家計簿 · the household ledger
Budgeting that writes itself down
Kakeibo is four spending categories, one savings promise made before the month starts, and four questions answered when it ends. Published in 1904, still the most honest budgeting method there is, and we have done the arithmetic around it so you can get on with the noticing.
6 free calculators294 worked targetsNo email wall
The method, in figuresKakeibo, since 1904
Published1904By Hani Motoko, in the household magazine she edited
CategoriesFourSurvival, Optional, Culture, Extra
QuestionsFourAsked once a month, in writing
Calculators here6Free, in your browser, nothing sent anywhere
Worked targets294Amounts and horizons across 3 currencies
Nothing on this site repeats the claim that kakeibo saves 20 to 35 percent. We went looking for a primary source and could not find one.
Where every expense goes130 sorted examples →
Four envelopes, not thirty categories
Few enough to hold in your head at the counter, which is where the decision actually gets made.
NeedsSurvivalWhat keeps the household running. Stopping any of it has consequences beyond disappointment, which is the test.WantsOptionalEnjoyable and stoppable. Nothing here is shameful, and the envelope is not a naughty list: it is simply the spending that would cost you pleasure rather than function.Self improvementCultureMoney that leaves you better than it found you. Kakeibo separates this from Optional deliberately, so the first thing cut in a tight month is not the thing that improves you.Unexpected and irregularExtraThe costs that do not arrive every month but always arrive eventually. Funding this envelope in a quiet month is what keeps a noisy one from becoming debt.
Run the numbersAll 6 calculators →
The part a computer should do
Free, instant, and running entirely in your browser: nothing you type on this site is sent anywhere.
How do I split my income the kakeibo way?Kakeibo calculatorIncome in, four envelopes out, with the savings promise taken off the top the way the method insists.What does my goal cost per month, week and day?Savings target calculatorAny amount, any deadline. The four figures come back first and the reasoning follows underneath.What shape did my month actually have?Four category splitPut a real month in and read it back as Survival, Optional, Culture and Extra, each as a share of income.Which allocation suits my income better?Kakeibo vs 50/30/20One income, both plans, side by side, with the structural difference spelled out under the numbers.How much can today cost without breaking the plan?Safe to spend todayIncome minus commitments minus the promise, divided by the days left. The number for 4pm on a Thursday.Am I doing better than last month?Savings rateThe one figure that survives a pay rise, plus how many months of spending your balance covers.
Or start from the number you are saving for
Every common target worked out per month, per week and per day, then framed through the four envelopes: which one gives the money up, and what the plan asks of your income. 14 amounts across 7 horizons in 3 currencies.
The appiPhone and iPad
The ledger, kept between reflections
The method needs the entry to happen at the counter rather than from memory on Sunday night. That is the one job the app exists to do.
01 · Four envelopes
The method, not a category tree
Every expense goes into Survival, Optional, Culture or Extra, the way the ledger has worked since 1904.
02 · Safe to spend
What today can cost
Income minus commitments minus your promise, divided by the days that are left, kept current as you record.
03 · Goals
A target with a date on it
Set the amount and the deadline and the monthly figure follows, with the running total held against it.
04 · Reflection
The four questions at month end
Asked in writing and kept afterwards, so a year of months becomes something you can actually read back.
Get the Kakeibo app freeFree on iPhone and iPad with ads: one savings goal, ten envelopes and twenty five transactions a month. Pro removes the ads and the limits.
Running the ledgerAll guides →
SortingThe four kakeibo categories explainedSurvival, Optional, Culture and Extra, with a working list of everyday expenses sorted into each one and the awkward cases argued out.9 min readModern moneyHow to do kakeibo with a credit card and digital paymentsThe main practical objection to a 1904 paper method, answered properly: cards, subscriptions, buy now pay later, and the two week lag between the decision and the money.8 min readReflectionThe four kakeibo questions, and prompts for the weekly and monthly reviewThe four questions in the order the method asks them, plus a short weekly check and a longer monthly reflection you can work through in fifteen minutes.10 min read
Choosing between methods instead? Kakeibo compared with 50/30/20, YNAB, envelopes and cash stuffing.
Four categories, four questions, one honest month
Start by measuring a normal month and changing nothing. The app keeps the envelopes and the totals so the only work left is the noticing.
Get the Kakeibo app freeiPhone and iPad · Free tier, no account needed