Want to use your own numbers? Open the free safe-to-spend calculator. No account or bank connection needed.
Use today’s balance, even halfway through the month
Your original salary tells you what arrived. It does not tell you how much is left after payments and purchases. Use your current spending-account balance and include only bills that have not yet been paid.
This also lets you restart a plan mid-month without reconstructing every transaction since payday. Keep separate savings and a separate bills pot outside the spending balance.
Reserve monthly bills before dividing the remainder
Add the unpaid rent or mortgage payment, utilities, council tax, insurance payments and subscriptions due through payday. Then allow groceries and transport for the actual remaining days.
Set aside any contribution needed for later bills and a buffer you want to protect. The remainder is the total flexible spending estimate, not another monthly salary figure.
Example: 28 days until payday
Start with £1,500 in your spending account. Subtract £600 of unpaid bills and £280 for four weeks of £70 essentials. With no other reservations, £620 remains. That gives a £155 weekly guide or £22.14 daily guide, rounded down.
With 31 days remaining, that same essentials allowance would need £310 rather than £280. This is why the exact payday date matters more than a fixed four-week assumption.
Update the plan after the next salary arrives
Enter the balance after your salary is received, then confirm the following payday. You do not need to add the salary again if it is already part of the balance.
If overtime, deductions or hours change your take-home pay, select variable pay in the app. An estimate is optional; the safe-to-spend calculation still starts from money you actually have.
Keep your plan current
The estimate depends on what you enter. Review changed bill amounts and refresh your balance after purchases and payments.