About Keel

From August 2013 to December 2025, I managed my money with monthly budget spreadsheets. Each month, a new sheet. Over twelve years, tracking errors crept in across dozens of files. Finding discrepancies meant digging through years of history. It was time for something better.

Keel is the result of building exactly what I needed: an envelope budgeting system designed from over a decade of real-world experience. Not a theoretical exercise, but a tool forged in the reality of managing money month after month, year after year.

There's a difference between believing you understand your finances and actually knowing them. Most people have a vague sense of where their money goes. They think they're doing fine because their account balance seems okay. But that feeling isn't the same as knowledge.

When you track every dollar, something changes. You stop guessing. You know exactly what you spend on groceries, on entertainment, on those subscriptions you forgot about. That knowledge creates real financial security, not just the illusion of it.

Envelope budgeting works because it makes the invisible visible. Every purchase comes from somewhere. When you see that Dining Out envelope running low, you make different choices than when money is just an abstract number in a bank account.

Zero-based budgeting means allocating every dollar you earn to a specific purpose before you spend it. Money without a job disappears into impulse purchases and forgotten subscriptions. Money with a job builds the life you actually want.

Intentionality Over Restriction

Budgeting isn't about deprivation. It's about intentionality. When you allocate $200 to dining out and spend it all, that's success, not failure. You decided in advance what mattered, and you lived according to those values.

Built for Reality

Keel doesn't try to be everything. No bank syncing, no investment tracking, no bill negotiation. Just clean envelope budgeting that gives you control. Sometimes the best tool is the one that does one thing well.

Balances Accumulate

Unlike budgets that reset monthly, Keel tracks cumulative balances. Underspend on groceries? That extra stays available. Save $100 a month toward a vacation? Watch it grow over time. This is how envelope budgeting works in practice, and it's how Keel works.