Ask Questions About Your Spending With a Local Model
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The problem
A budget chart answers the questions its designer expected. The question you actually have, such as how much went to dining out this month, usually needs three filters and a mental subtraction. Chat-style assistants make that easy, but most of them want your transactions on their servers, and a confident wrong number from a model is worse than no answer at all.
Burrow Pro adds a way to ask Javi, the built-in helper, about your data in ordinary words. Javi runs on your computer through Ollama, and the arithmetic behind any figure is done by Burrow's plain code before Javi phrases it. This guide shows the setup order, a first question, how change approvals work and what to check afterward. Burrow targets only Windows 10 and 11 today, so that is the setting for all of it.
Steps
Install Ollama on the same PC
Ollama is a separate free app, and Burrow shows you where to get it, either in the first-run setup or in Settings > AI. Install it and leave it running. Check your memory first: 8 GB or more is recommended for Javi, and 16 GB gives the best helper. A graphics card is not needed.
Download a model from inside Burrow
Burrow does not ship a model. Click Download model and Burrow suggests one that fits your computer's memory. The download runs between 1.3 and 4.7 GB depending on the model, and it only starts because you clicked.
Make sure Pro is on
Every new install begins with 14 days of Pro, so you can try this first. To keep it afterwards, open Settings > License, paste your key into License key and click Activate (contacts Gumroad once).
Ask a plain question
Click the round button at the bottom right of the window (it is labelled "Ask Javi about this page"), then type something like "How much did I spend on dining this month?" into the box that says "Ask Javi anything...". Burrow totals the spending with plain code first, and Javi turns the finished figures into a sentence. Expect a slower first reply on a processor-only PC.
Let Javi propose a change
If you ask Javi to make a change, it does not simply apply it. The suggestion appears as a card with two buttons, Approve and Decline, and nothing happens until you click one. Read what it intends to do, then approve it or decline it.
Audit what happened
Open Settings > Privacy & activity. It keeps a log of Javi requests, exports, imports, backups and restores, so you can see what was asked and when.
Why the numbers can be trusted more than a typical chat tool
Language models are good with words and poor with numbers. Burrow therefore never asks Javi to add anything up. The spending totals are calculated by ordinary code, and the model only explains results that already exist. That does not make Javi infallible, since it can still phrase something clumsily, but it removes the most common failure of chat-style tools, which is invented arithmetic.
The approval step plays a similar role for actions. A suggested change is visible before it takes effect, which is the point at which a mistaken request can be stopped.
What you pay and what stays free
Burrow Pro is a one-time purchase of the same app. Standard is $49 for one person, Family is $79 for a household of up to 5, and Founding is $99 until January 5, 2027 with a longer update window. Nothing renews. Javi's read-only advice on each page, the Patterns card, export, backups and the Budget module itself stay in the free app.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Questions are answered in plain words, with figures computed by code rather than guessed by a model.
- Every change Javi suggests waits for your Approve click.
- The model runs on your computer, with no graphics card required.
- Pro is a one-time payment, and the free app keeps working if you never buy it.
Cons
- The first answer can be slow on a processor-only PC, and 8 GB of memory is the recommended floor.
- You must install Ollama separately and download a model of a few gigabytes.
- Asking Javi and approving its changes is a Pro feature after the 14-day trial ends.
- It is Windows only for now.
Frequently asked questions
Does Javi send my transactions to the internet?
With Ollama, Javi runs on your own computer. A cloud model is a separate bring-your-own-key option that is off by default, and you pay that provider directly.
What if I do not install Ollama?
Everything in Burrow still works except Javi, daily briefings and Explain.
Can Javi change my data without asking?
No. Every change waits until you click Approve.
Is the model included in the download?
No. A model downloads only when you click Download model, and Burrow suggests one that fits your computer's memory.
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