# Happy Buckets - Budget planner — A budget plan that sticks

> Companion app for The Barefoot Investor's money plan, focusing on bucket budgeting. (iPhone/iPad app by Juan Sampera.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/happy-buckets-budget-planner/id1515874106 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Juan Sampera](https://appshunter.io/developer/1515874105)
- Category: Finance, Utilities
- Price: $2.99
- Rating: 5.00/5 from 1 App Store ratings · 14 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 26.0 · 6 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2020-06-05
- Data updated: 2026-08-25
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/happy-buckets-budget-planner/id1515874106/reviews.md

## What is Happy Buckets?

The Barefoot Investor's book gave you the plan. This app helps you actually do it.
Happy Buckets is a companion app for the book. Split your take-home pay into buckets, track your goals, pay down debt, and check in on payday: weekly, fortnightly or monthly. That's it. No bank logins. No subscriptions. No tracking every coffee.

ABOUT
If you've read The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape, you know the buckets: Daily, Splurge, Smile, Fire, Mojo, and Grow. Happy Buckets puts them all in your pocket. Set up in minutes, ready to use on payday.
This isn't another budget app that demands your attention every day. It's a simple, focused tool for people who want to follow the book's method without spreadsheets, complicated apps, or overthinking.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
• Split your pay across all six money buckets (or create your own)
• Set custom percentages that fit your real life
• Track savings goals and see exactly when they'll be reached
• Track debt and know when you'll be debt-free at your current rate
• Track investments and watch your money grow
• Plan expenses inside each bucket so you always know where you stand
• Add multiple income sources
• Process one-off payments like tax returns or bonuses with One-time Split
• Learn the Barefoot Investor's book method as you go with built-in guidance at every step
• Set payday or monthly reminders to stay on track
• Customise everything: colours, icons, names, descriptions

PRIVATE BY DESIGN
No account required. No bank logins. No data leaves your device. Your plan syncs securely via iCloud and stays completely private.

WHO IT'S FOR
Happy Buckets is for people who've read The Barefoot Investor and want a clean, simple way to follow the method. It's not for people who want to track every transaction or connect their bank accounts. It's for people who want to set up a plan, check in once a month, and get on with their life. If you haven't read the book, you can still use the app to learn the method.

Your money plan starts here.

Happy Buckets is not affiliated with The Barefoot Investor.

## Key features

- Split pay into custom money buckets
- Track savings goals and debt payoff
- Monitor investments and growth
- Plan expenses within buckets
- Process one-off payments
- Built-in guidance for the book's method
- Customizable appearance

## Recent user reviews (10 of 14)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/happy-buckets-budget-planner/id1515874106/reviews.md

### 5/5 — The best

*2026-02-23, version 2.2*

I could never get my money situation straight until i started to use this app. Separating money into buckets has helped me so much. Thank you for this helpful tool.

### 5/5 — Simple, easy, effective

*2026-02-20, version 2.0*

Been using this app on and off throughout the year and love its simplicity and barefoot buckets grounded grassroots approach.

Would love in the future a way for apple foundation models to summarise my spending habits or project into the future, not sure how that would work. 

Love the one time fee, keep up the great work.

### 3/5 — Does what it says

*2024-06-15, version 1.0*

What about Mojo? I was hoping to be able to add a bucket. Mojo is missing

### 1/5 — What a waste

*2024-01-27, version 1.0*

Can’t believe I paid $2 for this, the hype had me expecting a lot more 😂 kudos to you though, easy money creating an app that does nothing a calculator can’t.

### 4/5 — Simplicity is key

*2023-03-31, version 1.0*

Some people here have complained that you can literally use a calculator instead. Yes that’s true, but that small bit of time I save every pay is worth the spare change that the app costs. My only recommendation is for there to be more than 4 accounts. I’m a sole trader and need to put a percentage of my pay aside for business purposes.

Other than that, perfect. Clean and simple. Thank you!

### 5/5 — Simple but great

*2022-12-16, version 1.0*

I’ve been using this app on and off for budgeting, it is super simple to use and does what it says on the box.

### 1/5 — Way too basic

*2021-05-22, version 1.0*

The ONLY thing it does is calculate percentages. You can’t put any costs or expenses. Waste of money

### 1/5 — Only for people who struggle with Maths

*2021-03-03, version 1.0*

This app costs you $1.49 just to break your total income into the bucket percentages ie 60%, 20%, 10% and 10%. 

It doesn’t do anything more- very disappointed as I thought it would do more- especially as you are charged for something so similar that the majority of people with even basic maths can work out. 

Are there any plans to expand this app?

### 4/5 — Love the app but needs improvement

*2021-03-02, version 1.0*

Started using the app literally today but I absolutely love it. Simple and makes tracking my money easier. The only improvement I can think of is allowing us to change the names of the ‘buckets’ and also the functionality to add or remove ‘buckets’ if needed :))

### 3/5 — Feature request

*2020-11-04, version 1.0*

Simple to use, does what it’s suppose to. 
Would like to suggest changing the input field to include decimals so you can enter your exact income dollars and cents and not just rounded. 

Also the ability to change the name of accounts if you don’t use Scott’s exact names.

## Frequently asked questions about Happy Buckets

### How much does Money Buckets cost?

Money Buckets is a paid app, available for a one-time purchase of $1.99. This grants you full access to all its features without any ongoing subscription fees.

### Is Money Buckets secure?

Yes, Money Buckets is designed with privacy in mind. It requires no account or bank logins, and your financial plan syncs securely via iCloud, keeping your data completely private on your device.

### Does Money Buckets have ads?

No, Money Buckets is ad-free. As a paid application, it focuses on providing a clean and uninterrupted user experience without any advertisements.

### What devices support Money Buckets?

Currently, Money Buckets is available for iPhone. The app is designed to work seamlessly on Apple's mobile devices.

### How often is Money Buckets updated?

The latest version of Money Buckets is 2.3, and it was last updated on March 17, 2026. This indicates a commitment to ongoing development and improvements.

### Can I use Money Buckets if I haven't read The Barefoot Investor?

Yes, you can still use Money Buckets to learn the Barefoot Investor's method. The app includes built-in guidance at every step to help you understand and implement the plan.

### What is the user sentiment for Money Buckets?

Money Buckets has received excellent user feedback, with an average rating of 5.0 stars from 1 rating. This suggests a highly positive user experience.

### Does Money Buckets require daily check-ins?

No, Money Buckets is designed for minimal engagement. It's a simple, focused tool for people who want to set up a plan and check in on payday, rather than tracking every transaction daily.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.4 — 2026-07-22

Renamed to Happy Buckets

### 2.3 — 2026-03-17

New name, same plan. Barefoot Buckets is now Money Buckets.

Exact amount allocations: By popular demand, you can now enter an exact amount for any bucket and the app will calculate the percentage for you. A quicker way to dial in your split when you know the number you want.

Plus general bug fixes and improvements.

### 2.2 — 2026-02-23

NEW: PLAN CYCLE
You asked, we built it. You can now set your plan to run weekly, fortnightly, or monthly so it matches your actual pay cycle, not a one-size-fits-all calendar.
Whether you get paid weekly and want to check in every Friday, or you're on a monthly salary and prefer once-a-month planning, Barefoot Buckets now works on your schedule.
Find it in Settings under Plan Cycle.

### 2.1 — 2026-02-21

NEW IN 2.1: ONE-TIME SPLIT
Got a tax return, bonus, or any lump sum? One-time Split lets you run a quick, one-off calculation to split it across your buckets, without touching your regular pay setup. Think of it as the original Barefoot Buckets experience, built right in.

We've also introduced sorting for Spend buckets and general bug fixes.

PLUS EVERYTHING NEW IN 2.0:
The app has been rebuilt with a new design and updated bucket system. Add multiple income sources, fully customise buckets, and use the complete Barefoot set (including new Mojo and Grow) or create your own. New bucket detail screens let you track expenses, goals, savings, debt and investing, and you can now set reminders to keep your plan on track.

### 2.0 — 2026-02-19

Big update: the app has been rebuilt with a new design and updated bucket system. Add multiple income sources, fully customise buckets, and use the complete Barefoot set (including new Mojo and Grow) or create your own. New bucket detail screens let you track expenses, goals, savings, debt and investing, and you can now set reminders to keep your plan on track.

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## More apps by Juan Sampera

- [Moods](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/moods/id6749946474)
- [VJ-XY — live visual instrument](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vj-xy-live-visual-instrument/id6768501068)

All apps by Juan Sampera: https://appshunter.io/developer/1515874105

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-25.*
