How is safe to spend worked out?

Safe to spend is the number on Home: what you can spend today. Pockito sets your savings goal aside first, takes out the bills and subscriptions you already owe, and spreads what's left over the days until your next pay day. Today counts as one of those days. Every entry you add moves the number at once.

Free iPhone and Android Updated 7 October 2026 · Pockito 1.4.1 · iOS 17 · Android 9 or later

Where to find it Home

The math, step by step

Start from what you earn in the period: your pay, plus the income in Arriving.
Take off your savings goal. Future-you gets paid first.
Take off your bills and subscriptions for the period. What's left is your budget.
Take off what you've already spent.
Divide what's left by the days left, today included. That's what you can spend today.

Before you've spent anything, the number is the even pace: your budget divided by the days in the period. After a quiet stretch it can rise, but never above one and a half times the even pace, and never above the even pace while you're saving toward a goal, because that surplus is what funds the goal.

How the glass works

The glass holds what is safe to spend this period: your budget, minus what you have already spent, minus the bills still to pay. How full it is shows how much of that is left.

Calm: On pace. Spending is in step with the days that have passed.
Tight: Ahead of pace. More of the budget is gone than the share of days. Ease off a little and the period still closes well.
Over: Past the budget. The number is how far over you are. The next period starts fresh.
Closing: The last day of the period. Your recap is ready the next morning.
Empty: No budget yet. Add your income and the glass fills.

Try the safe-to-spend calculator

Questions

What happens if I spend more than that?

The days left get a smaller share, and Pockito tells you plainly. If you finish over, it says by how much, and the next period starts fresh.

Does a move between my accounts count?

No. Safe to spend never counts a move.

Does money I'm expecting count?

Money that lands on a rhythm: a salary, a retainer, a sweep into savings. Pockito counts it as part of what you earn each month, so Home stands on your real income instead of one number you typed at setup.

Why does my number say to set up below?

Set up below and this becomes what's actually safe to spend