Help · Get started

Coming from another budgeting app

What you can stop doing, what Polaris does differently, and why the classes matter.

If you already envelope-budget, most of the vocabulary will feel familiar. A few rituals are optional here, and a few things Polaris treats as first-class.

You do not have to reconcile every week

Polaris watches the bank balance against posted transactions in the background. When they agree, you do nothing. When they do not, that account offers Reconcile — usually a duplicate to confirm or a one-line adjustment. First-month setup asks you to look at balances so Ready to Assign starts honest; it does not make you lock every account to proceed.

You can still reconcile any time from the account screen. It is a tool for drift, not a choreography.

You do not approve every transaction

Linked activity usually lands categorized. Correct a merchant once and Polaris remembers. A pending charge counts against its category as soon as it arrives. A pending deposit joins Ready to Assign once it posts. The work is exceptions, not a daily inbox.

Essentials and discretionary are not just labels

Polaris has four fixed classes — Essentials, Discretionary, Savings, and Money In. Color means class, and class changes the plan:

• First-month setup funds essentials first.
• When a month does not balance, the ladder cuts lifestyle three rungs before groceries. A smaller restaurant bill is a choice; a smaller grocery bill is not.
• Protected obligations (rent, debt, card payments) can hand back this month’s excess but never a carried reserve.

You still choose which category sits in which class. The classes are what make “trim dining before rent” a rule instead of a hope.

One Ready to Assign — the real one

Polaris shows the running Ready to Assign number directly. Money for next month is Set Aside, stamped with the month it is for. Release it with one tap. It never moves by itself.

Covering a red row names the source

Moving money between two envelopes is exactly neutral — the donor loses what the recipient gains. If nothing can cover a hole, the row stays red and the plan reports a shortfall. Polaris will not imply it created money.

Cards do not silently eat all your cash

A carried balance is a loan, not “due today.” Pay-in-full cards reserve what they owe, including charges after the statement. Each card has its own payment envelope.

The cost is visible before you commit

While the keypad is up, Ready to Assign updates and the previous figure sits struck through beside it. You see whether you can afford the number before you save it.

Your book stays on your devices

There is no Polaris login. No copy on Polaris servers. The book is on your iPhone, iPad and Mac and in your iCloud.

What this book does not include

• No web app. The book stays on your devices and in your iCloud.
• Syncs on your iPhone and Mac. New transactions arrive when you open Polaris Budget. Your iPhone may also refresh it in the background, and a Mac checks again while Polaris is open.
• One person or two. To share a budget, see Share with a partner.
• USD and English for now.

Still stuck? Write to support — the form goes to us, not a public inbox.