Is Unbudget for You?
If you have ever
- rushed a check to the bank,
- bounced a check,
- missed a payment,
- or checked your bank balance more than once a week,
then you will probably benefit from using Unbudget.
Also, If you share a joint account or checkbook with someone, your will find Unbudget especially useful for keeping both of you on the same page.
You may find it hard to believe, but Unbudget users
- typically don't care what their total bank balance is,
- often leave paychecks undeposited for weeks (not recommended!),
- and rarely pay interest or finance charges.
After using Unbudget for a while, most users think of money in an entirely different manner. Instead of wondering "How much money is in the bank?", they will ask, "How much is in clothing?" or "How much is in dining-out?". Unbudget users can spend without stress, knowing that amounts for other categories (for example, property taxes) will accrue and be ready for payment right on time.
Cash is King
Almost all Undudget users experience higher bank balances and save money by:
- Building up cash for annual costs such as auto insurance, gym memberships, and property taxes
- Planning allocations for discretionary categories such as entertainment, or dining out.
- Avoiding interest costs, finance fees or penalties
- Keeping excellent records for larger tax returns
Typical How-To
The Basics:
- Sign up for an Unbudget account and login.
- Create a list of categories where you have spent money in the past.
- Distribute your current bank balance amount into the categories.
- Spend what you have in each category.
- Update Unbudget and repeat the revious step.
Keeping things Accurate:
- Each week (or however often you would like), record all purchases and expenses in Unbudget. This includes checks, credit-card purchases, ATM withdrawls, etc.
- When you make a deposit into your checking account, use Unbudget to allocate amounts into each category.
Unbudget Recommends
We recommend keeping two bank accounts; one checking and one savings.
- Deposit all checks into savings.
- Use Unbudget to determine a monthly amount to transfer into checking. For example, you may determine that you need to spend $6000 per month.
- Each month, transfer only the necessary, pre-determined amount into checking, and track your spend through Unbudget.
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Philosophy and Mission
Unbudget is about:
- Enabling people to make clear and stress-free decisions about personal finances
- Providing an alternative to expensive commercial tools
- Giving people Web and wireless access to personal finance information
- Helping people become more responsible about their personal finances
Why?
Simply put, to relieve stress and allow guilt-free spending in discretionary areas.
Most folks put a paycheck into the bank and spend what they think they need based on two factors: bank balance, and impulse. A big account balance means that we can spend based on a hunch -- especially when we can't (or don't want to) recall all upcoming expenses.
Unbudget doesn't eliminate the basic rule that you must earn more than you spend. However, it does categorize your money into a simple system and keeps you on track for upcoming expenses.
Tools like intuit Quicken and Microsoft Money track what has happened in the past and allow us to predict what we will spend in the future. Unbudget shows you what you have available today, in each spending category.
History
Michael Stebbins created the Unbudget system as an electronic alternative to envelope accounting in 1986. The Unbudget system began as a spreadsheet-driven tool. Friends and family took to the system, but the interface needed improvement. Unbudget was implemented in MS Access in 1994, and then as a web-based system in 2004.
Why Free? (What's the Catch?)
No catch. Unbudget is Michael's way of giving back to the community. Unbudget will continue to thrive, because our costs of operation are near zero. It's that simple.
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We don't run banner ads, pop ups, pop unders, or any other kind of commercial ads.
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We don't share your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes (We don't even require any personal information in the first place).
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We don't engage in cross-marketing or link-referral programs with other sites.
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We don't employ tracking devices for marketing purposes ("cookies", "web beacons," single-pixel gifs).
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We don't send you unsolicited communications for marketing purposes.
Privacy (Will someone see my information?)
First, Unbudget was designed as a secure system. Account information is password-protected. Keep your password safe.
Second, Unbudget was designed to keep you anonymous. Other than an email address, you needn't provide any information that could identify yourself. You have a much better chance of winning the lottery than having your Unbudget information in the hands of an outsider.
Lastly, Unbudget could disclose information about its users if required to do so by law or in the
good faith belief that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to respond to
subpoenas, court orders, or other legal process.
Questions, Comments, Volunteers:
Constructive emails are welcome to:
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