Have Common Cents.

A free, flexible, private-by-design budgeting web app built around digital envelopes, mindful spending, open-handed saving, and generous giving.

Start using Common Cents Explore the tool Read the story

What does “Have Common Cents” mean?

It carries two meanings.

An offer

Common Cents—the budgeting tool—is free to use. There is intention behind that decision. A tool meant to help you get your finances in order should not become another financial burden, especially before it has had a chance to help you.

An invitation

It is also a hopeful imperative: use this budgeting tool to become an open-handed saver, holding your cents with a view toward the common good.

What is Common Cents?

The Tool

Free

You are free to use Common Cents and all of its features at no cost. It is also generosity-supported, so you are also free to support its continued development by becoming a member (coming soon).

Flexible

Common Cents includes many features, but you can use the ones that fit your needs and ignore the ones that do not.

Private-by-design

Your financial data is stored in a local file on your computer. You can keep that file locally or in cloud storage of your choice. You own the data and are responsible for storing and backing it up.

Web app

No app download is required. Open app.commoncents.money in your browser to get started. Common Cents currently works in Chromium-based desktop browsers.

Features

What Common Cents includes

Guided Onboarding

A step-by-step setup process to help you start simply.
Account and Transaction Tracking

Accounts, payees, and transactions organized in one place.
Envelope-style Category Budgeting

Categories that give every dollar a purpose.
Future Income and Transaction Planning

A way to aim future income before it arrives or plan for future transactions before they happen.

Financial Reports

Visualize and summarize your financial activity.
Flexible Labels

Extra context for your money beyond standard budget categories.
Savings Targets

Planning tools to help you prepare for the present and the future.
Command Center

One interface for searching transactions, finding help, calculations, and running commands.

Modular Dashboard

Edit and organize the dashboard to surface the information that is important to you.

What is Common Cents for?

Purposeful Budgeting

Category budgeting that gives every dollar a purpose.

Mindful Spending

Track spending against your budget so you can see where money is going and where adjustments are needed.

Open-handed Saving

Save in ways that prepare you for future spending and greater giving. Prepare, do not accumulate.

Generous Giving

Budgeting with purpose and spending mindfully can reduce worry and free up more money for generosity.

The Method: Envelope Budgeting

Common Cents comes from a long legacy called envelope budgeting. The basic idea is simple: split your money into envelopes, each with a specific purpose. This money is for groceries. That money is for a future vacation. As you spend from each envelope, you can see how much is left. Because you put real dollars into each envelope, you are not spending money you do not have.

Envelope budgeting ties budgeting and spending together. You do not just make a plan and hope it works out. You aim your money and then, ideally, spend how you aimed it. This helps you prepare for everyday expenses, save toward larger future expenses, and set aside money to give.

But, even though a new tool can help, it is not the answer by itself. You are. Running shoes do not make you healthier. Running does. A budgeting tool will not make you financially healthy. Your actions will.

Digital envelopes for real life

Physical envelopes can be difficult to maintain in a world of direct deposit, debit cards, and credit cards. Common Cents carries their core discipline into the way you actually handle money: assign dollars a purpose, then see what happens as you spend.

Your spending becomes a kind of journal. It tells the story of where your money has gone and what you have valued. When you can see that story clearly, you can decide what needs to change. Is your money following your actual values?

The Work: What Common Cents Requires

Common Cents is not a passive budget system. It is not just goal setting. It is a way of turning your goals into real limits that you can measure your spending against. That requires something of you.

Set up your categories realistically and simply.

Start simple and add detail later as needed. Honest, practical categories are easier to follow than perfect categories that only look good on paper.

Track every dollar you spend.

Your account and category balances depend on regular updates and Common Cents asks you to do the work. If you stop tracking, balances go stale and decisions get harder.

Stick to your budget as best you can.

When you overspend, treat it as information. Adjust your plan and keep going.

Reflect on how you spend your money.

The goal is not only planning and recording. Reflection helps you see what should change over time. Move towards spending less then you make.

Read some specific steps you can take

Ready to start aiming your money?

Use Common Cents for free. Let it help you build clarity, margin, and generosity.

Start using Common Cents Read more about Getting Started