When money becomes the third person in your marriage
Have you ever felt like money is the topic no one wants to bring up? We have. When Jherys and I got married, we had common dreams and goals, but also debt, maxed-out credit cards, and small expenses we couldn't explain. Without realizing it, money was draining the peace from our home.
Our first ally.
We did the first thing that came to mind: we got organized with an Excel sheet. It lasted three months. It was tedious and draining, but during that time, we saw something we didn't expect: we actually had the capacity to save.
Quick answer
The problem wasn't our income. The problem was that we couldn't see where it was all going.
That’s when our perspective shifted. Managing money wasn't just about the numbers; it started with becoming conscious of what we were doing with them.
“At the beginning, we were very disciplined with the spreadsheet for the first month, which gave us an initial look at our financial habits. That in turn made us aware of the decisions we were making and allowed us to start getting organized.”
That is how SaldoApp was born
When we realized that Excel was too tedious, we looked for a tool that would make us pause and think without taking up too much time. The ones we tried required subscriptions to unlock features or expand capacity, and we didn't trust where our personal data was being stored.
So, we built it ourselves. Jherys, a software engineer, built the foundation. Santiago, a graphic designer, joined later to shape the experience. I, a social worker, provided the educational perspective.
Quick answer
Why is it manual?We made it manual on purpose. Recording an expense forces you to stop for a moment and look at it; it breaks the cycle of automation that makes us spend mindlessly and helps build awareness.
Almost no one taught us how to handle money, and we believe it’s best learned this way: little by little, in the very moment you spend it.
Today, SaldoApp is:
- Free.
- Private: whatever you record is saved locally on your phone's memory, not on external servers.
- A contribution: we share it freely for those who feel overwhelmed by theory, Excel spreadsheets, or tools that offer more of the same while lacking a genuine interest in understanding what is really happening in their personal financial life.
Where to start?
- Record everything for one month, from paycheck to paycheck. Every expense and every income source, including those that come once a month: rent, household groceries, installments, subscriptions. If you forget one, write it down later—it still counts.
- Mark what is essential and what isn't. At the end of the month, write next to each expense whether it was essential or not. Don't judge yourself: it's just information.
- Add up the total of essential expenses and non-essential expenses, and contrast them with the income received that month. Write down what surprised you. A single sentence is enough.
Food for Thought
What do you feel when you think about opening your accounts: curiosity, fear, or exhaustion?
Your step for today
Start today: record the first three expenses you make, in a notebook or in SaldoApp. Just record them.
To review
When your next paycheck arrives, go back to those notes without rushing. What did you notice that you hadn't seen before?
Going deeper (optional)
- A note of honesty: SaldoApp is inspired by Christian principles and built for everyone. Because of that, if you like, we’d like to share something more.
- The Bible says: "Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, and attend to your herds" (Proverbs 27:23). It is a proverb about shepherds and herds; we use it as an illustration of carefully looking after what has been entrusted to us, not as a promise of specific results.
- We teach that looking honestly at what we do with money is not a test to earn acceptance, but a way to take care of what was entrusted to us with gratitude.
- Step of faith (optional): before you look at your numbers, be thankful for what you do have.