MoneyLoupe
Smart Zero-Based Budgeting
Budgeting made easy.
No thinking,
just acting.
01
ENTRY
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Add planned income.
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Add planned expenses.
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Edit planned income.
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Edit planned expenses.
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Default mode Normal for starters
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Defined mode Smart after one year of planning
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Planning with Modes
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Handling Accounts
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16 asset accounts
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Specify each account by defining an asset account title and an opening balance.
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Monitor credits, debits, and closing balances of your asset accounts.
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Edit, transfer, and delete your asset accounts.
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Recording Ins and Outs
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6 categories of income
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8 subcategories of income
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20 categories of expenses
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54 subcategories of expenses
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Specify each income and expenses entry by defining an amount, a comment, a category, a subcategory, a periodicity, and an asset account.
DISPLAY
02
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4 Assistants
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Data Collector
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Account Manager
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Budget Planner
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Payment Tracker
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2 Accounting Methods
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Cash basis accounting
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Accrual accounting
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3 Currencies
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Dollar
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Pound
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Euro
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Statements and Changes
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Annual income statement
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Monthly income statement
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Income category statements
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Annual expenses statement
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Monthly expenses statement
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Expenses category statements
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Edit and delete income entries.
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Edit and delete expenses entries.
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Double-Entry Bookkeeping
03
EXPORT
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Monthly income statement
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Annual expenses statement
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Monthly expenses statement
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Monthly category statements
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Target-actual comparisons for categories
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Instruction manual
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Data transfer via AirDrop or Mail
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PDF as US Letter or A4 Paper, depending on your residency and chosen currency
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Receivables, payables, provisions, and reserves
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Variance analysis
TRACKING
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Target-Actual Comparison
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Budget shortfall
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Budget surplus
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Balance
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Monthly Comparison
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Chart of your monthly income
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Chart of your monthly expenses
04
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Zero-Sum Game
ADJUSTMENT
05
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Bubble chart to show the monthly constraints
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Adjustment button to reveal the expected changes according to the yearly constraints
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Solvency button to check the closing balances of the asset accounts
06
SUPPORT
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Notifications to escort and inform you
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Workflow as a step-by-step guide
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65-page documentation for download
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Q&A session
MoneyLoupe is all about making budgeting as easy as pie by providing a template that meets the common requirements of handling personal finance.
The idea here is to give you a solid foundation for exercising good judgment. You are supposed to get a feel for smart budget decisions. “No thinking, just acting” is the name of the game. Our zero-based budget approach forces you to scrutinize every dollar and justify each expense, thus avoiding overspending and meeting your financial goals.
A quick guide on how to start the budgeting journey
If you follow this quick guide, you are all set for the budgeting journey to financial freedom.
What is zero-based budgeting?
Simply put, zero-based budgeting asks you to allocate all your earnings to expenditures, debt payments, and savings. The idea is to give every cent earned a purpose.
If your income equals your expenses by the end of the year, the zero-sum budget indicates that you have done a pretty good job and are in control of your finances.
You’ll be more likely to end the year with a zero-sum budget if you match income with expenses monthly. So if you have 500 bucks left over after covering all monthly expenditures, debt payments, and savings, you are still not done with budgeting. Instead, you must allocate these remaining earnings, preferably to debt payments or savings. Unless you tell those 500 bucks where to go, you’ll miss the opportunity of cutting debt or growing your emergency fund.
Managing your finances this way will pay off. At least, people who have made zero-based budgeting second nature usually end up with less debt and more savings. It is the budget plan that matters.
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Zero-based budgeting asks you to allocate all your earnings to expenditures, debt payments, and savings.
What differentiates cash basis accounting from accrual accounting?
MoneyLoupe combines both methods for good reason. While cash basis accounting increases your awareness of cash flow, accrual accounting gives you a better idea of incoming and outgoing payments during a specific accounting period.
Cash basis accounting recognizes income and expenses only when receiving or settling payments. By contrast, accrual accounting also considers receivables, payables, and provisions. Transactions are recorded even without money changing hands right away. What matters is that you make deposits and withdrawals at some point down the line.
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The data collector and accounts manager handle cash basis accounting, while the budget planner and expense tracker are responsible for accrual accounting.
Anyone searching for a “data collector” label will look in vain. As MoneyLoupe’s home screen presents all collected data, it is evident that the home screen is the data collector. The data collector informs the user about the actual and planned payments and allows the recording of current income and expenses.
To access the accounts manager, budget planner, and expense tracker, tap Autopilot, the button at the bottom of MoneyLoupe’s home screen.
Unlike companies, households usually have nothing to do with receivables, payables, and provisions. Even reserves are not in play. At least not in the strict sense of the word.
In general, receivables or account receivables refer to the amount of money due to a company to deliver goods and services. These are open invoices that the company’s customers must pay at a particular time. Vice versa, payables or account payables are open invoices that a company still has to settle for goods and services. And while payables are always due, provisions are not. Finally, reserves are profits dedicated to a particular purpose. By doing so, companies keep funds from being used for other purposes, such as buying back shares.
Regarding MoneyLoupe’s philosophy, receivables are income that will be due. In other words, receivables are income planned but not yet realized. The following categories can be receivables: Paychecks, Side Hustles, Tangible Assets, Capital Gains, Government Grants, and Additional Benefits.
Payables are expenses that will be due. In other words, payables are non-discretionary expenses planned but not yet realized. Dwelling, Utilities, Groceries, Transportation, Insurance, Child Care, Debt Payments, and Savings may be payables.
Provisions are expenses that might be due. In other words, provisions are discretionary expenses planned but not yet realized. Consider Equipment, Clothing, Shoes, Beauty, Fitness, Entertainment, Vacation, Gifts, Donations, Business, and Miscellaneous as possible provisions.
Reserves are simply realized savings. By building up reserves, you set aside money for meeting unexpected emergencies, making major purchases, avoiding financial worries in retirement, or just ensuring the children’s college attendance. Although savings, aka reserves, are considered expenses in zero-based budgeting, it does not mean that you no longer dispose of that money.
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While cash basis accounting increases your awareness of cash flow, accrual accounting gives you a better idea of incoming and outgoing payments during a specific accounting period.
Does MoneyLoupe neglect double-entry bookkeeping?
The thing about double-entry bookkeeping is simply this: Each entry to an account is pining for counter access to another account. A debit urges credit.
Transactions in double-entry bookkeeping always affect a debit account and a credit account. Total debits and credits are, therefore, equal at all times.
MoneyLoupe certainly does not neglect double-entry bookkeeping. If you change the amounts of P&L accounts, MoneyLoupe automatically updates the corresponding asset accounts.
If you decrease expenses, the corresponding asset account will be increased automatically by MoneyLoupe.
If you increase expenses, the corresponding asset account will be automatically decreased by MoneyLoupe.
In short, you cannot generally change asset accounts when correcting income or expenses.
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A debit urges credit. Total debits and credits are, therefore, equal at all times.
How to break the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle for good?
There is no sure formula for success. Even MoneyLoupe cannot guarantee anything. Yet, three simple rules still might help you be better off eventually.
First, think twice about each penny spent.
Second, focus on your needs. In this respect, MoneyLoupe is handy by breaking up the expenses into non-discretionary and discretionary expenses. While non-discretionary expenses are needs and usually considered mandatory, discretionary expenses are generally referred to as wants and are not deemed necessary. Hence, you are supposed to pay for discretionary expenses with discretionary income—the money left over after paying for all necessities.
Third, roll with the punches by tightening your belt if needed. When you are struggling with cash flow issues in more challenging times, it might be a good idea to weed out all unnecessary costs. As discretionary expenses are unlikely to impact your household significantly, stopping them is recommended. On the other hand, when times are good, you can indulge in luxury by spending money on things you don’t need. In this case, long-distance travel, shopping sprees, or cosmetic surgery could be on your to-do list.
In short, the overall goal is to age your money. The more time between earning a dollar and spending it, the better. And with cash aged a month, your paycheck-to-paycheck cycle is undeniably off the cards. In this case, you only spend unconditionally withdrawable money.
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There is no sure formula for success. Even MoneyLoupe cannot guarantee anything.
Which common financial strategy is worth considering?
There is, of course, no shortage of financial strategies. And in principle, each serves its purpose if it not only saves a household from the debt trap but also leads to a noticeable increase in prosperity. Nevertheless, the 50/30/20 budget rule has made a name for itself—for good reason.
Simply put, the 50/30/20 budget rule asks for spending 50% of your after-tax income on needs, 30% on wants, and 20% on savings.
For MoneyLoupe, needs are all non-discretionary expenditures and non-discretionary debt payments. You must pay the bills of dwelling, utilities, groceries, transportation, protection, child care, capital losses, bank charges, taxes, and loans. Half of your after-tax income should cover those needs. Downsize your lifestyle if you are spending more than that on your obligations.
Wants are all the things that are not essential for survival. Discretionary expenditures are deemed wants. These include equipment, clothing, shoes, beauty, fitness, entertainment, vacation, gifts, donations, business, and miscellaneous. Anything in this consumption basket is optional if you boil it down. Even clothing and shoes are not an exception, assuming you do not need fancy clothes and stylish shoes. And if you are short of cash, charity organizations will help you with clothing and footwear.
While it may seem more of an option than a need, the 50/30/20 budget rule considers savings indispensable. Start by adding money to an emergency fund. Generally, the basic emergency fund should cover your average monthly expenses, while a fully funded emergency fund covers your average quarterly outgoings. After that, focus on retirement plans and, if necessary, on a college fund. Savings plans for major purchases are only an option after meeting these savings goals.
Unlike MoneyLoupe, the 50/30/20 budget rule also considers debt payments savings if they exceed the minimum debt payments of the “needs” category. As any extra debt payments reduce the principal and future interest owed, these additional debt payments are indeed savings.
Cut your debts. Increase your savings.
Start your journey to financial freedom NOW!
Contact
Anastasius-Grün-Gasse 16/1
1180 Vienna, Austria
+43 676 4147767