Keeping track of expenses is something many people can't stick with for more than two weeks. At first, they're full of enthusiasm, downloading apps and recording every expense, but after a few days they start forgetting, piling up, and then giving up. It's not because of laziness, but because traditional accounting tools only record data—they don't help you understand the behavior behind your spending.
Habitly Habit Circle (powered by jartalk) aims to solve more than just bookkeeping—it connects how you spend money to your daily habits. Using AI, it directly analyzes your spending patterns and tells you things like "Your habit of ordering bubble tea every Wednesday afternoon cost you over 400 yuan this month," instead of just showing "Dining expenses: 460 yuan."
More of a Habit Dissector Than an Accounting Tool
Most financial management tools focus on categorization: transportation, dining, shopping... then generate a pie chart. It looks clear, but what actionable information can you actually get from a pie chart? Very little.
Habitly Habit Circle does something different: it links every expense to time, context, and frequency. For example, if you order takeout after 8 PM on three consecutive workdays, the system will suggest adjusting your dinner time or considering meal prep. This isn't a cold budget warning—it's a recommendation driven by behavioral data.
After using it for a week, I found that "small recurring expenses" made up the bulk of my spending. Two cups of coffee, a sausage from the subway station, mobile game top-ups... Each one is small, but the total is shocking. The AI's feedback wasn't "You've overspent," but rather "You tend to have spending impulses during this afternoon period—consider setting a cool-down reminder." This perspective is indeed more realistic than the other tools I've used.
Real-World Usage: Not Just Tracking, But Helping You Make Decisions
The most valuable part is actually budget planning. Typical budget tools let you set a number and flash a red light when you exceed it. Habitly Habit Circle (jartalk) first looks at your actual spending trends and then asks if you want to adjust. For instance, if I set a monthly food budget of 2,500 yuan and have already spent 1,700 yuan in the first two weeks, the system doesn't just warn me—it offers two options: tighten spending for the remaining two weeks, or reconsider whether the budget is reasonable.
It doesn't sound exciting, but it's extremely practical. Many people (including me) set budgets based on a rough guess that doesn't match their real-life rhythm. This tool essentially helps you calibrate your expectations rather than forcing you to adapt to an unreasonable goal.
Additionally, it addresses a challenge I've always avoided: expenses that don't fit neatly into a category. For example, occasional gifts for friends, group purchases from the neighborhood, a few cents at the print shop... With traditional tools, you have to force them into a category. Habitly Habit Circle uses AI to guess a category and lets you confirm or modify it on the page. Most of the time, the guesses are accurate—at least faster than manual sorting.
Who It's For and Who It's Not For—Clearly Stated
Frankly, this tool isn't for everyone. If you only want to know "how much money is left this month" without needing deep analysis, a simple bookkeeping app or Excel is enough. Habitly Habit Circle's strength lies in behavioral insights—you'll find it useful only if you're willing to think a bit about "why I spend money this way."
Also, it requires some patience at the start. The AI needs a certain amount of data accumulation before it can provide meaningful analysis. If you judge it as "inaccurate" after just three days, that's a waste. For me, it took about five days before the system started offering genuinely valuable suggestions.
One more point worth noting: it currently handles complex income structures (e.g., multiple income streams for freelancers, alternating reimbursements) less smoothly. If your financial situation is special, you might need extra time to adjust the categorization logic.
If you're tired of the superficiality of bookkeeping apps and are willing to spend time having a conversation with your spending habits, Habitly Habit Circle offers a new starting point. It won't make decisions for you, but it will make it easier for you to see clearly what you're doing.
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