Subscriptions, installments, open items, side projects, homelab costs — BudgetLove plans forward. ChatGPT and Claude integration, without your data ever leaving your network.
Clear target audience — deliberately not for everyone.
⚙️
The homelab household
You have a server under your desk or a VPS at Hetzner. You do not want your financial data in some SaaS cloud.
Domains, hosting, OpenAI credits
NAS, backup storage, power bills
Self-hosted mindset, even for money
👨👩👧
The nerdy family
Two adults, kids, many small obligations. Streaming subs, insurance, school, daycare. Reducing the mental load.
Shared view on open items
Plan installments and big purchases
"Can we afford X right now?"
🧪
Indie hackers & side projects
Irregular income, many micro-subs for tools, Stripe fees, taxes. Forecast across several months is non-negotiable.
Side income vs. day job, separated
API & MCP for own automations
ChatGPT books receipts from photos
Probably not for you:
If you love envelope budgeting in YNAB, want strict manual CSV work, or are looking for a portfolio/trading tool — other apps will fit better.
Built for real financial decisions
Planning, not just tracking. Future, not just history.
Manage open items
Installments, outstanding bills, project goals. Everything still on your radar, in one view.
Balance forecast
See your balance next month, not just today. Answer: can I afford this?
Smart bank import
Import, match, map — with wildcard payee mapping and automated assignment.
Installments & planning
Manage installment plans, define saving rates — per category or project.
Subscriptions & recurring
Hetzner, OpenAI, domains, Steam, YouTube — every recurring cost in one place.
AI as a partner
ChatGPT Custom GPT and Claude MCP. Scan receipts, propose transactions — without sharing data.
The flow: planning meets reality
Not: what happened. But: what is coming, what do I owe, what is free?
01 · Set plans
Your recurring costs (rent, insurance, subscriptions) form the monthly plan. That is your baseline.
02 · Track open cases
Outstanding bills, installments, projects — everything coming up but not regular.
03 · Reconcile reality
Import bank statement. BudgetLove matches plans to real bookings and surfaces new items.
04 · See the forecast
Dashboard shows: how much is left next month? What is coming? Where do you need attention?
AI as a partner. Your data stays yours.
No cloud lock-in. No telemetry. You control the integration.
ChatGPT Custom GPT
Tell the GPT "I have a receipt from Amazon for €45" — it finds the best category and asks for confirmation before booking.
Claude Desktop MCP
Connect Claude to BudgetLove. Log transactions in natural language, right from your chat.
Open API
Your own automations. Token-based auth, explicit scopes, audit logs for every change.
Everything tech households want to know before setup.
How is BudgetLove different from YNAB or Actual Budget?
YNAB and Actual are classic envelope tools for backward-looking budgeting. BudgetLove focuses on forecast, open installments, and AI-assisted capture. It is fully self-hosted and Open Source — your data stays on your server.
Do I need my own server?
Yes. BudgetLove runs via Docker Compose on any Linux VPS (Hetzner, DigitalOcean, Vultr), a NAS with Docker (Synology, QNAP), or in a homelab. Recommended database is PostgreSQL. SQLite as single-user option is on the roadmap.
Is my financial data sent to OpenAI or Anthropic?
Only if you actively use an AI integration. You issue a scoped token per integration, every API call is logged. Without active integration, nothing leaves your server. For highest confidentiality, run the MCP server locally with Claude Desktop.
How does the ChatGPT integration work?
You create an API token in BudgetLove, paste the provided OpenAPI schema into a ChatGPT Custom GPT (Plus/Team/Enterprise account) and point it to your own URL. The GPT can then scan receipts, suggest categories and create transactions after confirmation.
What does BudgetLove cost?
BudgetLove itself is free and Open Source (AGPL-3.0). You only pay for hosting (a 5 EUR VPS is enough for a family), optionally ChatGPT Plus (20 USD/month) for the Custom GPT integration. A hosted version is not the primary business model.
Is BudgetLove suitable for multiple people?
Yes. BudgetLove is designed as a household app: multiple users per household, shared accounts and categories, activity feed with attribution. Registration currently requires admin activation (closed beta until 1.0).
Which banks are supported?
BudgetLove imports CAMT.053 statements and CSV exports from your online banking. No automatic PSD2 sync (deliberate decision against third-party dependency). Tested: Sparkasse, Volksbank, ING, DKB, Comdirect.
Can I just try it out?
Yes. The beta runs on app.budgetlove.de. Registration requires admin approval — drop us a line, we will activate you. Or clone the repo and start locally via Docker in 10 minutes.
Keep your month under control — on your own server.
Self-hosted. Open Source. AI-native. For households that prefer planning to luck.
