How to budget without linking your bank

Most budget apps start the same way: before you've logged a single coffee, they ask for your online banking login. It feels like the price of entry. It isn't. A budget comes down to three things: what comes in, what goes out, and what you've decided to do with the rest. You can know all three without giving anyone your bank credentials.

Why skip bank linking?

• Your login stays yours. Bank sync means a company holds a way into your account, and a server holds your full transaction history.
• Fewer moving parts. Bank feeds can break, lag or need reconnecting. A statement file you already have doesn't.
• You notice more. Typing an expense takes a few seconds, and that small moment is what makes you register it. Automatic feeds are easy to stop looking at.

Three ways to get your spending in

1. Log as you go

The habit that makes a budget work is a quick entry right after you pay. In Drachma it takes about three seconds: amount, category, done. Quick-add tiles cover the places you go often, and "buy again" fills in a repeat purchase for you. Manual logging is unlimited on every plan.

2. Scan receipts

For a big shop, point your camera at the receipt. Drachma reads every line item on your phone, so you can see what the money went on, not just the total. Your receipts never leave your phone.

3. Import the statements you already have

For a backlog, or anything you forgot to log, import a bank or card statement: PDF (including password-protected and scanned ones), CSV or Excel. Drachma reads it on your phone, matches anything you already logged so nothing counts twice, and lets you review every entry before it's saved. While it reads, it picks out your subscriptions and installment plans. Free includes 5 statement imports and 30 receipt scans in total to get you started; Plus makes them unlimited.

Set up a simple plan in ten minutes

1. Pick a monthly plan. Take what comes in each month, subtract the bills that are already spoken for, and decide how much of the rest you mean to spend.
2. Split it into a few envelopes. Groceries, eating out, transport, and one for you. Keep whatever you don't allocate as a buffer for surprises. (Our envelope budgeting guide goes deeper.)
3. Import last month's statement. It shows where your money actually went, which is the best starting point for realistic envelope amounts.
4. Check in once a week. Five minutes on a Sunday: anything missing, any envelope running hot? Drachma's weekly recap gives you the overview.

Keep it private, keep it yours

Budgeting without bank sync only matters if the data stays private afterwards. In Drachma, every expense, budget and goal lives in an encrypted database on your phone, with the key held in your device's secure hardware. There's no account to create and no server to send your money data to. Backups are single files sealed with a passphrase only you know, and you can export everything as CSV or JSON whenever you like.

Is it more work than bank sync?

A little at first, and less than you'd think. Most days are a handful of quick entries. Statements catch whatever slipped through, so missing a day doesn't leave a hole. Most people find that a few seconds per purchase is a fair trade for knowing exactly where their money goes, and for nobody else knowing it.

Budget without the bank login

Drachma is a free budget app for Android and iOS. Log, scan and import on your phone, with no account and no server.