KakeiBuddy General Guide
Welcome to KakeiBuddy. This guide explains the parts of the app that everyone can use: setting up the app, recording money, reviewing your budget, protecting your privacy, and getting help.
Choose Your Study Guide
If you are participating in a study, use the guide for the group shown during your onboarding:
- Learning Group guide — weekly Budget Coach support.
- Persuasive Tech Group guide — a 28-day budgeting-engagement study.
Only use features that appear in your own app. Some research features are intentionally available only to particular participants.
Install And Update The Test App
KakeiBuddy is provided through Google Play closed testing.
- Send the researcher the Gmail or Google Account email used by Google Play on your phone.
- Open the private testing invitation while signed in to that same account.
- Choose Become a tester if Google Play asks.
- Open the Play Store listing and tap Install.
- Install future testing updates through Google Play when they become available.
Do not share the invitation link or install an APK from an unofficial download site. During a study, do not uninstall the app or clear Android app storage. If access is lost, contact the researcher or support before reinstalling.
About Kakeibo
Kakeibo is a mindful budgeting method: plan, record, review, and reflect. KakeiBuddy uses four simple spending groups:
- Needs — essentials such as food, housing, bills, transport, and medicine.
- Wants — treats, convenience purchases, shopping, and entertainment.
- Culture — learning, hobbies, social activities, and personal growth.
- Unexpected — emergencies or unplanned costs.
The goal is not to judge spending. It is to notice patterns and make the next decision easier.
First-Time Setup
When you open KakeiBuddy for the first time:
- Read the introduction and choose the group assigned by the researcher, if applicable.
- Complete any consent or study questions that appear.
- Choose Sync Mode or Private Mode.
- Set your country, currency, income details, and budgeting preferences.
- Follow the short in-app tutorial.
Your assigned group is locked after consent. Do not switch groups unless the researcher asks you to.
Record And Review Your Budget
Use the floating + button to add income or an expense. You can choose a date, category, wallet, and optional note.
The bottom navigation gives access to:
- Home — this month’s overview, categories, recent activity, and weekly overview.
- Expenses — charts, transaction history, wallet filters, and yearly analytics.
- Profile — your settings, account details, tutorial replay, data tools, and support.
Use Expenses > Manage wallets to create or edit Cash, Bank, or Card wallets. Use Expenses > Yearly Analytics to review longer-term trends. Budgeting does not require entering something every day; record and review money in the way that is useful for you.
The cash-flow figure is based only on entries you recorded. It is an overview, not a guarantee that the amount is safe to spend.
Privacy: Sync Mode And Private Mode
You can change your choice in Profile > Settings > Privacy / Sync Mode.
Sync Mode sends supported summary data and selected profile metadata so available app features can work across supported services. It does not upload or restore individual transaction rows.
Private Mode keeps transaction rows, notes, exact income, and exact targets on your phone. It turns off monthly-total syncing. Some limited communication can still be needed for authentication, assignment recovery, consented study activity, and available research features.
Research exports never include raw transaction rows, transaction notes, exact income or expense amounts, balances, or monetary aggregates.
Tutorials, Notifications, And Data Tools
- Replay guides from Profile > Settings > App Tutorial & Guides.
- Open the bell on Home to view reminders and study tasks. A task stays visible until the underlying action is completed.
- Change device reminder preferences in Profile > Settings > Notification Reminders. Study tasks remain in the app even if phone notification permission is denied.
- Import or export your personal CSV data from Profile > Settings > Data Management. Review imported rows before confirming them.
Reset Local App is for starting local onboarding again. Do not use it as a substitute for a study-restart screen. If a dedicated study-restart screen appears, follow its instructions instead.
Profile, Support, And Reporting Issues
In Profile > Settings > About My Account, you can find your pseudonymous user handle and participant code. Include one of these when contacting the researcher about an app problem.
To report an issue in the app, open Profile > Settings > Support > Report an Issue. If the app cannot open, use the KakeiBuddy Tester Bug Report Form.
Please include the screen where the issue happened, what you expected, what occurred, your phone model and Android version, and your data mode. Do not upload screenshots containing transaction notes, names, account details, exact amounts, or other personal information. You may also email sample@gmail.com for support; include your participant code and do not send passwords, access tokens, or sensitive financial information.