Guide · Getting Started
Getting Started with DollarBuddy
Create your account, set your home currency, and start your first travel book in DollarBuddy.
- 1
Download and sign up
Get DollarBuddy from the App Store or Google Play, then sign up with email or a social account. You can also continue as a guest and add an account later without losing your data.
- 2
Set your home currency
Choose the currency you think in day-to-day. Every expense you log, no matter what currency it was actually paid in, gets converted back to this home currency so your totals always make sense.
- 3
Create a travel book
A travel book is a trip: give it a name, destination, and date range. Multi-stop trips can include several legs, each with its own dates and location.
- 4
Set a budget
Add an overall trip budget, or break it down by category (food, transport, lodging). DollarBuddy tracks your spend against it in real time.
Tip
Free accounts can have one trip in progress at a time. Trips you have not started yet, and trips you have already finished, do not count against that. Buddy Pro lifts the limit and adds offline mode.
Common questions
Do I need an account to start?
No. You can continue as a guest, log expenses straight away, and create an account later without losing anything you have already entered.
What exactly is a travel book?
A travel book is one trip: a name, a destination, and a date range. A multi-stop trip can hold several legs, each with its own dates and location, and they roll up into one set of totals.
How many trips can I have on the free plan?
One trip in progress at a time. Upcoming trips you have not started and past trips you have finished do not count towards it, so you can plan ahead and keep your history on a free account.
What does the home currency actually do?
It is the currency you think in. Every expense you log, whatever currency you paid in, is converted back to it, so a trip total is one number you can read rather than a pile of currencies.