Blog
Guides, comparisons and templates to plan your money and know what you will have at the end of the month, plus what is new in Xpenses.
What's new in Xpenses
All updates ›-
A guided first minute
New accounts get a short guided tour: the screen dims except the button to tap, from adding your account to your first bill, its payment and your month end. Skip it any time, or replay it from Settings.
-
Claude and ChatGPT can tick bills and add them, if you allow it
Switch on Allow changes for an assistant in Settings and ask it to mark the rent as paid or add the gym. It asks you first, and it can never delete anything.
-
Suggestions with an amount
Xpenses now points out a bill whose price went up, bills of past months you forgot to tick, and room at the end of the month for a goal, each with one tap to act on it.
Latest articles
RSS-
Guide ·
How to make a Christmas budget (and still have money in January)
Christmas is the most predictable expense of the year. Four steps: list everything December costs, check it against your month end, set the gap aside week by week, and look at January before it starts.
-
Guide ·
Paid every two weeks: how to budget the months with three paychecks (an example)
26 paychecks a year, monthly bills: why biweekly pay feels uneven, and how Jordan plans by date, budgets two checks a month and gives the third one a job.
-
Guide ·
How much can I spend a day until payday? The calculation, step by step
Divide what you have by the days left and you will overspend: the bills before payday come first. The calculation with an example, the usual mistakes, and what to do when it comes out negative.
-
Guide ·
Scanning receipts to track spending: what an app can read, and where the photo goes
What receipt scanners read reliably (total, date, shop) and what they do not, why it matters whether the photo is uploaded, tips for a clean scan, and which receipts to keep on paper.
-
Guide ·
Use Xpenses with ChatGPT and Claude
Connect Xpenses to ChatGPT or Claude and ask about your own numbers: what you will have at month end, what is due this week, what you can spend a day. Read-only unless you allow changes; disconnect any time.
-
Guide ·
Budgeting with ChatGPT: what works and what does not
ChatGPT and Claude are good at explaining a budget and bad at remembering your bills. What to ask them, what not to paste into a chat, and how to give them your real numbers safely.
-
Comparison ·
The best way to manage money as a couple
Joint account, separate accounts or a mix: how couples split bills, what a shared budgeting app should do, and how Splitwise, Tricount, Monefy and Xpenses handle two people.
-
Comparison ·
Monefy alternative: plan your bills, not only your spending
Monefy vs Xpenses: logging every expense or forecasting the month end, sharing with a partner, and price, compared with sources.
-
Comparison ·
Splitwise or Tricount as a couple? Splitting costs vs planning the month
Splitwise and Tricount settle who owes whom; Xpenses plans the bills you share and shows what is left at the end of the month. Which one a couple needs, compared with sources.
-
Template ·
Free monthly budget template 2027 (Excel)
Download a free monthly budget spreadsheet: income, bills, planned vs actual and what you have left.
-
Template ·
Paycheck Budget Template 2027 (Excel)
Plan each paycheck before it lands: bills due before the next payday, groceries, gas, savings and what is left to spend.
-
Template ·
Zero-Based Budget Template 2027 (Excel)
Give every dollar a job: income minus planned spending should come out at zero each month, with savings and debt as lines of their own.
-
Comparison ·
Xpenses vs Spendee
Spendee and Xpenses compared: shared wallets, bank sync, forecasting and price.
-
Guide ·
Switch from Spendee to Xpenses
Bring your Spendee history to Xpenses in two minutes: we find your bills, and you get a month-end forecast and reminders on the day each bill is due.
-
Guide ·
Switch from YNAB to Xpenses
Switching from YNAB: export your plan, and Xpenses finds your recurring bills and income. A simpler forecast, in English or Spanish, for less.
-
Guide ·
ACA open enrollment for 2027 coverage: dates and savings
HealthCare.gov open enrollment for 2027 runs November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027. Deadlines, special enrollment periods and premium tax credit basics.
-
Comparison ·
Copilot Money alternative for Android and the web, with a free plan
Copilot Money vs Xpenses: price, platforms, bank links and bills. Xpenses runs in any browser, has a free plan, and needs no bank link.
-
Comparison ·
Empower Personal Dashboard alternative for monthly bills
Empower's free dashboard vs Xpenses: linked accounts and investments, or a month-end forecast of bills and income with no bank link.
-
Comparison ·
EveryDollar alternative: see what is left at month end, for less
EveryDollar vs Xpenses: free plans, Premium price, bank connection and bills. Xpenses Pro is $34.99 a year and imports bank statements.
-
Comparison ·
Goodbudget alternative: from envelopes to a month-end forecast
Goodbudget vs Xpenses: free limits, Premium price, file import and sharing. Xpenses forecasts what is left at the end of the month.
-
Comparison ·
Monarch Money alternative: a month-end forecast without linking every account
Monarch Money vs Xpenses: price, trial, partner sharing, imports and bill tracking. Xpenses is free to start, Pro is $34.99 a year.
-
Comparison ·
PocketGuard alternative: know what is left without linking your bank
PocketGuard vs Xpenses: prices, trial, platforms and bank links. Xpenses has a free plan and shows what is left at month end.
-
Comparison ·
Rocket Money alternative: plan your month without linking your bank
Rocket Money vs Xpenses: price, free plan, sharing and bills. Xpenses forecasts what is left at month end, with no bank link needed.
-
Comparison ·
Quicken Simplifi alternative: a month-end forecast with no bank link
Quicken Simplifi vs Xpenses: price, sharing, projected balances and bank links. Xpenses has a free plan and works without linking a bank.
-
Comparison ·
YNAB alternative: plan the month for less, with or without a bank link
Compare YNAB and Xpenses: prices, sharing, file import and month-end forecast. Xpenses has a free plan and Pro at $34.99 a year.
-
Template ·
Debt Snowball Template (Excel)
List every debt with its balance, APR and monthly payment and see how many months each one takes to pay off.
-
Guide ·
2026 federal income tax brackets and standard deduction
Official 2026 IRS tax brackets for single and married filing jointly, standard deduction amounts and a worked example of how marginal rates work.
-
Template ·
Holiday Budget Template: Gifts and Travel (Excel)
Gifts per person, travel, food and decorations, planned and actual, so December does not end up on a credit card.
-
Guide ·
HSA and FSA limits for 2026 (and HSA limits for 2027)
2026 HSA limits of $4,400 and $8,750, HDHP deductible and out-of-pocket rules, the $3,400 health FSA limit and $680 carryover, plus 2027 HSA figures.
-
Guide ·
Rent and income in the 50 largest US metro areas
The 50 largest metro areas side by side: HUD fair market rent for a one- and two-bedroom home, median household income and the share of income rent takes.
-
Guide ·
Minimum wage by state in 2026
The federal minimum wage is $7.25 and the tipped cash wage $2.13. See the 30 states and DC with a higher 2026 minimum wage, from the Department of Labor.
-
Template ·
Net Worth Tracker Template (Excel)
What you own and what you owe, year by year: checking, savings, 401(k), IRA, home, mortgage, car loan and student loans.
-
Guide ·
401(k), 403(b), 457 and IRA contribution limits for 2026
2026 limits from the IRS: $24,500 for 401(k), 403(b) and 457 plans, $7,500 for IRAs, catch-up amounts and Roth IRA income phase-outs.
-
Template ·
Sinking Funds Template: Save for Big Bills (Excel)
Car registration, holidays, insurance premiums, back to school: how much to set aside each month so the big bills are already paid for.
-
Guide ·
Social Security in 2026: COLA, earnings limits and full retirement age
The 2.8% COLA for 2026, the $184,500 wage base, earnings test limits, full retirement age by birth year and how claiming age changes your check.
-
Guide ·
Minimum wage, income tax and rent by state
All 50 states and DC side by side: minimum wage, state income tax, sales tax and median rent, each from its official source.
-
Template ·
Subscription Tracker Template (Excel)
Streaming, phone, gym, apps and memberships: what each subscription costs per month and per year, and which to cancel.
-
Template ·
Tax Documents Checklist (Excel)
Every form you may need for your federal return, to tick off as it arrives: W-2, 1099s, 1098s, HSA and childcare records.
-
Guide ·
How we build our calculators and guides
Published formulas, dated official sources, automatic tests and a yearly review: how Xpenses keeps its figures right.
-
Comparison ·
An app to keep track of your bills
Never forget a bill again: what a bill tracker should do, and how Xpenses does it.
-
Template ·
Free couple budget template (Excel)
Split shared bills fairly by income with this free Excel template.
-
Comparison ·
Budget spreadsheet or budgeting app?
Spreadsheets are free and flexible; apps remind you and stay up to date. When each one makes sense.
-
Comparison ·
A budgeting app that does not connect to your bank
Why some people prefer a budget app without bank access, and what you gain and lose.
-
Guide ·
Switch from Wallet by BudgetBakers to Xpenses
Moving from Wallet by BudgetBakers to Xpenses: export your records, and Xpenses turns them into a simple month-end forecast with bill reminders.
-
Guide ·
Move to Xpenses from Spendee, Wallet, YNAB or Fintonic
Export your history from your current app or bank and Xpenses finds your bills and builds your forecast. Step by step for each app.
-
Comparison ·
Xpenses vs Wallet by BudgetBakers
Wallet by BudgetBakers and Xpenses compared: planned payments, bank sync, simplicity and price.
Know how much you will have left at the end of the month
Works without your bank: we never ask for your bank passwords.