Credit cards
Credit card budgeting without the mental gymnastics.
Swipe the card and the category goes down, the same as cash. The money to pay the card is set aside for you. There's no payment category to fund, reconcile, or wonder about.
Card handling is part of the free plan.
Try it
A pretend budget
- Groceries$420.00
- Eating out$150.00
- Gas$120.00
- Checking$3,240.00
- Visa Set aside to pay it $0.00 $0.00
Put groceries on a credit card and the Groceries category goes down, the same as cash. The money to pay the card is set aside for you.
Why card budgets get confusing
Most envelope budgets move money into a card payment category every time you swipe, and pile last year's balance into the same place. Then they color it yellow and leave you to work out which dollars are which.
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This month's spending and old debt get mixed together.
So "how much should I pay?" never has a straight answer.
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Money moves around behind your back.
Swipe for dinner and two categories change. Only one of them is dinner.
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Overspending on a card turns into debt quietly.
And you find out when the payment category comes up short.
How Tare does it
Three separate spaces. Zero mental gymnastics.
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01New spending sets itself aside
Buy $50 of groceries on the Visa and Groceries drops by $50. Behind the scenes, $50 in checking is marked for the Visa. You never see a payment category, because there isn't one.
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02Old balances get their own envelope
Carrying debt from before you started? It lives in a Debt payoff category for that card. Assign to it like any other goal, and it never gets mixed up with this week's groceries.
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03Paying is just a transfer
Move money from checking to the card. The Payment helper shows the statement balance and minimum due next to what you've set aside, and tells you exactly where this payment's money comes from. Pick an amount on the right to see.
Payment helper
Visa, owes $1,450.00- Statement balance
- 1,210.00
- Minimum due
- 35.00
Card purchases since your last payment. Already taken out of your categories.
What you've assigned toward past debt.
Fully covered. Your budget stays balanced.
Paying down a balance? See the finish line.
Set a monthly target on the card's Debt payoff envelope and the forecast shows the month the balance hits zero. Try paying $100 more and watch the date move.
Statement and minimum, pulled in for you.
With Autopilot, Tare reads the statement balance, minimum due, and due date from your bank when it provides them. On the free plan, type them in once a month.
Card rewards
Paying it off every month? Get the most back.
Tell Tare what each card earns and it picks the best one for every envelope: the grocery card for Groceries, the dining card for Eating out, the 2% card for everything else. Open any envelope and its card is right there, so you know what to reach for at the register.
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01Pick your cards
Choose from popular cards and the rates fill in, caps included. Not listed, or yours is different? Type it in. Points cards get a value per point, so they compare fairly with cash back.
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02See what you've been leaving behind
Tare looks back over the last 90 days and shows what your spending earned next to what it could have, category by category, and what the difference adds up to over a year.
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03Interest comes first
A card that charged interest recently is never suggested, and Tare says why. Paying it to $0 is worth more than any reward.
Card rewards are part of Autopilot, and included in the 35-day free trial.
- Groceries$1,885.04 in 90 days Mastercard ··55182%
- Eating out$403.72 in 90 days Mastercard ··55182%
- Gas$411.58 in 90 days Mastercard ··55182%
- Everything else$600.00 in 90 days Mastercard ··55182%
Visa: 6% groceries, 3% gas. Amex: 4 points per dollar on dining. Mastercard: 2% on everything. Right now it all goes on the Mastercard.
Same spending, $87.60 more back every 90 days.
Questions
Cards in Tare
What happens to my credit card payment category?
You won't need one. Card purchases come out of the category you spent from, and Tare keeps track of what's set aside for each card. If you carry an older balance, it goes in that card's Debt payoff category.
What if I spend more on the card than I budgeted?
The category goes negative, the same as it would with cash, and you cover it from a category with room. Anything you don't cover comes out of next month's Ready to assign, and both months say so.
Does it work with more than one card?
Yes. Each card keeps its own set-aside amount and its own Debt payoff envelope, and the Payment helper works card by card.
Will Tare tell me which card to use?
With Autopilot, yes. Tell it what each card earns and each envelope's details show the best card for it. The estimates use your bank's category for each purchase; card issuers go by the store's own merchant code, so a warehouse club or superstore may not count as groceries even when your envelope says it is.
Do I need bank sync for this?
No. Card handling works the same on the free Manual plan. Autopilot just brings the transactions and statement details in for you.
Start with the money you have today.
Budget by hand for free, no card needed. Or try Autopilot free for 35 days: $12/month after that, dropping to $8 the longer you stay.