diff --git a/frontend/src/pages/budgets/BudgetsPage.tsx b/frontend/src/pages/budgets/BudgetsPage.tsx
index 6cb3b28..9ca68e4 100644
--- a/frontend/src/pages/budgets/BudgetsPage.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/pages/budgets/BudgetsPage.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { useState } from 'react';
+import { useState, useMemo } from 'react';
 import {
   Title, Table, Group, Button, Stack, Text, NumberInput,
   Select, Loader, Center, Badge, Card, Alert,
@@ -26,10 +26,6 @@ interface BudgetLine {
 const months = ['jan', 'feb', 'mar', 'apr', 'may', 'jun', 'jul', 'aug', 'sep', 'oct', 'nov', 'dec_amt'];
 const monthLabels = ['Jan', 'Feb', 'Mar', 'Apr', 'May', 'Jun', 'Jul', 'Aug', 'Sep', 'Oct', 'Nov', 'Dec'];
 
-/**
- * Ensure all monthly values are numbers (PostgreSQL can return strings for NUMERIC columns)
- * and compute annual_total as the sum of all monthly values.
- */
 function hydrateBudgetLine(row: any): BudgetLine {
   const line: any = { ...row };
   for (const m of months) {
@@ -41,8 +37,7 @@ function hydrateBudgetLine(row: any): BudgetLine {
 
 export function BudgetsPage() {
   const [year, setYear] = useState(new Date().getFullYear().toString());
-  const [budgetData, setBudgetData] = useState<BudgetLine[]>([]);
-  const [isEditing, setIsEditing] = useState(false);
+  const [editData, setEditData] = useState<BudgetLine[] | null>(null); // null = not editing
   const queryClient = useQueryClient();
   const navigate = useNavigate();
   const isReadOnly = useIsReadOnly();
@@ -52,20 +47,36 @@ export function BudgetsPage() {
   const incomeSectionBg = isDark ? 'var(--mantine-color-green-9)' : '#e6f9e6';
   const expenseSectionBg = isDark ? 'var(--mantine-color-red-9)' : '#fde8e8';
 
-  const hasBudget = budgetData.length > 0;
-  const cellsEditable = !isReadOnly && isEditing;
-
-  const { isLoading } = useQuery<BudgetLine[]>({
+  // Query is the single source of truth for budget data
+  const { data: queryData, isLoading, isFetching } = useQuery<BudgetLine[]>({
     queryKey: ['budgets', year],
     queryFn: async () => {
       const { data } = await api.get(`/budgets/${year}`);
-      const hydrated = (data as any[]).map(hydrateBudgetLine);
-      setBudgetData(hydrated);
-      setIsEditing(false);
-      return hydrated;
+      return (data as any[]).map(hydrateBudgetLine);
     },
   });
 
+  // Use edit data when editing, otherwise use query data
+  const isEditing = editData !== null;
+  const budgetData = isEditing ? editData : (queryData || []);
+  const hasBudget = budgetData.length > 0;
+  const cellsEditable = !isReadOnly && isEditing;
+
+  const handleStartEdit = () => {
+    setEditData(queryData ? [...queryData] : []);
+  };
+
+  const handleCancelEdit = () => {
+    setEditData(null);
+  };
+
+  const handleYearChange = (v: string | null) => {
+    if (v) {
+      setYear(v);
+      setEditData(null); // Cancel any in-progress edit when switching years
+    }
+  };
+
   const saveMutation = useMutation({
     mutationFn: async () => {
       const payload = budgetData
@@ -81,7 +92,7 @@ export function BudgetsPage() {
     },
     onSuccess: () => {
       queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: ['budgets', year] });
-      setIsEditing(false);
+      setEditData(null);
       notifications.show({ message: 'Budget saved', color: 'green' });
     },
     onError: (err: any) => {
@@ -89,25 +100,22 @@ export function BudgetsPage() {
     },
   });
 
-  const handleCancelEdit = () => {
-    setIsEditing(false);
-    queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: ['budgets', year] });
-  };
-
   const updateCell = (idx: number, month: string, value: number) => {
-    const updated = [...budgetData];
+    if (!editData) return;
+    const updated = [...editData];
     (updated[idx] as any)[month] = value || 0;
     updated[idx].annual_total = months.reduce((s, m) => s + ((updated[idx] as any)[m] || 0), 0);
-    setBudgetData(updated);
+    setEditData(updated);
   };
 
-  const yearOptions = Array.from({ length: 5 }, (_, i) => {
+  const yearOptions = useMemo(() => Array.from({ length: 5 }, (_, i) => {
     const y = new Date().getFullYear() - 1 + i;
     return { value: String(y), label: String(y) };
-  });
+  }), []);
 
   const fmt = (v: number) => v.toLocaleString('en-US', { style: 'currency', currency: 'USD', minimumFractionDigits: 0 });
 
+  // Show loader on initial load or when switching years with no cached data
   if (isLoading) return <Center h={300}><Loader /></Center>;
 
   const incomeLines = budgetData.filter((b) => b.account_type === 'income');
@@ -123,14 +131,15 @@ export function BudgetsPage() {
       <Group justify="space-between">
         <Title order={2}>Budget Manager</Title>
         <Group>
-          <Select data={yearOptions} value={year} onChange={(v) => v && setYear(v)} w={120} />
+          <Select data={yearOptions} value={year} onChange={handleYearChange} w={120} />
+          {isFetching && !isLoading && <Loader size="xs" />}
           {!isReadOnly && hasBudget && (
             <>
               {!isEditing ? (
                 <Button
                   variant="outline"
                   leftSection={<IconPencil size={16} />}
-                  onClick={() => setIsEditing(true)}
+                  onClick={handleStartEdit}
                 >
                   Edit Budget
                 </Button>