What You Can Do
There has been an explosion of budget apps in recent years so let's get the basics out of the way.
Planning
- Schedule income sources, fixed expenses and automatic savings
- See your savings rate and fixed expense percentage
- Calculate your weekly discretionary spending target
Tracking
- Connect bank accounts and credit cards
- Track your balances, net cash, and net worth
Reviewing
- Review new transactions in groups with smart suggestions
- Use only four, simple, well-defined expense categories
- Link refunds/reimbursements to their original expense
Forecasting
- See expected payments on a calendar
- Forecast account balances for future dates based on your calendar
- Compare "What-If" scenarios with different income/expenses
Reporting
- Create "transaction albums" to know how much trips/projects cost
- Reconcile expected vs actual costs for everything on your calendar
- Breakdown how you spent your discretionary money
A Different Approach
Zero-based budgeting or the "envelope system" is a method used by almost every budget app.
Tend is not one of them.
If that is what you want, countless other apps are available.
But if those apps didn't fit you and you're seeking a simpler alternative, you're in the right place.
We believe you shouldn't have to micro-manage every penny in order to enjoy the benefits of reviewing transactions, keeping a list of fixed expenses, and knowing how much money you can spend today.
Instead, Calendar-Based Budgeting
We've found many people intuitively create their own calendar-based budget, separating their fixed and discretionary costs. Tend builds on what you are already doing; the way you naturally think about your finances.
A significant portion of where our money goes is no mystery. These payments are known, scheduled, and predicatable. All those get added to your budget calendar in Tend.
Then you know what's left for everything else. This is called your discretionary spending. Tend averages this out to provide a simple weekly target to stay beneath.
We also make sure all the scheduled payments took place for the amount you expected.
With our system, it's dead-simple to know if you are living within your means week by week. Spend less than your target and watch the balance in your checking account grow.
If this is resonating with you, read about Our Philosophy.