Plan the month, save the snapshot, watch the net worth line.
Every “automated” budgeting app has the same problem. It puts you on the other side of a glass wall from your own money. Transactions sync in. Categories auto-apply. Dashboards bloom. You glance, you nod, you close the tab.
A month later you still don’t know where the money actually went. Because nobody — including you — ever sat down and looked at it.
The work IS the skill. The fifteen minutes you spend once a week opening your statement and typing the number in is the part that actually changes you. It’s the part that builds the household you’re trying to build.
Budget by Build to Last is the only app we know of designed around that truth.
No bank link. No automatic sync. A zero-based monthly plan and the small, repeatable rhythm that turns budgeting from a chore into a skill.
Income at the top, line items below — Needs, Wants, Savings + Giving — until every dollar has a job. Zero left over, on purpose.
Bank, card, whatever you actually used this week. Look at each transaction. Type the numbers in yourself. Fifteen minutes, once a week, is enough.
Your actual Needs / Wants / Savings + Giving split, live, against the family 50 / 30 / 20 targets. You’ll know in five seconds whether you’re holding the line.
One tap. Your plan and line items carry over, spending resets to zero, and last month auto-saves as a snapshot. The app even notices the new month and offers it.
Every feature earned its place. Anything that didn’t got cut. And when we add more — like everything below — you get it free.
Every dollar gets a job before the month starts. Income at the top, line items under Needs, Wants, Savings + Giving, zero left over.
Your actual split against the family targets, updating as you enter spending. Drift shows up while you can still do something about it.
The app notices a new month and offers it. Your plan and line items stay, spending resets, and last month auto-saves as a snapshot.
Every saved month with its ratio bar, income, and totals. Line the months up and the drift — or the progress — is right there.
Assets minus debts, once a month, with a 12-month trend chart. The number the budget is actually in service of.
A guided monthly review that pulls the month’s real numbers and walks you and your spouse through three honest questions. Answers saved month over month.
No bank link. No surprises. The work of typing the number in is what builds the muscle. We’re not going to take that from you.
Your spouse signs in with a magic link — no passwords — and sees the same shared budget. And your data exports to CSV anytime. It’s yours.
If you’ve been paying $14/month for an automated budgeting app and still can’t answer “what did we spend on food last month,” this is for you.
| Typical budgeting app | Budget by Build to Last | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $14/mo · $168/year | $24 one-time |
| Transaction entry | Automatic bank sync | Manual, by you, weekly |
| The point | See your money pass by | Sit down with your money |
| Account / bank credentials | Required | Never asked |
| Net worth tracking | Premium tier, if at all | Included — 12-month trend |
| The money conversation | You’re on your own | Guided monthly Marriage Money Date |
| If they go out of business | Your data leaves with them | Export to CSV anytime, your data is yours |
| Five-year cost | $840+ | $24 |
No upsells. No tiers. No “Pro” version. The same app every other family pays for. Yours for the cost of three months of YNAB.