to use. Everything has to balance. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. If you take money from your bank account and spend it on electricity then the amount you have spent on electricity goes up by the entered amount and your bank balance goes down by the same amount. By picking some sensible (broad) categories you can see at a glance how much you are spending in each category.