Blog
Essays on keeping track of your own money, by hand.
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Your Google Sheet is now an MCP server
KashishHow a Google Apps Script web app can serve MCP itself, so Claude or ChatGPT answer from your own sheet with no server in between. What it took, and its limits.
Privacy -
How to track expenses in two currencies
KashishPick one base currency, convert each foreign row at the rate on the day you paid, and keep the original amount on the row. A worked AUD, USD and GBP example.
Tracking -
Is it safe to keep your budget in Google Sheets?
KashishFor most people, yes. Google says Drive files are private unless you share them and are not used for ads. The real risks are account security and sharing.
Privacy -
How to track expenses as a couple, when there is no one right way
KashishPool everything, split evenly, split by income, or split only the big bills. How to pick a way, track it together, and change it when it stops fitting.
Couples -
Splitting household costs when you earn different amounts
KashishSplit shared costs in proportion to take-home pay. A worked 55/45 example: the arithmetic, rent, groceries and bills, and a month-end settle-up.
Couples -
Do Australian budgeting apps need your bank login? Open Banking and the CDR, plainly
KashishNo. An Australian app can get your transactions three ways: Open Banking under the CDR, your bank login, or you. What each needs and how to stop it.
Australia -
Is typing in your spending more accurate than a bank feed?
KashishA bank feed is complete for the accounts it covers; typing it in is as complete as your habit, and each row says what it was for. One week, both ways.
Tracking -
Zero-based budgeting without a subscription
KashishZero-based budgeting is a method, not an app: give every dollar of income a job until nothing is left to assign. A worked A$5,200 month, in any tool.
Budgeting -
Two weeks behind on tracking? A ten-minute catch-up
KashishForgot to track your spending for a fortnight? Work from the statement, take the big rows first, batch the small ones, and restart today.
Tracking -
How accurate is a spending forecast? Why a range beats one number
KashishSpending is lumpy, so one predicted number claims more than your history knows. A worked example: the mean, the median, and a usual range for next month.
Forecasting -
The Financial Truth: Running the Business of You
KashishFive chapters on tracking your money by hand: why measuring beats managing by feel, the saver and the spender, your own inflation rate against the national average, ranges instead of budgets, and the price of privacy.
Tracking by hand