Guide · Bills · 3 min

Fixed vs. estimated bills

Rent is $950, always. Electric is… $70? $110? Monilibrium treats those as two different kinds of bill, and the difference does real work.

1

Fixed: same amount, same day

Rent, subscriptions, the car payment. Set the amount once; every occurrence lands on the projection at exactly that number.

2

Estimated: your best guess, marked “~”

Electric is “about $85.” The projection uses $85 and shows the tilde so you both know it’s an estimate, not a fact.

3

Reconcile replaces the guess

When the real bill arrives — $91.42 — give it the real number and the estimate becomes fact. Next month starts as a fresh ~$85 guess.

4

Estimates improve as you go

After a few real amounts, you’ll know whether “about $85” should become “about $95.” Adjust the blueprint once; every future month follows.

Why not just average it?:

An average hides the miss. An estimate that reconciles keeps your low-water mark honest — which keeps Safe to Spend honest.

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