Why Coinbramble only counts one week

The first version of this app had a monthly budget, because every budgeting app has a monthly budget. I used it for six weeks and learned something unflattering: I never once changed my behaviour because of it. By the time a monthly number looked bad, the month was mostly spent, and the only thing left to do was feel guilty and wait for the first.

A week is short enough that Thursday still has Friday in it. If Wednesday went badly you can eat at home on Saturday, and the number moves while you can still do something about it.

What this rules out

• Rent, insurance and anything else that arrives once a month. Those are not weekly decisions and pretending they are makes one week look catastrophic.

• Rollover. If Monday starts with whatever you scraped together last week, you are back to a monthly budget with extra steps.

• Averages. We do not show you a typical week, because the week you are in is the only one you can change.

That drawing is from the week we gave up on months. The big box at the top is the only number in the app that matters, and everything we have built since has been about getting a receipt into it with as little ceremony as possible.

If you want a monthly view, Coinbramble is going to disappoint you, and I would rather disappoint you now than after you have photographed a fortnight of receipts.