Salary kahan jaati hai? How to see where your monthly salary goes
Short answer: your salary usually doesn't disappear in one big expense. It leaks through small, daily ones: chai, petrol, rickshaw, bills, and money lent to friends. To see where it goes, record every spend the same day in one short line (for example "petrol 450 cash"), keep money you lent separate from money you spent, and look at the month by category at the end.
Why it feels like the salary vanished
- Small spends add up. A few hundred rupees a day becomes thousands a month, and none of it feels big at the time.
- Udhaar mixes in. Money lent to a friend isn't spent, but if you don't write it down, it looks like it was.
- Moving money looks like spending. Taking cash out of the bank, or moving money to JazzCash or Easypaisa, isn't an expense, but it makes your balance feel lower.
- Notebooks stop on day 3. Writing every expense in columns is heavy, so most people stop after a few days.
A method that lasts the whole month
- Write it the moment it happens, in one line. "chai 120", "petrol 450 cash", "bijli ka bill 6500".
- Write your salary when it arrives. "salary 120000 HBL", so the month has a starting point.
- Record lending and borrowing separately. "Ali ko 5000 diye" is a loan, not an expense.
- Record transfers as transfers. "HBL se cash 10000 nikale" is moving your own money, not spending it.
- At the end of the month, ask one question: "is mahine kitna kharch hua?" and look at the categories.
How Z30 does this for you
Zero Before 30 (Z30) is a money tracker built for this method. There are no forms or category menus: you type the line, in English, Roman Urdu or Urdu, and Z30 works out whether it is an expense, income, loan, repayment or transfer, fills in the category, and builds the month for you. Transfers between your own accounts are not counted as spending, and balances are calculated only from what you recorded.
| You write | Z30 records |
|---|---|
petrol 450 cash | Expense, Rs 450, paid in cash, today |
HBL se cash 10000 nikale | Transfer between your own accounts, not counted as spending |
is mahine kitna kharch hua? | Your month's spending, by category |
FAQ
Do I need to link my bank account?
No. Z30 never connects to your bank, never moves money, and never asks for bank logins, card numbers or CNIC.
Is there an app to download?
No download is needed. Z30 runs in your browser and can be added to your phone's home screen.
What does it cost?
Z30 is free during the beta, and no payment details are needed. From public launch, new accounts get a 7-day free trial; after that, plans are Rs 799 for 1 month, Rs 1,199 for 3 months, or Rs 10,000 lifetime, and they do not renew automatically. See pricing.
Try it with your own money: one line at a time.
Start free