Budgets Budgets free beta · waitlist open
For households with side income

Side income, without the guesswork.

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

See how Budgets works
$92 gig payout $45 committed$25 goals$22 safe to spend

Every deposit gets this split the day it lands.

Who this is for

  • Your W-2 paycheck covers the basics, and side income arrives on top: gigs, freelance work, selling, deliveries.
  • The extra money feels spendable, but somehow it never adds up to anything.
  • You and your partner want a clear answer to "can we afford this?" without maintaining a spreadsheet.
  • You want side income to actually move a goal, like debt, savings, or a trip, instead of disappearing.

Committed, flexible, and goals

A paycheck plus extra deposits still adds up to one clear answer: what's committed, what's safe to spend, and which goals are protected.

Committed

Rent or mortgage, utilities, insurance, subscriptions, debt minimums. Mostly covered by the steady paycheck, and visibly covered, so you know the baseline is safe before side income enters the picture.

Flexible

Groceries, family expenses, eating out, day-to-day spending. This flexes a little when side deposits are strong or thin, and it's where your safe-to-spend number lives.

Goals

Debt payoff beyond the minimums, the emergency fund, vacation savings, the next big family expense. This is where side income does its real work: protected so it actually accumulates.

How Budgets helps

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

Every deposit gets a clear answer

Paycheck, gig payout, or a one-off sale: when money lands, you can see whether it's needed for commitments, free to spend, or best sent to a goal. No mental math required.

Side income stops disappearing

Point your side income at protected goals: extra debt payments, the emergency fund, the trip. It lands somewhere on purpose instead of dissolving into the month's spending.

One number the whole household trusts

Safe-to-spend already accounts for bills and goals, so "can we afford this?" has the same answer for both of you, without a budget meeting or a shared spreadsheet.

Common questions

Should side income go into a separate budget?

It doesn't need to. A separate budget just gives you two places to check. What matters is that side income has a clear job when it arrives. In Budgets, the paycheck and the side deposits land in one plan, where commitments are funded first and extra income is visibly pointed at a goal.

How do I decide what side income is safe to spend?

Check the baseline first: if your committed bills and your goals for the month are funded, side income is genuinely flexible. If they aren't, the deposit shows you exactly what still needs covering. That turns "is this spendable?" from a feeling into a number.

How should a household use extra income?

Decide together what the extra money protects: paying down a card faster, building the emergency fund, saving for the trip. Make that its default destination. Once the goal is part of the plan, spending decisions get easier because you can see what they'd take from.

How do I keep side income from disappearing?

Give it a default job before it arrives. Money without a job blends into the checking balance and gets spent at the rate of everything else. When each gig payout lands in a goal by default, spending some of it becomes a deliberate choice instead of a slow leak.

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 uneven income.

Do I need to track every small side deposit?

Small deposits are exactly the ones that vanish, so they benefit most from landing in a plan. Budgets keeps it lightweight: a deposit either tops up your safe-to-spend or moves a goal forward. You see which in one glance, not in a ledger.