Disclosure
How RealTimeBudget makes money
RealTimeBudget is free and has no accounts, no subscriptions and no paywall. It is paid for in two ways, and you should know exactly what both are.
1. Advertising
Pages on this site display ads served by third-party advertising networks. Those networks may use cookies or similar technologies to select which ads you see. We do not choose the individual ads, and advertisers have no access to anything you enter into the app. See our Privacy Policy for details on what those networks can and cannot see.
2. Affiliate commissions
Some links on this site are paid partner links. If you click one and open an account, apply for a card, or otherwise become a customer, RealTimeBudget may receive a commission from that company.
Every such link is labelled “Paid partner link” at the point where you would click it. If a link is not labelled that way, it is not paid.
What this costs you
Nothing. You are never charged more because you arrived through a link on this site, and you never pay RealTimeBudget anything.
What this does not change
This is the part that matters, so here is precisely how the Money Moves page works:
- The app reads the spending you logged — your categories, your totals, your weekly surplus, your recurring charges. All of it stays on your device.
- From that, it decides which kinds of product are relevant to you: a checking account, a dining rewards card, a savings account, and so on. This step happens before any company is considered, and no partner can buy their way into it.
- Only then does the app look up whether we have a partner in that category to show you.
If we have no partner for a category that matches you, you still see the category and the reasoning. We would rather show you a recommendation we earn nothing from than steer you toward one we do.
We do not sort products by how much they pay us, and we do not hide a category because it pays badly.
This is information, not financial advice
RealTimeBudget is not a bank, a broker, a credit union, an investment adviser or a financial planner, and nothing on this site is personalised financial, investment, tax or legal advice. We do not know your full financial picture, and the app only knows what you typed into it.
Rates, fees, bonuses, terms and eligibility requirements change constantly and vary by applicant. Always read the current terms on the provider's own site before you open anything. If a figure on this site ever disagrees with the provider's own page, the provider's page is correct.
Investing carries risk, including the loss of principal. Cryptocurrency is volatile and is not insured by the FDIC or SIPC; you can lose the entire amount. For decisions that matter, talk to a licensed professional who can see your whole situation.
Editorial independence
Blog posts on this site are written to be useful whether or not you ever click a partner link. Where a post mentions a category we have a partner in, the disclosure appears in the post itself. No partner reviews, approves or edits our content before it is published.
Questions
If something on this page is unclear, or you think a link is mislabelled, email support@realtimebudget.com. Getting this right matters more to us than any single commission.