Ma Marge

MA MARGE

Because a bank balance doesn't tell you what you can spend. Part of that money is already spoken for: the taxes due at year end, the health insurance premium, the bill that hasn't gone through yet. Many people know it, few can see it, and that is where nasty surprises come from.

Ma Marge starts from a conviction: managing money is not about spreadsheets or heroic discipline, it is about seeing clearly. When you can see what is free and what is committed, good decisions become easy, and money stops being a source of worry.

HOW

One number at the centre: the truly available amount. It is what sits in your checking accounts and your wallet, minus what you owe short term, minus what you have set aside. Never the gross balance.

Set aside before spending: you set your own provisions (taxes, health insurance, whatever you like) and Ma Marge deducts them from the available amount from the first day of the month. The app computes nothing for you: it trusts you, and it pays you back.

A balance that lives with you: you reconcile your account once, then every income and expense you record moves the balance. Every 30 days, Ma Marge suggests reconciling again: the moment to check nothing was forgotten.

Think before you buy: type an amount, see what would be left, and whether that purchase eats into your provisions.

Learn the words when you are ready: everything is explained in everyday language, and accounting vocabulary only appears if you ask for it.

WHAT YOU WILL FIND

If you are starting out: a six-page introduction, a first-steps list that ticks itself (enter your salary, set your provisions, record five expenses, reconcile your account), a “?” button next to every concept, and sample data to explore without entering anything. Three habits are enough: record expenses the same day (small ones can be grouped into one line), set aside from payday, reconcile once a month.

If you already manage a budget: several accounts (bank, prepaid card, savings, piggy bank, credit card, loan), transfers between them, the overview of assets, debts and net worth, a chart showing where your available money comes from and how it is split, the monthly balance and yearly projection, your choice of currency, and negative amounts your way (minus sign or parentheses).

If you are taking an accounting course: an advanced mode, following either the Swiss SME chart of accounts or the French general chart. Your own entries become a double-entry journal (debit, credit, amount), an income statement and a balance sheet where assets = liabilities. Provision charges, transfers, credit card payments: every entry is explained. Nothing extra to enter, and simple mode stays untouched.

WHAT MA MARGE IS NOT

Not a bank link: Ma Marge connects to no bank and reads no payments. Not a tax calculator: you enter your own estimate, obtained from your canton or your insurer. Not a service: no server, no account to create, no data collected. Everything stays on your device, with private iCloud as an option for your other devices.

Ma Marge was made for a young Swiss worker receiving a first salary, and for anyone who wants, once and for all, to know what they can really spend.