The Four Rules & Feature Deep-Dive
spending.money preserves the exact workflows that made Classic YNAB 4 legendary while backing every envelope allocation and account register transaction with an append-only double-entry ledger.
Give Every Dollar a Job
Zero-Based Envelope Allocation to the Exact Cent
Every dollar in your on-budget checking, savings, and cash accounts is allocated into category envelopes until Available to Budget equals $0.00. Backed by an immutable double-entry ledger (SUM(debits) == SUM(credits)).
Embrace Your True Expenses
Monthly Funding Goals & Target-By-Date Sinking Funds
Break irregular annual insurance premiums, property taxes, and auto repairs into predictable monthly integer-cent allocations with visual progress bars.
Roll With the Punches
Standard Cash Overspending vs. YNAB 4 Red Arrow Right
Move money effortlessly between category envelopes—or explicitly toggle YNAB 4's legendary Red Arrow Right to carry negative reimbursable work, medical, or travel balances into the next month.
Live on Last Month's Income
Classic 'Income for Next Month' Buffer Category
Route every paycheck earned in Month M directly into your 'Income for Next Month' buffer so you can budget all of Month M+1 on the 1st of the month in 60 seconds.
Automatic Credit Card Payment Envelopes
Budgeted spending on a credit card automatically shifts integer cents from your spending category envelope into your dedicated Credit Card Payment Envelope so you can pay your statement in full without debt surprises.
Local .smoney SQLite File Ownership
Your household ledger lives in a portable, human-inspectable SQLite WAL file (.smoney) on your own disk. Sync via Syncthing, iCloud Drive, Dropbox, or Git—with zero mandatory cloud servers.
Native Options Vision 2.0 Realized P&L Sync
Connect your local budget to Options Vision 2.0 to sync verified FIFO realized trading distributions and tax reserve allocations directly into your household envelopes.