Getting started with CostMe: your first five minutes

You downloaded CostMe. Now what? Good news: there is no long setup. You can use the main feature in under a minute. This is the quick start.

CostMe has one big idea. When you want to buy something, you type the price. The app shows you what that money could grow into if you invested it instead. That is it. Everything else helps you act on that number.

Step 1: Pass the age gate

The very first screen checks that you are 18 or older. Tap to confirm. You only do this once. It is an App Store rule, not us being nosy.

Step 2: Type a price

On the main screen, tap the number box and type any price. A $50 shirt. A $1,200 phone. A $9 lunch. Anything you are tempted by right now.

The app instantly shows the 30-year value. That is the amount the money could become if you put it in the market instead of spending it. The math uses the long-run stock market average of about 10% a year. (More on how the math works.)

Step 3: Make a choice

Once you see the number, you have three buttons:

• Vault. You resist. The price goes into a 48-hour cooldown so you can think it over.
• 48hrs. A timed pause before you decide.
• Already purchased. You bought it. You log it honestly so your numbers stay real.

There is no wrong button. The app is here to help you decide on purpose, not to shame you.

Step 4: Watch your savings grow

Every time you resist a buy, the app adds it to your lifetime savings number. That number is the total of what you chose not to spend. It is satisfying to watch it climb.

That is the whole start

You do not need to read a manual. Type a price, see the number, pick a button. Do that a few times this week and the habit starts to form on its own.

Want a slower walk-through? Try your first week with CostMe.