The Kakeibo method: how the Japanese budgeting journal works and how to use it to save every month

What is the Kakeibo method?

Kakeibo, or kakebo, is the budgeting journal people in Japan use to set savings goals and keep track of household spending. You plan your savings at the start of the month, write down what you spend each week and, at the end, look at how it went. There are no formulas and no financial know-how required: it's a habit of paying attention to every expense and calmly deciding what you want your money for.

One book that walks you through it was compiled by writer Fumiko Chiba, who drew on Japanese kakeibo experts, financial journalists, savings bloggers and longtime users. It came out in English in 2017 in the UK, from Penguin, and in 2018 in the US, from Tarcher, a Penguin Random House imprint; Editorial Planeta published it in Spanish in 2019 as Kakebo: el arte japonés de ahorrar dinero. Above all, it's a journal to fill in: it gives you the questions and a space for each week.

You don't need to know its history to use it: what matters is the ritual of planning, writing down, grouping and reviewing.

Sources for this part:Penguin Random House, Penguin Books (Reino Unido), Editorial Planeta, Kakebo: el arte japonés de ahorrar dinero (Kakeibo: The Japanese Art of Saving Money)

What are the four Kakeibo categories?

Kakeibo sorts every expense into four groups. Needs, or survival: what you can't stop paying for, such as food, housing, transport or health. Wants: what you enjoy but could skip, such as eating out, delivery or an impulse buy. Culture: books, courses, music or an exhibition. Unexpected, or extras: what wasn't in the plan, such as a gift, a repair or a doctor's visit.

The label matters less than the question it makes you ask: did I need it, did it add something, or was it just habit? Public financial education agencies use similar groupings. Finanzas para Todos, the program run by the Bank of Spain and Spain's securities regulator, suggests separating fixed essential costs, necessary variable costs and discretionary spending tied to leisure. Brazil's central bank talks about necessary spending, superfluous spending and waste, meaning costs that give you no wellbeing at all, like paying for something you don't use.

Sources for this part:Kakebo: el arte japonés de ahorrar dinero (Kakeibo: The Japanese Art of Saving Money), Finanzas para Todos, Banco de España y CNMV (España), Banco Central do Brasil

What are the four Kakeibo questions?

At the start of the month, Kakeibo asks you two questions. How much money do you have? Write down what's coming in and subtract the fixed costs: rent, bills, loan payments. How much would you like to save? Write a specific figure and what you'll do to reach it.

At the end of the month come the other two. How much did you spend? Add up each category and compare it with what you expected. How can you improve? It isn't a test: look for one concrete change for next month, like cooking at home two more nights or canceling something you no longer use.

An example with round numbers: if you receive 1,000 this month and your fixed costs add up to 600, you have 400 left. If you decide to save 100, you plan the rest of the month with 300. If your four categories come to 280 at the end, you have 20 left over, which can go to savings too. The currency doesn't matter: the math is the same in pesos, soles, reais or dollars.

Sources for this part:Kakebo: el arte japonés de ahorrar dinero (Kakeibo: The Japanese Art of Saving Money), Penguin Random House

How do you keep a Kakeibo, step by step?

Brazil's central bank suggests building a budget in four stages that look a lot like Kakeibo: plan, record, group and evaluate. Planning means estimating what will come in and go out during the month, separating fixed from variable, based on what happened in previous months.

Recording means writing down every expense, ideally every day, so you don't forget any. Finanzas para Todos points out that small everyday expenses, like coffees, snacks or food delivery, add up too.

Grouping means sorting those expenses by category, every week for example, to see how much of what you earn goes to each thing. And evaluating is the month's final question. Finanzas para Todos recommends a monthly review to adjust spending, correct course and check whether you're meeting your goals, and suggests keeping the record for two or three months so the picture is realistic.

Sources for this part:Banco Central do Brasil, Finanzas para Todos, Banco de España y CNMV (España), Finanzas para Todos, Banco de España y CNMV (España), Penguin Random House

Kakeibo on paper or on your phone?

Chiba's book is a journal to fill in by hand, and for many people that's part of the appeal: writing makes you stop for a moment before moving on. But the method doesn't depend on paper.

Brazil's central bank points out that there are all kinds of tools, from pencil and paper to spreadsheets and apps, and that the best one is whichever feels most comfortable to you. Finanzas para Todos also mentions a spreadsheet or a mobile app. What doesn't change is the rule: write it down when it happens, not from memory at the end of the month.

Sources for this part:Penguin Books (Reino Unido), Banco Central do Brasil, Finanzas para Todos, Banco de España y CNMV (España)

Who is Kakeibo for, and when is it harder?

It suits anyone who feels their money disappears without knowing where, anyone who enjoys a ritual, and anyone who wants to save without complicated math. It also works with an income that changes: in that case, answer the month's first question with a cautious figure and adjust it as the money comes in.

It's harder if you dislike writing things down or expect results in the first week. If it's hard at first, don't get discouraged: Brazil's central bank notes that it's normal to have doubts when you start something new. And keep its limits in mind: Kakeibo shows you where your money goes, but it doesn't replace an emergency fund or a plan to pay off debt.

Sources for this part:Kakebo: el arte japonés de ahorrar dinero (Kakeibo: The Japanese Art of Saving Money), Banco Central do Brasil

How to do it in Oslo

In Oslo, you log each expense with the + button in the middle of the bar: choose “Expense”, enter the “Amount”, the “Category”, where it came from under “Paid from” and, if you like, a “Note”. Oslo's categories are more detailed than Kakeibo's four, but you can read them the same way: “Groceries”, “Transport”, “Home” and “Health” are usually needs; “Fun” and “Clothing” are wants; and “Education” is culture. With the Personal plan you can create your own under More, in “Your categories”, even the method's four.

Blank days count too. From 5 p.m., if you haven't logged anything that day, Today asks “Did you spend anything today?” and you can tap “I didn’t spend today”: that day adds to your streak, like a page with no spending in the notebook.

For the month's questions: under More, in “Your money”, open “Budgets” and decide how much to spend in each category; under Money, with “New goal”, you give what you want to save a name and an amount. At the end of the month, on Today, “Where it went this month” shows each category, and in “History” you can filter by “Category”. The fourth question, how to improve, is yours to answer.