Help & FAQ

Open budgetbucks.app in Chrome and sign in, then tap the ⋮ menu and choose Add to Home screen (or Install app).

BudgetBucks then opens full screen from its own icon.

Your card company emails you a purchase alert, and you forward it to your BudgetBucks address. The Real-time page walks you through setup step by step.

We take it seriously. BudgetBucks never asks for your bank login, doesn't need your card number to track purchases, and can't move money. It only sees the alerts you choose to forward.

Everything travels over an encrypted connection, passwords are stored hashed, and your data is backed up automatically with encrypted backups. You're signed out after a day of inactivity, and you can add a passkey for extra protection.

We never sell your information or share it for advertising.

Works today with:

• Citi credit cards
• Discover cards
• Ally debit cards
• Chase credit cards

More are added all the time.

Real-time is for card purchases, on a credit or debit card. Alerts for checking or savings transfers, ACH and bill payments aren't supported or recommended. They can include things like credit card payments that are already in your budget.

Some banks send one alert for every debit from your account. When that bank is supported, BudgetBucks keeps only the card purchases and leaves the rest out of your budget.

Set it up anyway. AI reads alerts from cards we don't support yet, and the purchase lands in your Inbox tagged AI-read with a Check tag. It's never filed automatically.

Tap it to open it and choose Right or Wrong. Wrong moves it to Deleted. We're notified about new cards and add full support quickly.

We know that's frustrating. It's almost always the card company's timing, not yours. Some cards, most often debit cards, only send an alert once a purchase posts instead of the moment you pay.

Check your card's alert settings for an option to be notified on every purchase right away, at any amount, and make sure it's turned on. Most major cards alert instantly, so this is fairly uncommon.

If yours only alerts after a purchase posts, you can add purchases by hand as you go, or use a card that alerts in real time.

A $1.00 charge is almost always a temporary card check, for example when you add your card somewhere new, not a real purchase. So it goes straight to Deleted instead of your Inbox. If it was real, restore it.

On your budget, open the Deleted tab next to Inbox and Filed. It lists what was deleted that month. Tap Restore and it goes back to your Inbox, ready to file.

Badges mark good budgeting habits, like planning a month so income and folders match, filing purchases, and finishing a month at or under your plan. There are 18, and they unlock on their own as you go. Earn all 18 to become a Master Budgeter. See them all, with your progress, in Account > Badge Vault.

Founding members use BudgetBucks free. If your founding spot has an end date, Billing shows it, and you're never charged unless you add a card.

Free trial: new accounts get a free month with no card needed. After that it's $7.99 a month or $79 a year (plus any sales tax), renewing until you cancel.

Your plan, status and dates are in Account > Billing, where you can also update your card or cancel anytime.