--- title: "A monthly budget in plain text" author: Pedro Thomaz source: https://coffeetext.app/blog/monthly-budget-plain-text --- # A monthly budget in plain text > Checked November 2026 against the Apple and Google pages linked below. Coffee isn't affiliated with Apple or Google. Write one cost per line, with a label and a colon, and put a word like `Total` underneath. In any text editor that's just a tidy list you add up yourself. In an editor that calculates, such as Coffee, the answer appears beside the word. For one month and a dozen lines, that's often all a budget needs. For years of history, charts or shared numbers, use a spreadsheet. ## The budget ``` Rent: 400 Food: 200 Fun: 60 Total Average count median min max ``` Coffee reads that and shows these beside the last six lines. They're drawn on screen and not added to your file: | Line | Answer | What it is | |---|---:|---| | `Total` | 660 | Everything above added up | | `Average` | 220 | The total divided by three | | `count` | 3 | How many amounts there are | | `median` | 200 | The middle amount | | `min` | 60 | The smallest | | `max` | 400 | The largest | These words don't count each other, so you can stack them as above and each one sees the same three amounts. Upper or lower case both work for `Total`, and `sum` does the same job. The amounts themselves show no answer, because there's nothing to work out. They wait until something asks for them. A line that has a sum in it, such as `Rent: 400 + 20`, shows 420 and counts as 420. Bullets are fine too, so `- Rent: 400` works, and `Refund: -50` takes 50 off. Try it here. Clear what's in the box and type the list above. *There's a working demo of this [on the page](https://coffeetext.app/blog/monthly-budget-plain-text).* That box runs the website's copy of these rules in your browser, with UK-style numbers. The app itself is what the rest of this article describes. ## What's left at the end of the month Name your income on its own line, leave a blank line, then use `prev`, which means the answer on the line before: ``` income = 1500 Rent: 400 Food: 200 Fun: 60 Total Left: income - prev ``` Coffee shows 1,500 beside the income, 660 beside `Total`, and 840 beside `Left`. The blank line matters. A named value with an answer counts towards the block it's in, so without the gap your income would be added to your costs. ## Separate lists A blank line or a heading starts a new list, and `Total` only sees the list directly above it. If you split costs into groups, give each total a name: ``` income = 1500 Rent: 400 Water: 30 bills = total Food: 200 Fun: 60 daily = total Left: income - bills - daily ``` The answers are 1,500, then 430, 260 and 810. ## What doesn't count Coffee would rather give no answer than a wrong one, so a line has to look like an amount. A few cases will catch you out: - **No colon.** `Rent 400` doesn't count, because it can't be told apart from `Chapter 2`. - **A number in the label.** `Chapter 2: 40` doesn't count, as a label has to be words only. - **Percentages, times and dates.** `Tax: 20%`, `Lunch: 12:30` and `Due: 25 Dec` are left out. - **Just one amount.** `Rent: 400` then `Total` shows nothing, as there's nothing to add it to. If `Total` shows a smaller figure than you expect, look for one of these. A sentence in the middle of a list is skipped without ending the list, so you can leave yourself a note there. With `Rent: $400` and `Food: $200`, the total shows `$600`. Amounts that can't be compared, such as `1 km` and `$5`, get no `max` at all. The format of numbers follows your Mac's region, so `1,234` depends on where you are. [This guide explains it](https://coffeetext.app/blog/currency-time-zones-units-in-notes). ## What happens to the answers They stay out of the file. The note holds exactly what you typed, so opened in another editor it's a neat list with no answers. In Coffee, PDF, HTML and Print include answers as the note shows them, and Markdown and plain text exports don't. Clicking an answer copies it, and Edit > Copy with Answers puts `line = answer` on the clipboard. If you need a figure in the file itself, type it in. ## The spreadsheet alternative For many people a spreadsheet is the better tool. [Numbers](https://support.apple.com/guide/numbers/welcome/mac) comes from Apple and starts every spreadsheet from a template. Select a column and [the sum, average, minimum and maximum appear](https://support.apple.com/guide/numbers/quickly-calculate-a-sum-average-and-more-tan64d39ee67/mac) at the bottom of the window, with no formula to write. To keep one, drag it to a cell, or type [a formula like `SUM(C)`](https://support.apple.com/guide/numbers/calculate-values-using-data-in-table-cells-tan727173a8/mac) to total the third column. Google Sheets has [the same functions by name](https://support.google.com/docs/table/25273): `SUM`, `AVERAGE`, `COUNT`, `MEDIAN`, `MIN` and `MAX`. A spreadsheet wins clearly when you want any of these: - Twelve months side by side, with totals across as well as down - Charts - Sorting and filtering by category - Figures that stay in the file wherever it's opened Plain text wins when the budget is short and sits among other writing, such as a trip plan or a note about the month. It's one file you can read anywhere, with nothing to set up. If you only need a total now and then, that's enough. ## If you don't use Coffee The list works in any editor, but you do the sums. For sums in notes without Coffee, [this comparison](https://coffeetext.app/blog/calculator-in-notes-mac) covers Math Notes in Apple Notes and dedicated apps such as Soulver. Coffee is a paid Mac app with a 14-day trial, and there's [more on pricing here](https://coffeetext.app/#pricing). It isn't worth buying for a budget alone when Numbers can do it. ## Questions ### How do I add up a list in a plain text note? In Coffee, write each cost as `Label: amount` and put `Total` on the next line. The answer appears beside it. In an editor that doesn't calculate, you add it up yourself or paste the numbers into a spreadsheet. ### Why does Rent 400 not count? It has no colon, and Coffee can't tell it apart from something like `Chapter 2`. Write `Rent: 400`. ### Do the totals get saved in my file? No. Answers are drawn beside the line and the file keeps what you typed. PDF, HTML and Print from Coffee include them, and other editors won't show them. ### Can a total cover several lists? Not by itself. A blank line or heading starts a new list. Name each total, as in `bills = total`, and add the names together further down. ### Should I use this instead of a spreadsheet? For a short monthly list, it's fine. If you want charts, many months side by side or sorting by category, a spreadsheet is the better tool. --- Written by Pedro Thomaz, who makes Coffee, a Markdown editor for the Mac on macOS 15 or later. It's free for 14 days with no card or account, then €3 a month, €29 a year, or €79 once with two years of updates. More at https://coffeetext.app/llms-full.txt