How to use household accounts
- Open the workspace with the button above. The setup opens with “Household” already selected.
- Enter today’s balances for your bank accounts, cash, credit cards and any loans. These are your starting point.
- Record money in and out as it happens, or in one sitting each week from your bank app.
- Set envelopes – monthly amounts for groceries, transport, fun money and so on – and watch what is left in each.
- Add your bills with their due dates and repeat pattern, and export them to your calendar.
- Review the month on the cash-flow and net-worth screens, and download a backup.
How it works behind the scenes
Household mode is the same double-entry engine as the business workspace with friendlier screens. Each purchase you record moves money from an account you own (your bank or credit card) to a spending category, so every dollar is counted exactly once. That is why cash flow, envelopes and net worth always agree with each other, and why a credit-card purchase shows up both as spending and as money owed.
The budgeting steps follow the approach the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recommends: know your income, track your spending, list bills with their due dates, then build a working budget from those three.
Worked example: one family’s month
The Garcias start June with $2,400 in checking and $600 owed on a credit card. They set three envelopes: groceries $650, transport $220 and eating out $150.
| Item | Amount | Envelope left |
|---|---|---|
| Pay received | +$4,100 | – |
| Groceries (four shops) | −$590 | Groceries $60 |
| Fuel and bus passes | −$205 | Transport $15 |
| Restaurant and takeaway | −$180 | Eating out −$30 (over) |
| Rent, power and phone bills | −$2,150 | – |
| Credit-card payment | −$600 | – |
At month end checking holds $2,775, the card is paid off, and the eating-out envelope shows $30 over budget, so they move $30 from groceries for next month. Net worth rose from $1,800 to $2,775.
What household mode includes
- Spending and income with everyday categories, and room to add your own.
- Envelopes that can carry leftovers (or overspending) into the next month.
- Bills with repeat rules, a 45-day schedule and calendar export.
- Goals with the monthly amount needed to reach a target date.
- Shared costs split equally, by shares or by percentage, with settle-up suggestions.
- Debt payoff plans comparing avalanche and snowball.
- Kids’ money with allowance, spending and optional pretend interest.
- Cash flow, net worth and a year summary, all exportable.
Tips for a budget that lasts
- Record weekly, not perfectly. A ten-minute weekly session beats a daily habit you drop after a month.
- Start envelopes from real spending. Use last month’s actual figures, then adjust; a budget built on guesses is broken on day one.
- Give irregular costs their own envelope – car repairs, gifts, school trips – so they stop feeling like emergencies.
- Keep one backup outside the browser. Clearing browser data deletes the books; a backup file restores them in seconds.
Limitations
Household mode is a record-keeping and planning tool, not financial advice. It does not connect to banks, so balances are only as current as your last entry, and debt plans use only the rates and payments you enter. For decisions about debt, savings or tax, speak to a qualified adviser.