A family budget the whole household can follow

The real problem

A family budget usually doesn’t fail because of the monthly bills. Rent, utilities and groceries are predictable. It fails on everything else: the school trip, the birthday party, new shoes twice a year, the car insurance that comes once, and the subscription that went up without anyone noticing.

It’s also rarely one person’s job. One parent pays the bills, the other does most of the shopping, and an older child might be starting to ask where the money goes. When only one person can see the numbers, everyone else is guessing.

A practical approach: plan the irregular costs monthly

The most useful habit for a family budget is turning big, occasional costs into small monthly ones, often called sinking funds.

A worked example with round numbers:

• Back-to-school costs: $600 a year, so $50 a month
• Birthdays and holidays: $1,200 a year, so $100 a month
• Car maintenance and tires: $900 a year, so $75 a month
• Car insurance, paid annually: $1,200 a year, so $100 a month

That’s $325 a month set aside. It feels like a lot, but without it those same costs arrive as a $1,200 surprise in one month, usually on a credit card. With it, the money is already there.

Two more habits help: a short monthly money meeting where everyone who manages money looks at the same numbers, and a calendar of bills so nobody is caught out. Children can join in at whatever level suits them; teaching kids about money has ideas by age.

How Kemback helps

• One household budget. Everyone in the household sees the same budget, each with their own sign-in. Choose category budgets or envelopes, and switch at any time without losing anything.
• Irregular costs handled. In envelope mode, positive balances roll over, so $50 a month towards school costs builds up until September. In category mode you can turn on rollover per category. Or set up savings goals, funded from an account or an envelope, and Kemback shows the monthly amount needed.
• Bills on a calendar. Bills and recurring transactions appear on a calendar, and Kemback warns you when one goes up, so the price rise on a streaming service or insurance renewal doesn’t slip past.
• Roles for each person. Owners and editors can change things. A viewer can see the budget without editing it. The advisor role is view-only, for someone like an accountant.
• Private where it matters. An account can stay private to one person. Its spending counts only in that person’s view of the budget.
• Alerts and a weekly summary. Over budget, low balance, large purchases, bank fees and bills due, by email, in the app or on iPhone, plus a weekly summary email.
• Reports by category, payee or tag. See what the family actually spends on groceries, activities or the car, and net worth over time.

What it doesn’t do (yet)

Be clear on household size before you start. The Free plan includes a household of two. Plus is planned for households of up to six, at $79 a year or $7.99 a month, but it isn’t on sale yet. You can join the waitlist on the pricing page. Until then, a family of four can share Kemback between two adults, and show the numbers to everyone else at the monthly meeting.

Kemback has no kids’ accounts, allowance tracking or chore features, and it doesn’t hold or move money. Bank transactions come in from files you download (OFX, QFX, QIF or CSV); automatic bank sync is planned for Plus. The iPhone app is in beta, and Android and Windows apps are in development, so family members on Android use kemback.com in a browser for now.

For a starting point that works with or without Kemback, read sinking funds for big bills and the monthly household money meeting.

Questions

How many people can be in a household?

The Free plan includes a household of two. Plus is planned for households of up to six, but it isn't on sale yet; you can join the waitlist on the pricing page.

Can my teenager have their own Kemback account?

Not as a separate kids' account. Kemback has no kids' accounts or allowance features. A household member can be given the viewer role so they can see the budget without changing it, once your household has room for them.

Can a grandparent or accountant see our finances?

Yes, within the household size of your plan. The advisor role is view-only, for someone like an accountant, and the viewer role suits a family member who should see but not edit.

How do we plan for costs that don't come every month?

Use savings goals or, in envelope mode, envelopes that roll over. Set aside a monthly amount for school fees, holidays or car repairs, and the money is there when the bill arrives.

Is it really free?

Yes. Budgets, bills, goals, reports, alerts, import and export are all on the Free plan, with no time limit.