Safe to Spend
Your available balance minus upcoming bills and savings commitments. It's the amount you can actually spend without going into the red. Steady shows this number on your dashboard.
Safe to spend is the amount of money you can freely spend right now without missing a bill or falling behind on savings goals. It's calculated as: your current balance, minus upcoming bills and direct debits, minus any money earmarked for savings.
This is different from your bank balance — which only shows what's in your account right now without considering what's about to come out.
For example, if your bank balance is $2,500 but you have $800 in bills coming out this week and $500 committed to savings, your safe to spend is $1,200. That's the real number you should be working with.
Why this matters
Knowing your safe-to-spend amount is the single most useful piece of financial information you can have on any given day. It prevents the common trap of seeing money in your account and spending it, only to be caught short when bills come out. Steady calculates this automatically by looking at your balances, upcoming recurring payments, and savings commitments.
Learn more
Read our guideRelated Budgeting terms
50/30/20 Rule
A budgeting guideline: 50% of income on needs (rent, food, bills), 30% on wants (dining out, entertainment), 20% on savings and debt repayment.
Zero-Based Budget
A budgeting method where every dollar of income is assigned a job (expenses, savings, or debt). At the end of the month, income minus allocated amounts = zero. YNAB uses this method.
Emergency Fund
Savings set aside for unexpected expenses — car repairs, medical bills, job loss. Most experts recommend 3-6 months of living expenses. Keep it in an on-call savings account for instant access.
Sinking Fund
Money set aside for a planned future expense — holiday, Christmas gifts, car registration. Unlike an emergency fund (for surprises), a sinking fund is for things you know are coming.
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