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A family budget that adds everyone up without merging anyone's money

Expense Tracker · free · no signup

A family budget is several budgets, not one

Family budget apps usually assume one person runs the money and everyone else gets a login to the same pile of transactions. That's rarely how a household actually works: two adults with their own cards and incomes, a grown-up child still living at home, maybe a parent who lives with you and pays towards the food shop. Pouring all of that into one shared ledger means everyone sees everyone's every purchase, which is exactly why most families never set one up.

This works the other way round. Each person keeps their own account and their own expense tracker, and the household (up to six people) gets a Household view that adds the figures up: total budgets, today's combined left to spend and the month's plan by category, with each person's share shown so you can see who is on track. Untick people to see a subtotal, say just the two adults. Only month totals are shared, never individual transactions, and each person decides whether to share Expense at all. Whoever creates the household needs a Premium plan and every other member needs Basic or higher; tracking on your own stays free. If it's just the two of you, the expense tracker for couples page walks through the same view.

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Common questions

How many people can share a family budget?
Up to six adults, each with their own account (accounts are for ages 18 and up). Everyone keeps their own tracker, and the Household view adds up whoever shares Expense. Totals add up when everyone uses the same main currency; if not, each person's figures are shown side by side.
Does everyone in the family see my purchases?
No. Expense sharing is off until you switch it on, and even then only month figures are shared: income, budgets, spending by category and your left to spend today. Individual transactions, merchants and notes are never shared, and switching sharing off removes what you'd shared.
Part of The Artifacts Lab — privacy-first tools for money, health and daily life. No bank login, no subscription.