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Money guides

These guides explain how everyday money mechanics actually work: what is on a bank or card statement, why a card total never matches a calendar month, how to get your transactions out of a bank, how to work out what is safe to spend today, and what paying only the minimum really costs. They are free to read and free to use, with no account and nothing to install.

Instruments

What’s safe to spend today?Four numbers in, one number out: the same arithmetic Tally runs every morning.Fair, not equal: split shared bills by incomeTwo incomes and the shared bills in; what each of you covers, and how that compares with half each.
  1. How to track Apple Pay spending automaticallyLog every in-store Apple Pay tap the moment you pay, with no typing: how the Wallet automation works, what it catches, what it misses, and a one-time setup.
  2. How to set up a Wallet automation in ShortcutsRun an action every time you tap to pay with Apple Pay: create the Wallet automation in Shortcuts, set Run Immediately, and log each tap to a note or an app.
  3. Where did my money go?Why money seems to vanish when you pay by tap, and a ten-minute way to find out where it went: sort last month, find the small repeats, and fix the leak.
  4. Budget spreadsheet or budgeting app?An honest comparison of keeping a budget in a spreadsheet versus an app: cost, effort, privacy and control, and when a spreadsheet is the better choice.
  5. How to budget in the UK on iPhone, payday to paydayA UK budget that matches how you are paid: payday months, Direct Debits, council tax instalments, and your bank account straight from Apple Wallet.
  6. How to budget on a biweekly paycheque in CanadaPaid every two weeks? Build a Canadian budget around the paycheque: the two months with a third pay, pre-authorized debits, and your bank's CSV export.
  7. The best budget apps for iPhone in 2026Nine iPhone budget apps compared on price, free plan, trial and bank sync, and the one that logs every Apple Pay tap for you, so you never type a purchase.
  8. How do you read a bank or credit card statement?A plain-English guide to every part of a bank or credit card statement: the header block, the transaction table, dates, fees and the totals check.
  9. Why doesn't my credit card total match my budget's month?A statement period is not a calendar month. Why your card, your bank feed and your budget show three different totals, and how to reconcile them.
  10. How to export your transaction history from your bankDownload your bank transactions the right way: which format to pick, where the export hides, how far back it goes, and how to check it is complete.
  11. How to figure out what is safe to spend todayHow to work out a safe daily spending number: start from money you actually have, subtract committed bills, divide by the days until money next arrives.
  12. What paying only the minimum on a credit card really costsHow credit card minimum payments and interest are calculated, with a worked example showing years to clear and total interest versus a fixed payment.
  13. How to budget when your money is in two currenciesThree exchange rates, one budget. How to pick a home currency, convert spending honestly, and handle income and rate moves across two currencies.
  14. A plain-language money glossaryPlain-English definitions of the terms on bank and card statements and in budgeting apps, from statement period to safe-to-spend.

Who wrote these

Tally is an iPhone budgeting app. It reads the accounts you connect, files every purchase on its own, and shows one number: what is safe to spend today. It imports a statement as a PDF, CSV or text file when a bank cannot be connected, and keeps one budget across 32 currencies. Free to download; the paid plan is $7.99 a month or $79.99 a year with a seven-day trial.

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