Budget & Cash Flow Tracker

Frequently asked questions

How is this different from tracking every transaction?

It doesn't track transactions at all, on purpose. Instead of logging every coffee and grocery run, you enter each recurring income source and bill once, weekly, monthly or yearly, and the tracker keeps a running monthly-equivalent total. That's a different, lighter kind of budgeting: less upkeep, and it answers the question most people actually want answered, is more coming in than going out, without months of receipt logging first.

Why no bank or card connection to pull this in automatically?

The same reason the net worth tracker doesn't have one: a live account-aggregation feed needs a licensed connection this free tool doesn't have, since the free tiers of those data providers forbid public-facing display. Entering your recurring items by hand takes a few minutes once and stays accurate as long as you update it when something changes, a raise, a new subscription, a paid-off loan.

What counts as a "monthly-equivalent" amount?

A weekly item is multiplied by 52 and divided by 12; a yearly item is divided by 12. That converts every item, regardless of how often it actually happens, onto the same monthly footing so they can be added and compared directly. A $50 weekly grocery bill and a $1,200 yearly insurance premium both show up as their true monthly cost, roughly $217 and $100.

How does the upcoming bills list pick dates?

Each expense can optionally get a due day of the month, 1 to 31. The tracker projects the next occurrence of that day from today and counts down to it, rolling over to next month once the current month's date has passed. Days above 28 are capped at 28 so the projection never breaks in February; if a bill genuinely falls on the 29th, 30th or 31st, entering 28 keeps the reminder close enough to be useful.

What does freelance / small business mode actually do?

Turning it on adds a card that totals everything entered under the "Business income" category and applies an editable tax-set-aside rate, 25% by default, to suggest how much of that income to move to a separate savings account each month before you spend it. It is a planning nudge, not a tax calculation. Actual self-employment tax depends on your total income, deductions, filing status and local rules, so treat the suggested figure as a starting cushion, not a filing figure, and check it against a real estimate closer to tax time.

Why save a monthly snapshot instead of just watching the live numbers?

The live summary always reflects your current plan, which is a projection, not a record. Saving a snapshot captures what the plan actually said in a given month, so if you revisit this tracker every few months, the net cash flow chart shows how your real trajectory has moved, a raise that widened the gap, a new subscription that narrowed it, rather than only ever showing the present moment.

Is my financial data private?

Yes. Every income source, bill and monthly snapshot is stored in this browser's own IndexedDB, on your device, and never sent anywhere. There's no account, no bank link and, in this version, no export or sync between devices, so clearing your browser data or switching devices starts you over.

What does a negative net cash flow actually mean?

It means the recurring bills you have entered add up to more than the recurring income, on a monthly-equivalent basis. That is worth acting on quickly, since sustained negative cash flow means either debt is growing or savings are being drawn down. Check the expense category breakdown to see which category is the biggest single load, that is usually the fastest place to look for room.