A PocketGuard alternative that never sees your accounts.
PocketGuard's whole idea — "In My Pocket", the number that's genuinely safe to spend — is a good one. Its delivery mechanism is a bank connection and a ~$13/month Plus tier. The Household Purse gives you the same number from your own figures.
The useful thing PocketGuard invented is a single honest number: income, minus bills, minus goals, equals what you can actually spend this week. You do not need a bank connection to compute that. You need the bills written down once.
The offer problem
Free budgeting apps are rarely free. The business model behind an ad-supported money app is introducing you to lenders — which means the app's incentive and yours diverge exactly when you're struggling. A paid-once file has no second business model.
What you type in
Income, fixed bills, savings targets. Ten minutes, once, then a small weekly touch. That's the entire input the "safe to spend" figure ever needed.
What you give up
Automatic transaction detection and mobile push notifications. If you need to be pinged, keep PocketGuard.
The refund
Thirty days, one e-mail, money back.
Common questions
Does it calculate what's safe to spend?
Yes — the Purse subtracts committed bills and savings from income and shows the remainder, the same arithmetic PocketGuard automates.
Why is a paid app better than a free one here?
Because free money apps are paid for by lenders. We'd rather charge you $49 than be paid to introduce you to a loan.
Can I use it without a computer?
It runs in a phone browser too. It's one file; put it wherever you keep files.
What about subscriptions I've forgotten?
The Subscription Tracker is a separate tool in the catalog — that's the one that finds the quiet monthly bleed.