Spendthrift Spendthrift

An online split payment calculator that shows what everyone actually owes.

Enter the bill and who paid. Everyone else sees exactly what they owe, and the payer sees exactly what comes back.

What "online" actually means here.

This runs in the page, not on a server. There is nothing to sign into and nothing saved anywhere. Reload the tab and it is gone, which is the point. The shareable link is the only thing that carries a split anywhere, and it carries it as a plain web address, not a database row.

The arithmetic is the same largest-remainder method as the plain split calculator; this page frames it around who fronted the money, since that is usually the actual question once a payment is involved.

It is one part of Spendthrift, a budgeting app that also understands splitting.

What a calculator cannot do that the app can.

One thing this page describes but cannot show

A one-off payment split has no memory of who paid last time and nothing to show your own budget afterwards.

THREE THINGS AN ANSWER CANNOT KNOW 1 Whether it was actually paid A figure on a screen is not a settlement. Two people confirming is. 2 What was only half paid A part payment reduces a balance. It does not clear one. 3 Which of your categories it was The same ₹900 is groceries for you and a receivable from them. The arithmetic is the easy half. Remembering it, and agreeing it, is the half that matters.

Three things an answer cannot know.

Whether the money actually moved, what was only half paid, and which of your own categories it belonged to. The arithmetic is the easy half.

THREE THINGS THAT LOOK IDENTICAL AS A NUMBER Paid in full the money moved, both agreed ₹900 settled Paid in part 400 moved, 500 is still owed ₹900 part settled Not paid at all nothing moved, six weeks ago ₹900 still owed The calculator shows the same ₹900 three times. A ledger knows which of the three it is, because two people said so.

Three things that look identical as a number.

Paid in full, paid in part, and not paid at all are the same ₹900 on a calculator. A ledger knows which, because two people said so.

THE SAME SPLIT, SIX MONTHS RUNNING BY HAND, EVERY TIME 6 times ENTERED ONCE Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep once A recurring shared bill is entered once and then simply happens. The dashed circles are months nobody had to do anything in. That is the difference between an answer and a record.

The same split, six months running.

A recurring shared bill is entered once and then simply happens. The dashed months are the ones nobody had to do anything in.