Pay periods that follow your income
A period starts on a regular income date and runs until the day before the next one. Pay on the 15th and the last day, and a month-end payday on Oct 31 gives you Oct 31 to Nov 14.
Windows desktop app · Your data stays on your PC
Budget by payday,
not by month.
Budget Assistant plans your money from one payday to the next. See what is safe to spend, tick off bills as you pay them, plan your spending and track your goals, all from a single file on your computer.
Version 1.0.0 · 157 MB · Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit · No cloud account needed
Built around your payday
Everything you need to get from one payday to the next
Most budgets are organised by calendar month. Yours is paid on the 15th and the last day, so Budget Assistant works the way your money actually moves.
Safe to spend, honestly
Income, minus bills, goal set-asides, what you have already spent and what you have planned. One number you can trust before you buy something.
A bills checklist with variance
Every bill due this payday in one list. Tick it when you pay, and change the amount when it varies. A utility bill that came in higher shows as "over", and next month still expects the usual amount.
A spending plan you can edit
Pick from expenses you have recorded before, adjust the amounts, and add one-off payments that will not repeat. Planned spending comes off safe to spend straight away.
Planned expenses and sinking funds
Insurance, tuition, a trip. Add the date and the estimate, then turn it into a sinking fund that saves a little every payday so the bill never surprises you.
Goals that do the maths
Set a target and a deadline. See how much to set aside each payday, whether you are on track, and when you would finish at your current pace.
A forecast that flags shortfalls
Look 3, 6 or 12 pay periods ahead. A period that will fall short is marked well before you get there. Irregular income counts once it arrives and is never assumed.
Expense jars
Put part of each payday aside for a bill that comes later, then let the jar pay it. A 4,000 bill becomes 2,000 on the 15th and 2,000 on the last day. Select any pay period to see exactly what is due in it.
A floor under your spending
Set the least you want left to spend. Before a goal would take you below it, the app asks, and offers a smaller target or a later date. If you go ahead, a reminder stays on every page until you recover.
Multi-currency
Peso by default, with any other currency you hold. Every entry keeps the exchange rate you used, so changing a rate later never rewrites your history.
A look inside
Calm screens, built for a desktop
Sidebar navigation, wide tables and a light or dark theme. These are real screens with made-up sample data.
Today. Your payday checklist: what is safe to spend, which bills are paid, how each goal is doing and what your plan has already taken.
How it works
Up and running in a few minutes
- 1
Install and sign in
Download the installer, run it, and create your local password on first launch. Turn on two-step sign-in with any authenticator app if you like.
- 2
Add your income and bills
Enter your regular income with its dates (for example
15,Lfor the 15th and month-end), then your recurring bills. Your pay periods appear automatically. - 3
Open Today each payday
Tick off bills as you pay them, record what you spend, plan the rest, and check the number that matters: what is safe to spend until the next payday.
Try the maths
The number you actually need
This is the same calculation the app does for every pay period. Change the figures and see what is safe to spend. Nothing you type leaves this page.
- Regular income is assumed to arrive as expected until you record it.
- Irregular income, such as freelance work or cash on hand, counts as soon as you record it.
- Bills, goal set-asides, spending so far and your unspent plan all come off.
Example conversation
Can I save ₱50,000 in the next 6 months?
Setting aside ₱50,000 over 12 paydays is about ₱4,170 each payday. Your spare money averages less than that once your bills and your current goals are covered, so it is tight. Two options: stretch the deadline to 9 months, or put your freelance income toward it. I can queue a goal for you to approve.
Proposal waiting for you: Savings goal · ₱50,000 · 9 months · Approve / Dismiss
Optional AI coach
A coach that reads your numbers, not your mind
Ask whether a goal is realistic, which pay periods look tight, or where the money is going. The coach uses figures the app has already calculated, so it never guesses the maths.
- Proposes, never changes. It can queue a goal for you to approve. It cannot touch anything else.
- Bring your own key. Use an OpenRouter key, including free models, and switch models any time.
- Only the essentials leave your PC. Totals, category names and the names you gave goals and bills. Never account numbers or passwords.
- Entirely optional. Everything else works with no key and no internet.
1
file holds all your data
0
cloud accounts required
14
daily backups kept
2
themes, plus Auto
Your data
Local first, with honest limits
Budget Assistant is built for one person on one PC. That keeps it simple, fast and private, and it means a few things you should know about up front.
What you get
- All data in one local database file you can copy and back up.
- Automatic daily backups, plus a copy before any upgrade.
- A local password, with optional two-step sign-in.
- Your AI key stored encrypted with Windows data protection.
- Nothing uploaded, except what you choose to ask the coach.
What to expect
- Windows only for now. No Mac, Linux or phone app.
- Exchange rates are entered by you, not fetched automatically.
- No sync between computers: move the data file and its keys folder yourself.
- No spreadsheet export yet. Your data is a standard SQLite file.
- The installer is not code-signed yet, so Windows shows a SmartScreen warning.
Download
Start in a minute
Download Budget Assistant for Windows, run the installer, and create your local password.
Download Budget Assistant 1.0.0 for Windows
SHA-256
d261eb152ad4dfd96857b89156f0c87f4e8928e8d80b68cea83572415868248c
How to check your download
Open PowerShell in the folder you downloaded to and run:
Get-FileHash .\BudgetAssistant-Setup-1.0.0.exe -Algorithm SHA256
The value it prints should match the SHA-256 above exactly. If it does not, do not run the file.
Windows may show a SmartScreen warning because the installer is not code-signed yet. Check the SHA-256 above against your download before running it.
Questions
Short, honest answers
Where is my data stored?
In a single database file on your PC, in your Windows user folder. Daily backups sit next to it. Nothing is uploaded, and the app works with no internet connection. Only the optional AI coach and its model list need the internet.
Does the AI coach see my finances?
Only when you ask it a question, and only a summary: totals, category names, and the names you gave your goals and bills. It never receives account numbers or passwords. Free AI models may log prompts, so keep sensitive details out of names and notes. You can turn the coach off in Settings.
Can the coach change my budget?
No. It can propose a goal, which waits for you to approve or dismiss it. Every other part of your budget is read-only to it, and it uses figures the app calculated rather than doing the maths itself.
What does "safe to spend" include?
Your expected regular income and any irregular income you have received, minus the bills due this pay period, goal set-asides, what you have already spent and the spending you have planned but not yet spent. Regular income is assumed to arrive as expected until you record it.
My paydays are the 15th and the last day. Does that work?
Yes, that is exactly what it is built for. Enter your income as 15,L (L means the last day of the month) and your pay periods start on the 15th and on the last day, including shorter months like February.
Which currencies are supported?
Any. Peso is the default, and you can add others and enter the exchange rate yourself. Each transaction keeps the rate you used, so changing a rate later does not change past records.
Why does Windows warn me when I run the installer?
The installer is not code-signed yet, so SmartScreen does not recognise it. Compare the SHA-256 shown on this page with your download before running it.
Can I use it on more than one computer or on my phone?
Not yet. It is a single-user Windows app with no sync. You can move to a new PC by copying your data file and its keys folder, and Settings shows you where they are.