Within Means

1. Create an account for every currency you use

Within Means has no integration with your banks. Keeping records is manual, but we make it as seamless as possible. Create separate accounts for cash, bank card, or savings. If you use multiple currencies, create separate accounts to track balances correctly.

me /create_account

Within Means Please enter a currency and name. Example: USD Savings

me EUR Bank

Within Means Updated. Your balance is €0.00.

me /create_account

Within Means Please enter a currency and name. Example: USD Savings

me USD Cash

Within Means Updated. Here is your new balance:

Bank* €0.00 Cash $0.00

2. Incomes and balances

Record incomes by prefixing the amount with a plus sign (e.g., +2000). Check your balance with /balance. To directly set or correct a balance (e.g. after a bank transfer), use /set_balance.

me +2000

me +50 EUR

me /balance

Within Means Here is your balance:

Bank* €2 050.00 Cash $0.00

me /set_balance

Within Means Please choose an account

me EUR Bank

Within Means Please enter an amount

me 1500

me /balance

Within Means Updated. Here is your balance:

Bank* €1 050.00 Cash $0.00

3. Expenses

Record an expense by typing the amount and description (e.g., 600 rent). Specify currencies, and the system handles conversions. Or use /spend to select the account step-by-step. Use /stat to see a summary and /stat_web to open the full statistics page in your browser.

me 20

me 600 rent

me 50 USD subscriptions

me /spend

Within Means Please choose an account

me EUR Bank

Within Means Please enter an amount

me 100

me /stat

Within Means Here is your balance:

Bank* €780.00 Cash $0.00

Here is how you spend money:
Rent €600.00 Subscriptions $50.00 No category €120.00

me /stat_web

Within Means Open statistics in browser Open ↗

4. Plan your budget

Use /plan to enter planning mode and define expected expenses. Return to normal mode with /normal, then check /stat — it will show your planned amounts and offer a button to start the financial period.

me /plan

Within Means Please choose a plan or enter a name for a new one

me June 2026

Within Means You have entered planning mode. All the usual commands still work, but the result is stored separately as planned. Later, your plans can be compared to the reality.
/normal to return to normal mode.

me 600 rent

me 800 food

me /stat

Within Means Here is how you plan to spend money:
Rent €600 Food €800

▶ Start June 2026

5. Track your spending against the plan

Once the financial period starts, spend normally and use /overbudget to see where you exceeded the plan, and /yet_to_spend to see planned categories with budget remaining.

me 580 rent

me 600 food

me 260 health

me /overbudget

Within Means Here is money you spent that is overbudget:
Health €260.00

me /yet_to_spend

Within Means Here is money you have yet to spend:
Food €200.00

Getting Started Guide

1. Create an account for every currency you use

2. Incomes and balances

3. Expenses

4. Plan your budget

5. Track your spending against the plan