Method
Kakeibo: the Japanese method for keeping a budget
A notebook, four questions, and the habit of looking your money in the eye. The kakeibo is more than a hundred years old and it still works — precisely because it relies on no technology at all.
What is a kakeibo?
Kakeibo (家計簿) means « household account book ». Ka, the home. Kei, the accounts. Bo, the ledger. It is pronounced kah-keh-boh.
It was invented in 1904 by Hani Motoko, Japan's first female journalist. She published it in a women's magazine to give housewives a tool for managing the household money, at a time when they were trusted with neither a bank account nor a financial decision.
The principle fits in one sentence: you write your spending down by hand, and you decide what to set aside before you spend — not with whatever is left at the end.
The four questions
That is the whole kakeibo. You answer them at the start of the month, then check back at the end.
- How much money do I have? What actually came in this month — your salary, but also refunds, gifts, things you sold.
- How much do I want to set aside? You decide now, and you move the money straight away. This is the heart of the method.
- How much am I spending? Every expense written down as you go, without waiting for the statement.
- How can I do better? One sentence at the end of the month. Not a plan — an honest remark.
The four categories
Spending goes into four families, deliberately coarse. The point is not accounting precision, it is seeing where the money goes.
Survival
Rent, groceries, transport, health.
Optional
Restaurants, nights out, clothes.
Culture
Books, museums, classes, subscriptions.
Extra
The unexpected: the dentist, the repair, the birthday you forgot.
An example, in numbers
Someone earning 3,800 CHF in the month of September:
| What came in | 3,800.— |
| Set aside straight away | 400.— |
| Survival | 2,150.— |
| Optional | 620.— |
| Culture | 90.— |
| Extra | 310.— |
| Left at the end of the month | 230.— |
The answer to the fourth question that month: « Optional doubled in the last week — I'll log nights out the same evening, not on Sunday. »
The weekly ritual
The kakeibo does not ask for heroic discipline. It asks for three appointments.
- One minute a day: write down what you spent. In the evening, or on the spot.
- Ten minutes every Sunday: add up the week and see which of the four families overflowed.
- A quarter of an hour at the end of the month: the four questions, and the honest sentence.
The classic trap: wanting to record everything perfectly in week one, then giving up in week three. Recording roughly for six months beats recording perfectly for twelve days.
Paper or app?
The notebook works. It has one flaw: it does not do the adding up, and that is usually where people drop out — the Sunday you have to dig out the calculator.
Most budgeting apps do the opposite: they connect to your bank and sort your spending for you. It is comfortable, and it empties the kakeibo of its meaning. What makes the method work is the conscious gesture: the moment you type the amount in and look at it.
Monni was built on that principle: entry stays manual and takes a few seconds, the app does the totals for you, and nothing connects to your bank. Your data stays on your phone.
Common questions
What does kakeibo mean?
« Household account book », in Japanese. It is pronounced kah-keh-boh.
How long does it take each day?
One to two minutes to write things down, ten minutes on Sunday, a quarter of an hour at the end of the month.
Do I really have to write by hand?
No, but you do have to enter it yourself. An app that connects to your bank sorts your spending for you, and you never actually look at it.
Kakeibo or the 50/30/20 rule?
The 50/30/20 rule splits your income into fixed percentages. The kakeibo fixes none: it makes you decide for yourself, every month, what you set aside before you spend.
Does it work with an irregular income?
Yes, and that is where it is most useful. The first question is about what actually came in this month, so the budget recalculates every time.
You might also like
Method
The 50/30/20 rule, explained simply
Why it works for some people, and why it fails when rent already takes half the salary.
A kakeibo that does the adding up
Manual entry, no access to your bank, no account to create. Free to start.
Download MonniFree to start · No account · No bank connection