Blog

Thinking out loud about financial tools, privacy, and building in public.

Envelope budgeting in a spreadsheet (without the paper envelopes)

Give every dollar a job in rows and columns. How digital envelopes work in a sheet, why people quit them, and when they’re simply overkill.

Couples and roommates don’t need a startup. They need clear rules, a shared log, and a settlement cadence.

You don’t need a BI tool. A pivot by category and month answers most household questions in two minutes.

TST* COFFEE #1842 isn’t a category problem, it’s a readability problem. Clear names make reviews possible.

Matching your sheet to the bank isn’t accounting cosplay. It’s how you catch fees, double charges, and sync gaps early.

Annual charges hide in plain sight. A one-hour audit that surfaces what you’re still paying for, plus a rule for what stays.

Too many categories kill the habit. Too few hide the problem. A simple system that stays usable after month three.

Car insurance, holidays, and annual software bills aren’t emergencies. They’re predictable. How sinking funds keep them out of your checking account.

Budgets tell you the plan. Cash flow tells you whether the plan survived the month. Why both matter, and which one to check first.

Target-date funds automatically adjust your asset allocation as you approach retirement. But are they the right choice?

The Roth vs Traditional decision comes down to one question - will your tax rate be higher now or in retirement?

The 4% rule suggests you can withdraw 4% of your portfolio annually without running out of money. But it's not foolproof.