Magnus Ramm
Co-founder of Penge
I started Penge because I was tired of Excel. My partner and I shared a credit card, and every month I sat there working out which purchases were mine, which were theirs and which were both. The bank apps did not give me what I needed: one place for everything, categories I could trust, and charts that actually made the spending easier to understand. So a friend and I built it ourselves.
What began as an evening project turned into an app with bank connections, budgets, statistics and category suggestions. Building the bank integrations taught me two things worth writing down. Banks send the same information in a surprising number of different shapes, even though Open Banking is meant to standardise it. And people run their finances so differently from one another that few rules survive contact with a real household. That is what makes personal finance a harder subject than it looks.
I am not a licensed financial adviser, and nothing here is personal investment advice. The guides explain how the mechanics work, so you can make your own call.
Articles by Magnus
Norway's 2027 state budget: what the tax cut gives you from January, and what costs more
The Norwegian government presented its 2027 budget on 7 October 2026. Here is how much less tax you pay on a salary of 450,000, 650,000 or 900,000 kroner, which duties go up, when it shows on your payslip, and what to do before January. All of it is a proposal until the Storting votes.
7 min read
Trumf bonus to EuroBonus: 13.5 or 10 points per krone, and the order that decides it
An automatic transfer gives 13.5 EuroBonus points per Trumf krone, a one-off gives 10. But you cannot start an automatic transfer while your balance is high, so it has to be set up first. Talkmore pays 1,500 kroner of welcome bonus until 13 October 2026.
5 min read
Norway's policy rate up to 4.5%: what the September 2026 rise costs you per month
Norges Bank raised the policy rate from 4.25% to 4.50% on 24 September 2026. DNB, Nordea, SpareBank 1 Sør-Norge and other banks have told their customers. Here is what it costs per month on loans from one to five million kroner, what the interest deduction gives back, and the date the new rate applies from.
7 min read
Sweden's 2027 property assessment: what to do before 2 November
About 2.5 million Swedish house owners get a proposal or a declaration this autumn. The difference between the two, the 2 November 2026 deadline, and the cap that means many pay no more.
7 min read
The interest on your Norwegian student loan, and what it costs
Lånekassen's floating rate is 4.707 per cent from 1 November 2026. Here is how the rate is calculated, why you can see the next change before it is announced, and what a change does to your monthly bill.
7 min read
What does your savings account actually pay?
A policy rate rise reaches your mortgage on a schedule. It reaches your savings account only if your bank decides it should. Here is how to check yours.
6 min read
When to use a tag instead of a category
A category says what the money was. A tag cuts across categories: this trip, this project, the half of the bill that was yours. When to use which, what the four tag types do, and what counting at a share changes.
6 min read
Yearly bills: how to stop one month paying for twelve
A yearly insurance premium is a monthly cost that arrives in one lump. How to work out what it really costs a month, and how to make your numbers say so.
6 min read
When a rate rise reaches a Danish home loan
The 1 October 2026 refixing is done. F1 landed near 3.0 per cent and an F5 jumps from minus 0.1 per cent to 3.1 or 3.2 per cent. Here is what that costs per million borrowed, when an F-kort and a fixed-rate loan feel anything, and why 30 October 2026 is the date to watch.
7 min read
How to track cash in a budget app
Cash, gift cards and accounts your bank will not share leave a hole in your overview. When a manual account is worth the effort, how to set its balance, and how to keep it honest.
6 min read
Norgespris or spot price in 2027? How to choose before January
The government proposes a Norgespris of 56 øre including VAT for 2027. What it and spot price with strømstøtte cost, what the binding period means, and when you can order.
8 min read
Your bank will not connect: upload the statement as a file instead
When open banking cannot reach your bank, export the statement and upload it. Which format to pick, what a clean file looks like, what happens to rows that cannot be read, and how the transactions sit beside the connected ones.
6 min read
How to see your spending without opening the app
Penge has eight home screen widgets and four controls. Here is which widget answers which question, what you can change on each one, and where each earns its place.
6 min read
Penge vs Emma
Penge connects Nordic and other European banks, including supported UK institutions. Emma covers the UK, US and Canada, not Nordic banks, and offers Android and iPad apps.
4 min read
Penge vs Wallet by BudgetBakers
Penge includes bank sync for free with no ads. Wallet is broader, with a free manual tier and paid Premium plans. Here is which one suits you.
5 min read
Penge vs Spendee
Spendee Basic is capped at one budget and one cash wallet. Penge has neither cap. Compare paid plans, multiple currencies and platform support.
5 min read
Penge vs Dreams
Dreams gets you saving toward a goal. Penge shows where the money actually goes. They solve different halves of the same problem and barely collide.
4 min read
Penge vs Lunar
Penge gathers your existing bank accounts without asking you to open another account. Lunar combines a bank account with multi-banking. Here are the differences and prices.
5 min read
Penge vs Revolut
Revolut is an account with an overview attached. Penge is a read-only overview with no bank account. Both can bring in external accounts through Open Banking, though Revolut offers it only in some markets.
5 min read
Penge vs Spiir
Spiir closed on 8 June 2026. Here is what Penge does that Spiir did, what is different, and what happens to the history you had there.
5 min read
Penge vs Actual Budget
Penge uses GoCardless for European bank data. Actual can use the same provider with existing GoCardless credentials, but its server and bank sync are yours to configure.
5 min read
Penge vs Buddy
Penge brings connected accounts and imported transactions into one overview. Buddy centres on budgets, deliberate entry and sharing. Which one fits depends on how you want to work.
5 min read
Klarna and 30,000 EuroBonus points: the campaign is closed. Do you still get the points?
Klarna's EuroBonus campaign closed on 7 September 2026. If you joined between 1 and 7 September, the points land on 19 October. Here is what has to be true that day, when it is safe to cancel, and what a third month costs.
6 min read
Penge vs Frid
Two Norwegian finance apps with different bank coverage and pricing models. What each gives you without paying, and where they part ways.
5 min read
Penge vs YNAB
Penge vs YNAB on price, bank connections, categorization, budgeting, recurring charges, sharing and platforms.
5 min read
Mint, Monarch and Copilot alternatives in Europe
Mint is closed, Copilot supports US accounts only, and Monarch does not convert currencies. See how Penge differs for European users.
5 min read
Connecting your bank: what actually happens
How Penge connects to a bank, what the first sync includes, when access expires, how the app warns you, and the fallbacks for a missing bank.
6 min read
One receipt, two categories: how to split a transaction
A shop that was mostly food and one birthday present belongs in two categories. How splitting works in Penge, what it does to your month, and when a smart tag is the better tool.
5 min read
Budgeting app for couples: what to look for
A couples budgeting app has to separate joint money from personal money. Here are five checks to make, plus the limits of Penge: separate user spaces, no account sharing between profiles and no who-owes-whom feature.
6 min read
The 15-minute monthly money review
A short checklist for going through your finances once a month, with a time budget for each step and what to leave out of fifteen minutes.
5 min read
What fraud looks like in your transaction list
Fraud takes a handful of recognisable shapes in a transaction list. How to see them, what to do in what order when you find one, and what you are actually entitled to.
7 min read
Spreadsheet or budgeting app? Keep the parts that work
Most spreadsheet budgets fail on data entry, not on maths. Here is what a sheet still does better, and how to let an app do the typing while the sheet keeps thinking.
6 min read
Vipps, Swish and MobilePay in your budget
Mobile payments between friends make a month look wrong in both directions. Here is the simple rule that fixes it, and how to handle rent, gifts and split dinners.
6 min read
YNAB alternatives that work with Nordic banks
YNAB bills in dollars and connects to a limited set of European banks. Here is what to check before you switch, and how to keep the method without the subscription.
6 min read
Bank app or budgeting app? What each one is good for
Your bank's app handles payments and cards. Penge combines the accounts you connect, then adds shared categories, live budgets and subscription tracking across them.
6 min read
What a change in the policy rate costs you each month
A policy rate decision is news for a day, then quietly changes your monthly payment weeks later. Here is how the rate reaches your loan, what a change of a given size costs, and what to check before the next decision.
6 min read
What a card payment in another currency really costs
The rate, the markup and the fee are three separate things. What happens when you pay by card abroad, and why the amount changes a few days later.
6 min read
Automatic categorization: how an app sorts your spending
Bank transactions arrive as one line of text written by a payment terminal. Here is how a budgeting app turns that into categories, and what it cannot do for you.
6 min read
Underpaid tax in Norway: what to do when the bill arrives
Got restskatt in your Norwegian tax settlement? Here are the payment deadlines, the 3.12 percent interest, the two-invoice rule, and what to do if you cannot pay it all.
8 min read
Why your credit card is missing from your finance app
Credit cards are not covered by Open Banking the way payment accounts are, so it is up to the issuer. Here is how to check whether yours connects, and what to do if it does not.
8 min read
How to earn EuroBonus points faster in Norway (2026)
What the SAS EuroBonus cards cost in 2026 and how much you have to spend before the fees pay off: SAS Amex Classic, Premium and Elite, the SAS EuroBonus Mastercard cards after the September rise, and the Trumf card.
8 min read
Zero-based budgeting: give every krone a job
A deep dive into zero-based budgeting: what it means, why the goal is zero, a worked income-minus-expenses example, and how to run it month by month.
7 min read
Sinking funds: how to save for the bills you can see coming
Sinking funds turn big, irregular costs into a small monthly amount. Here is how to set up sinking funds for the car, Christmas, insurance and holidays.
6 min read
How to manage money as a couple
Separate, joint or a bit of both? How couples can organize money together, split shared costs fairly, get a shared overview, and keep money from becoming a source of conflict.
7 min read
50/30/20, zero-based or envelopes: which budgeting method fits you?
A comparison of three proven budgeting methods: the 50/30/20 rule, zero-based budgeting and the envelope method. How each one works, who it suits, and how to choose.
6 min read
How to get control of your subscriptions
Streaming, apps, gym, insurance: small monthly charges add up fast. Here is how to find every subscription you pay for, decide what to keep, and stop them creeping back.
5 min read
How to save for a house deposit
Saving for a home deposit takes time and a plan. Here is how to set a realistic target, make the saving automatic, choose where to keep the money, and stay motivated.
6 min read
How to choose a budgeting app in 2026
Bank app, spreadsheet, YNAB or something else? An honest guide to choosing a budgeting app, what actually matters, and how the options compare.
7 min read
Emergency fund: how much should you have saved?
How much should you have in an emergency fund? Here is how to work out how big your buffer should be, and how to build it up.
5 min read
How to pay off debt faster
How to get rid of debt faster. The snowball method versus the avalanche method explained, and how to free up money to pay down more.
6 min read
8 money-saving tips that actually work
Practical money-saving tips you can use right away. Save more without it hurting, and let your saving run on its own.
6 min read
Is Open Banking safe? How it works
Is it safe to connect an app to your bank? Here is how Open Banking works, what the law says, and how your money and password are protected.
6 min read
How to get an overview with several bank accounts
Salary account, savings account, joint account and credit card in different banks? Here is how to bring it all together and get a full overview of your finances.
5 min read
How to build a budget that actually sticks
A simple step-by-step guide to making a personal budget. Learn the 50/30/20 rule, avoid the most common mistakes, and get a clear overview of your finances.
7 min read