Drachma
How to keep track of installment plans
Paying in installments makes a big purchase feel small. A laptop becomes a monthly amount you barely notice. The catch is that plans stack: three or four running at once can quietly take a large slice of every month, and each one ends at a different time. Here's how to keep them in view.
Why installments are easy to lose track of
- Each payment shows up as one small line on your card statement, often as something like 2/6 next to the store name.
- Plans start and end in different months, so the total you owe changes all the time.
- The money is committed before the month starts, but it doesn't feel spent until the statement arrives.
What to track for each plan
For every plan, write down four things:
- The monthly payment.
- How many payments are done, and how many are left.
- The amount still left to pay.
- The month the last payment lands.
For example: a laptop at $110 a month, with $660 paid and $660 left, ending in April; a washing machine at $85 a month, ending in December; and a phone at $60 a month, ending next July.
Add them up: your committed number
The total of all your monthly installment payments is money that's already spoken for. In the example above, that's $255 every month. Take it off your monthly plan before you set any budgets, and your envelopes will reflect what you can really spend.
Know when your money frees up
When a plan ends, its payment comes back to you. In the example, $85 frees up in January. Decide what to do with it before it arrives, such as topping up a goal or growing your buffer, so it doesn't vanish into everyday spending or a new plan straight away.
Before you take on a new plan
Look at your committed number first. Ask whether the new payment fits alongside everything else that's already running, and whether it still feels worth it when you see the full price instead of the monthly one.
How Drachma helps
- Finds plans by itself. Drachma reads "3/6"-style lines on card statements, the way Turkish banks print them, and keeps each plan's payments together.
- Paid, left, and when it ends. Every plan shows what's paid, what's left and its final month, plus how much of each month is already committed.
- Asks when unsure. If a charge only looks like an installment, Drachma checks with you first.
- Your own plans too. Add a plan by hand whenever you like, and link payments to it.
- See the months ahead with Drachma Plus: the next six months already spoken for, and the month each plan ends.
Installments are free for everyone.
Track installments for free
Drachma finds installment plans on Turkish card statements, lets you add any other plan by hand, and keeps each plan's payments together. Installments are free for everyone.
