01–04 / HOW BASIN WORKS
Income, minus what's spoken for, equals today.
Regular paycheck or uneven freelance income — the method is the same, and Basin runs it continuously. Every frame below is the real app, four weeks in.
01 / PROTECT
Bills and goals come off before you see a number.
Rent, subscriptions, insurance, and savings goals are set aside first — protected money you can’t accidentally spend. What remains becomes the plan.
In the frame: $1,850/mo protected across 8 recurring bills — a −$61.68/day impact set aside before a single daily dollar is offered.
FIG. 01 — BILLSPROTECTED FIRST
02 / SPEND
One honest number at the register.
Everything collapses into what’s safe to spend today. Log a coffee in two taps; the number recalculates instantly. No envelopes to balance, no category tree to babysit.
In the frame: $49.06 still available of a $61.06 daily number, with today’s two logs already counted.
FIG. 02 — TODAYONE NUMBER
03 / ROLL OVER
Yesterday settles itself every morning.
Spend under and the surplus rolls forward, banks into savings, or stashes into a goal — your call, one tap. Spend over and Basin quietly smooths it into the days ahead. No shame, just math.
In the frame: today’s settled ledger — the day’s number, what’s spent, what’s left, and every log editable in place.
FIG. 03 — HISTORYEVERY DAY SETTLED
04 / GROW
Goals fund themselves. Insights explain the rest.
Vaults are funded before spending, so saving happens without willpower. The insights tab shows your saving forecast, banked surplus, and a weekly check-in that recommends a calmer plan when a week goes sideways.
In the frame: on track to save $1,037 against a $630 target, with $420 of swept surplus ready to deploy.
FIG. 04 — INSIGHTSFORECAST · SURPLUS
05 / AUTOMATE — BASIN+
Connect your bank, and it keeps itself current.
The free app is complete on its own. Add Basin+ and it links your accounts through Plaid — so the daily number stays honest without a single manual entry. Bank-grade security; your credentials never touch Basin, and you can disconnect anytime without losing a thing.
- A
Purchases log themselves
Every new charge posts straight into Basin and counts toward today’s number — no receipts to type, no end-of-day catch-up.
- B
Subscriptions detected
Basin spots recurring charges automatically and protects them as bills, so nothing sneaks past your daily number.
- C
Credit cards handled
Recurring card payments are detected and protected like bills. A one-time statement? Log it once and Basin spreads it across the days until it’s due.
- D
Debt gets a deadline
Add a balance and its monthly payment. Basin sets the payment aside before your daily number and shows a live debt-free date.
- E
Balances stay honest
Pull to refresh and Basin re-syncs — the number reflects what actually cleared, not what you remembered to log.
FIELD NOTES / SEVEN DAYS, SETTLED
A week in Basin, exactly as it happens.
One over-budget Monday doesn't break the plan. Basin smooths it forward, the quiet days roll their surplus, and Sunday sweeps what's left into savings.
| Day | Spent | Number | Note | Settled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MON | $54.32 | $50.00 | Groceries day | Smoothed +$0.62/day |
| TUE | $7.25 | $49.38 | Bakery run | Rolled $42.13 |
| WED | $49.35 | $49.38 | Gas + coffee | Rolled $0.03 |
| THU | $12.50 | $49.38 | Chipotle | Rolled $36.88 |
| FRI | $9.99 | $49.38 | Movie snacks | Rolled $39.39 |
| SAT | $0.00 | $49.38 | No-spend day | Rolled $49.38 |
| SUN | — | $49.38 | Week closes | +$35.00 swept to savings |
RESULT — 5 OF 6 DAYS UNDER · $35.00 BANKED · THE OVERSPEND WAS ABSORBED, NOT PUNISHED.