About
Built from real life, not a pitch deck.
I’m Dan. My wife Linda and I live in New Zealand with our boys, Josh (11) and Linc (9). I’ve run ecommerce and web businesses, been CEO of a large health food company, and today we run a successful medical business together. In our family I’m known as the spreadsheet guru.
Several mortgage applications over the years, and a house build, pushed the spreadsheet past its limits. Every time the bank asked, we had to pull together our assets, net worth and income from our jobs and businesses all over again. There had to be a better way.
Jarful is that better way. Import a CSV from your bank today — live bank feeds are switching on for all households shortly. It shows exactly where you’re at, and looks ahead, so you can see things like how much sooner you’d pay off the mortgage by putting in a bit more. It runs our own household’s money every day, and it’s shaped by the same discipline we use to run our businesses.
I like to have a firm understanding of where things are at, and where they’re headed. That’s what Jarful gives every household that uses it.
Dan Dear, founder
Why a jar?
Before bank apps, plenty of Kiwi households budgeted with jars on the kitchen shelf: one for the rent, one for groceries, one for the power bill. When payday came, the cash was split between the jars, and when a jar was empty, that was that. It’s still one of the clearest ways to think about money — and it’s exactly how Jarful works, minus the coins.
Clear beats clever
One number for what’s left this week. Plain words, no jargon, no scary red everywhere.
Money is a household thing
Budgets work best when everyone’s looking at the same numbers, so Jarful is built to be shared.
Look, don’t touch
When a bank feed is on, access is read-only. No ads and no selling data. You pay for the product, so you aren’t the product.
Made for New Zealand
NZ banks, NZ bills, NZ dollars, and the NZ Privacy Act.