Spend, splurge, or save? Eat out on a budget.

January 10, 2022May 29, 2012 by Chi-En

My husband and I like to eat out. Don’t get me wrong — we love to cook homemade food most of the time. But every once in a while, we enjoy getting out of the house to savor a delicious meal.

Eating at restaurants can quickly add up, so how do we eat out and still stay on budget? Before we head out the door, I look at our Eating Out Envelope. I don’t look at the Envelope Balance to see how much money is in the Envelope. That might mislead me into thinking I can spend more than I really should.

Instead, I look at the little line on my Envelope bar and the comment beneath it. Goodbudget looks at my spending for the month and lets me know if I’m keeping pace with my budget. This lets us know whether we can spend on a simple meal out, splurge on something nice– or whether we should save and have a home cooked meal instead.

When to Spend

If Goodbudget says we’re ahead by $10, we have some money to spend on burritos and drinks. Yum!

Sync Your EEBA Household

April 1, 2020May 14, 2012 by Steve

Update

EEBA is now Goodbudget! Goodbudget has all the great features of EEBA (and more!) in a new and updated interface. Check out our updated article on this topic, and check out the Goodbudget Help Center for the most recent help content.

Did you know you can sync your EEBA household across multiple mobile devices and the web?

Register your household and you’ll be able to login with the same household username and password on any device. We’ll keep your budget up-to-date automagically.

If you started on iPhone…

Head to the “More” tab,
Press “Register…”
Then fill out the form to complete your registration.

That’s it! You can now access your budget on the EEBA website, or on another mobile device.

6 Budgeting Tips to Get the Most Out of the EEBA App

October 16, 2023May 8, 2012 by Steve

EEBA is now Goodbudget! You can find the most up-to-date information about using Goodbudget on our Help Center.

Angela Colley is a financial writer for Money Crashers Personal Finance, an online resource with tips for budgeting, saving for long-term goals, and planning for early retirement.

For years, I kept track of my financial budget on a piece of paper in my desk drawer. It was an okay system, but it didn’t allow me to track my financial goals. I just didn’t have the time to compare my spending with my budget each month.

Then I got a smartphone and discovered the Easy Envelope Budget Aid (EEBA) app. Now I stay on top of my finances, stay within budget, and always have enough money for what I need. It took me a while to work out a budgeting system using the EEBA app, but now I have great system, and you can too.

Here are some tips you can use to get the most out of the EEBA app:

1. Create Plenty of Envelopes
A well-organized tracking system makes it easier to make a budget, and to know exactly where your money goes. The EEBA app utilizes “Envelopes” as a method of creating budget categories. When I first started budgeting, I used one Envelope for my house, one for necessities, and one for extras. Now, I have 10 Envelopes to cover everything I buy through this Envelope Budgeting System.

The EEBA app helped me to understand that I need to spend less money on extras and dining out. You can quickly add Envelopes using the EEBA app to help you stay on budget. Use all of the Envelopes you think you might need when you start using the Easy Envelope Budget Aid, and don’t hesitate to add more as you need them.

Read more

Embrace those Rainy Days

May 6, 2019May 7, 2012 by Chi-En

I’m a California girl through and through. I love blue skies and sunny weather. But in my corner of “Sunny California,” it rains 1 out of every 5 days. Rain isn’t an unexpected crisis; it’s just a fact of life. And so when I go out I bring my rain jacket with me. If it … Read more

FAQ: How Can I Track My Debt in EEBA?

April 1, 2020April 24, 2012 by cmchien

Update

EEBA is now Goodbudget! Goodbudget has all the great features of EEBA (and more!) in a new and updated interface. Check out our updated article on this topic, and check out the Goodbudget Help Center for the most recent help content.

Q: I’ve decided to finally pay off my credit cards! How can I use EEBA to keep track of how much I owe, how much I want to pay, and how close I am to achieving my goal?

Paying off debt is a great financial goal. You may feel the pinch in the short term, but in the long run you’ll save money and enjoy greater peace of mind. With EEBA, you’ll have two options when keeping track of your debt.

Option 1: Track the Balance of Your Debt (Plus/Premium)

If you’re on the Plus or Premium plan with EEBA, you can use Accounts to keep track of the balance of your debt as you pay it off. Here’s how:

Step 1.Create a Credit Card Account for Each Debt
Head to the Accounts page to create a new Credit Card Account for each debt you want to track. Enter the balance of the Account as a positive number, equal to the current balance that you owe.

Read more

FAQ: How to Start In the Middle of the Month

April 1, 2020April 17, 2012 by Steve

Update

EEBA is now Goodbudget! Goodbudget has all the great features of EEBA (and more!) in a new and updated interface. Check out our updated article on this topic, and check out the Goodbudget Help Center for the most recent help content.

The best time to start a budget is now. Whether you’re just tracking your expenses, budgeting off your income, or using Accounts in EEBA to manage every dollar, you can get started with EEBA today. Read on to learn how.

I just want to track my expenses in EEBA.

Start by creating your Envelopes and then funding them on the Add Money / Receive Income page. You can fund your Envelopes to full, or fund them partially based on when you’re starting in the month. For example, if you’re starting half-way through the month you could fund your Envelopes to half their budgeted amount.

As you record transactions you’ll be able to track your expenses in EEBA. When the month ends, fund your Envelopes again to start the new month.

I want to budget off my income.

For budgets based off income, it’s best to start from your last paycheck.

Start by creating your Envelopes to represent your budget.
Then, head to the Add Money / Receive Income page and choose “Specify” to fund your Envelopes from your last paycheck.
Finally, record the transactions that have happened since your last paycheck, and continue to record transactions as the month goes on.

FAQ: Track your Bills in EEBA

April 1, 2020April 11, 2012 by Steve

Update

EEBA is now Goodbudget! Goodbudget has all the great features of EEBA (and more!) in a new and updated interface. Check out our updated article on this topic, and check out the Goodbudget Help Center for the most recent help content.

Q: How can I track my bills in EEBA?

Between utility bills, insurance premiums, service charges, loan payments, and who knows what else, keeping track of “the bills” can be a headache.
Thankfully, EEBA can help!

Use Scheduled Expenses to Track Your Bills

Link: https://eebacanhelp.com/scheduled/edit-recurring.php

Available on the Plus and Premium plans with EEBA, Scheduled Expenses can help you track your bills through the month. Follow the link above to head to the Scheduled Expense page. There you can:

Create an expense to keep track of each of your bills.
For bills that vary in amount you can enter an estimate for now.
Set the expense to repeat whenever the bill comes due.
Finally, check the box to “Remind me by e-mail” so EEBA will remind you before the bill comes due.

New Release of EEBA on Android and the Web

October 16, 2023April 2, 2012 by Steve

EEBA is now Goodbudget! You can find the most up-to-date information about using Goodbudget on our Help Center. We are proud to announce a new release for EEBA on Android and the Web! Get it now on Google Play, or learn more about what’s new below. Streamlined Budget Management, All in the Android App Create Envelopes … Read more

FAQ: Can I Save My Refill to Use Again Later?

April 1, 2020April 2, 2012 by Steve

Update

EEBA is now Goodbudget! Goodbudget has all the great features of EEBA (and more!) in a new and updated interface. Check out our updated article on this topic, and check out the Goodbudget Help Center for the most recent help content.

Q: Each paycheck, I use the “Specify” option to fund my Envelopes just the way I want. Can I save the details of this refill to use again later?

Yes! Whether you’re using the “Specify” option on the Add Money / Receive Income page, or you’re Distributing funds from your Unallocated Money, EEBA lets you choose how you want to fund each Envelope individually. You can then save your choices as a “Remembered Refill” to use again later. Here’s how:

Start by entering a funding transaction as you normally would.
When you’re done, check the box next to “Remember this refill.”
Then enter a name for the refill.

FAQ: How Can I Set Goals in EEBA?

April 1, 2020March 26, 2012 by Steve

Update

EEBA is now Goodbudget! Goodbudget has all the great features of EEBA (and more!) in a new and updated interface. Check out our updated article on this topic, and check out the Goodbudget Help Center for the most recent help content.

Whether it’s your property taxes, a summer vacation, or your Holiday spending, we all have expenses that seem to creep up on us through the year.

Don’t be surprised by these predictable expenses! Instead, set a savings goal to budget for them throughout the year. You’ll save up for them bit by bit, and have peace of mind knowing you’ll be ready when the time comes to pay them.

Use Annual/Irregular Envelopes to Save for Big Expenses

Start by creating an Annual/Irregular Envelope in EEBA:

Head to the Edit Budgets page to create an Annual/Irregular Envelope.
Set the Envelope’s Budget to how much you’d like to save each year.

EEBA will break down your annual goal into regular monthly parts.