Budgets Budgets free beta · waitlist open
For freelancers & 1099 workers

A calmer budget between paydays.

Budgets is an app on iPhone, Android, and the web.The beta is free: email only, no card.

See how Budgets works
$1,500 invoice $375 taxes set aside$600 committed$525 safe to spend

Every deposit gets this split the day it lands.

Who this is for

  • You invoice clients, and payments land whenever they land: two in one week, then nothing for a month.
  • Nobody withholds your taxes, so every payment is part yours and part the IRS's.
  • Rent, software, and business expenses are due on a schedule your clients don't follow.
  • A good month feels great until you're not sure how much of it you can actually spend.

Committed, flexible, and goals

An unpredictable income can still give you a predictable answer: what's committed, what's safe to spend, and which goals are protected.

Committed

Rent, health insurance, software subscriptions, business expenses, and your tax set-aside. This money is spoken for even when the bill hasn't hit yet, so a freshly paid invoice never looks bigger than it really is.

Flexible

Groceries, eating out, day-to-day spending. This is the part of each client payment that's genuinely yours to spend between now and the next invoice: your safe-to-spend number.

Goals

A slow-month buffer, savings goals, and bigger upcoming costs like a new laptop or a conference. Protected on purpose, so one dry spell doesn't quietly drain it.

How Budgets helps

Most budgeting tools assume one steady paycheck. Budgets is built for income that doesn't land the same way every month.

Safe-to-spend between payments

When an invoice gets paid, Budgets shows how much of it is already claimed by bills and taxes, and how much is genuinely yours until the next payment lands. No more guessing from your checking balance.

Taxes stop competing with rent

Your tax set-aside lives with your committed money, so it comes off the top of every payment. Quarterly estimates become a transfer you planned, not a scramble.

Slow months stop being scary

Build a buffer as a protected goal in the good months. You can see exactly what it covers, so a quiet stretch is a plan you're executing instead of a problem you're discovering.

Common questions

How do freelancers budget when income changes month to month?

Start from your commitments instead of your income. Your rent, subscriptions, and tax set-aside are predictable even when client payments aren't. When a payment arrives, fund what's committed first. Whatever is left over is genuinely flexible. You don't need a steady paycheck for that to work; you need to know what each payment has to cover.

Should I separate tax money from spending money?

Yes. 1099 income arrives with no taxes withheld, so part of every payment already belongs to the IRS. Treating a tax set-aside as committed money the moment you're paid keeps it from blending into spending money. Many freelancers set aside 25–30% of each payment, but the right amount depends on your situation.

What does safe-to-spend mean for irregular income?

It's what remains after your committed bills, your tax set-aside, and your protected goals are accounted for. Instead of looking at a checking balance that mixes rent money with fun money, you see one number that already reflects everything due before your next payment is likely to arrive.

How do I plan for slow months?

Treat your buffer as a goal with a job: covering committed expenses when invoices are quiet. In strong months you add to it; in slow months you can see exactly how far it stretches. That turns a slow stretch from an open-ended worry into a number you can check.

Is the beta really free?

Yes. Joining takes an email, no card, nothing to pay. Budgets is in private beta with a waitlist: sign up and we'll invite you as spots open. Early testers get access first, and their feedback directly shapes how Budgets handles irregular income.

Is Budgets accounting software for freelancers?

No. Budgets is a personal budget that understands freelance income. It won't send invoices or file your Schedule C. It answers the day-to-day question accounting tools don't: of the money that just arrived, what is already spoken for, and what can I actually spend?