Daily budget calculator

How the daily number is worked out

Two figures, both from the same idea: money that's already spoken for isn't yours to spend.

• A usual day = (take-home pay − bills − subscriptions − savings) ÷ 30.4, the average number of days in a month.
• Today = what's left for spending this pay cycle ÷ the days until payday, today included. Spend less today and every day after gets a little more; spend more and they get a little less.

This is the same maths Nummo uses for the number on its Today screen. The app also finds your bills and subscriptions in your inbox, so you don't type them in, and moves the number as you spend.

What counts as a bill?

Anything that leaves on a schedule whether you think about it or not: rent, loan payments, electricity, phone and internet, insurance, school fees. Put subscriptions in their own box so you can see what they cost; see what your subscriptions cost in a year.

Is it better to budget by the day or by the month?

Monthly budgets are easy to set and easy to blow by the 20th. A daily number is easier to keep: one figure you can check before you buy, and it corrects itself as the month goes on. Most people use both: categories for the big things, a daily number for everything else. Read more in how much can I spend today?