Budgets that show what is left, bills that show up before they are due
Tavala answers the question people actually have: how much can I still spend? Budgets count down, bills are listed before they hit, and the forecast says what is safe to spend before the next pay day.
Safe to spend
What's Left minus the bills due before your next income. It is the number you check before saying yes to something.
A 30-day forecast
See how the month ends once the known bills and income land. Sixty and ninety day views are part of Tavala Plus.
Budgets count down
A budget is monthly, in your main currency, for everything or for a category. It shows what is left, with a clear status at 75, 90 and 100 percent.
Recurring rules for rent, subscriptions and salary
Set a bill or an income once and Tavala posts it on schedule, or asks you to confirm it first. Bills found in a connected bank can become rules in one tap.
Reminders stay on your device
Reminders the day before a bill and on the day, an optional daily nudge and a cash check-in are local notifications. Nothing is pushed from a server.
What is left, not what was spent
A budget in Tavala is monthly and in your main currency, for everything or for one category, and it shows what is left. Its status changes at 75, 90 and 100 percent so you notice before the month is gone. Trips and projects stay out of everyday budgets, and each budget names what it left out, so a weekend in Lisbon does not make the grocery budget look blown.
Budgets are a different method from zero-based budgeting, where every unit of income is assigned to a job before you spend it. Tavala asks a smaller question each day, how much can I still spend, and answers it from your balances, your bills and your budgets.
Safe to spend, worked out
Safe to spend is What's Left minus the recurring bills due before your next income. What's Left is the balance of your spending wallets in your main currency; the bills are your active recurring expenses and loan payments from tomorrow up to your next payday, which is the next occurrence of a recurring income rule. With no income rule in the next 30 days, the window is 30 days. If the bills are larger than the balance, the figure is zero, never negative.
It leaves out on purpose what it cannot know: what is left in a budget, a purchase you have not set up as a rule, and transfers between your own wallets. A ≈ before the figure means some bills are in another currency and were converted at today's rate.
Bills that post themselves, reminders that stay on the phone
Set a bill or an income once and Tavala posts it on its date, even while the app is closed or offline, or asks you to confirm it first. A connected bank can turn a bill it finds into a rule in one tap. Reminders the day before and on the day are local notifications scheduled by your device; nothing is pushed from a server, and a reminder never contains an amount.
The forecast shows how the next 30 days end once the known bills and income land. Sixty and ninety days are part of Tavala Plus.
Safe to spend on the 12th
The help center's own example, in euros.
| Line | Amount | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Current account | €1,850.00 | A spending wallet |
| Cash | €120.00 | A spending wallet |
| What's Left | €1,970.00 | The two wallets together |
| Internet, 15 Oct | -€30.00 | Due before payday |
| Rent, 20 Oct | -€950.00 | Due before payday |
| Safe to spend | €990.00 | Until the salary rule on 28 Oct |
Budgeting methods in other apps
Each app's method and what it needs from you before it can say what is left.
| What | Tavala | YNAB | Monarch | Goodbudget |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Budgeting method | What is left, per budgetPlus safe to spend before payday | Every dollar a jobAssign income before you spend it | Flex budgetingOr classic category budgets with rollovers | EnvelopesFill envelopes, spend from them |
| Bank connections | Optional add-onBanks in the United States and Canada, through Plaid, $3.99 a month per bank | IncludedSelect banks in the US, Canada and 18 European countries, UK included | Included, at the coreUS and Canada only, 13,000+ institutions | Premium onlyUS banks only, through Plaid |
| Works offline | Every screenChanges sync when you are back online | Advertised"even offline!" on its features page | Not stated | Not documented"available wherever you have internet access" |
| Price | Free; Plus $39.99 a yearor $6.99 a month on the web | $109 a yearor $14.99 a month; 34-day trial | $99.99 a yearor $14.99 a month (Core); Plus $199.99 a year | $80 a yearor $10 a month on the web (Premium) |
Questions about budgets, bills and forecast
- Can I budget per category?
- Yes. Set one total budget, per-category budgets, or both. Each one shows what is left for the month.
- Will Tavala remind me about bills?
- Yes. You can turn on a reminder the day before and on the day a bill is due. Reminders are local notifications on your device.
- What does safe to spend mean?
- Your spendable balance minus the bills that are due before your next income. It tells you what you can spend today without missing a bill.
- Is Tavala a zero-based budgeting app?
- No. Tavala's budgets count down from a monthly limit per category or in total, and safe to spend subtracts the bills due before payday. It does not ask you to assign every unit of income to a job, which is what zero-based apps such as YNAB do.
- Do trips count against my budget?
- No. Spending on a trip or a project is kept out of everyday budgets and named under them, for example "Lisbon €180.00 outside budgets". It still counts in Spending, Money out and your balances.
- Does the forecast need Plus?
- The 30-day forecast and safe to spend are free. Sixty and ninety day forecasts are part of Tavala Plus.
Go further
- Expense trackerEvery entry lands in the budget the second you type it.
- Trips and projectsWhy a holiday does not break the grocery budget.
- Debt payoffLoan payments as bills, and the month you are debt-free.
- Tavala vs GoodbudgetEnvelopes, or budgets that count down.
- 50/30/20 calculatorNeeds, wants and savings from take-home pay.
- Safe to spend and the next 30 daysSafe to spend is the money in your spending wallets minus the recurring bills due before your next income, or in the next 30 days. It never goes below zero.
Also in Tavala
- Ask Tavala AI AgentQuestions answered from your ledger, and changes you confirm.
- Multi-currencyThe rate from the day you paid, kept on every entry.
- Offline-first and privateEvery screen works with no connection and no account.
- Shared spacesOne ledger for up to six people, each on their own phone.
- Debt payoffSnowball or avalanche, and the month you are debt-free.
- Bank sync (US and Canada)Read-only import from US and Canadian banks, through Plaid.
- Trips and projectsA trip or a project kept apart from everyday spending.
Start with what you spent today.
There is no account to create and no card to enter. Pick your currency, add what you paid, and Home shows what is left.