Last updated: September 28, 2026
MyPocketPlan is a personal budget planner. You enter current cash, incomes, and expenses; the app simulates a cash timeline with automatic put-aside pockets. It does not connect to banks or move money.
1. Set current cash
Enter how much money you have today and the balance date. This opening amount seeds the simulation and becomes Total cash at the start of the timeline.
2. Add income
Add paychecks or other inflows — once or on a recurring schedule. When income hits on the timeline, it credits Economy (Free) cash first, then triggers allocation toward expenses.
3. Add expenses
Add bills and spending with due dates — once or recurring. Each expense can receive reserved cash in its own pocket based on due date, then smallest remaining need.
4. Economy cash and expense reserves
Economy (Free) cash is unallocated spending money after put-aside. Expense reserves are amounts set aside inside each bill pocket. They are not the same number as Total cash or Safe to Spend.
5. Explore the timeline
Scroll events or drag the scrubber to move through dates. Each step shows moves between Economy, expense pockets, and external flows, plus cash after each event.
6. Safe to Spend
Safe to Spend is a dedicated view of how much Economy cash you can use for extra spending without breaking upcoming bills, using a fixed horizon (typically 12 months). It only appears when the plan never goes negative in that window.
7. Shortfalls (Pro)
If projected cash drops below zero, Pro shows shortfall warnings on the timeline and in alerts. The Free plan still runs the simulation but does not surface shortfall UI or alert you.
8. Past movements
When a dated movement is before today, it stays on the timeline in a dimmed ghost style so you can scroll back and see where money went. Opening cash is what you set; past events still count toward the running balance.
9. Notifications (Pro)
Pro can send in-app notices and optional push alerts (for example when income or a bill is due today). Free does not include alert features.
Concepts that are easy to mix up
These metrics answer different questions. Compare them on the same timeline moment, not in isolation.
Total cash
All simulated cash in the plan at a moment — Economy plus amounts reserved in expense pockets.
Economy (Free) cash
Cash not yet reserved for a specific expense pocket; this is what put-aside draws from and what Safe to Spend focuses on.
Expense reserves
Cash allocated inside bill pockets for upcoming dues. Reserved cash still counts toward Total cash but is not freely spendable.
Safe to Spend
A conservative read of spare Economy cash over a horizon, shown only when the plan stays non‑negative in that window.
Timeline horizon
How far recurring entries expand on the scrubber — separate from the Safe to Spend window.
No bank sync / no money movement
You type balances and entries yourself. MyPocketPlan never imports bank transactions and never pays bills for you.
Go deeper
Follow the hands-on tutorial or read grouped FAQ answers.