CheapskateLegal
SMS Messaging Program
Last updated October 4, 2026
Cheapskate is a personal finance assistant. You connect your own bank and card accounts read-only, and Cheapskate shows you your spending, balances, cards, rewards, and subscriptions. This page describes the optional text-message part of that service in full: who sends the messages, who receives them, why they are sent, and exactly how you consent to receive them.
Program name: Cheapskate Spend Diary & Assistant.
Who sends: Cheapskate, operated as a sole proprietorship. Contact: garv5114@gmail.com.
Who receives: only a registered Cheapskate account holder who has signed in, ticked the SMS consent box, and verified their own mobile number by texting a one-time code from that number. Messages are sent only to that one verified number, and only about that person’s own account.
Why: so you can check your own spending and ask questions about your own money by text instead of opening the website.
We never send marketing, promotional, or third-party messages, and we never share your mobile number with anyone for marketing.
How you opt in
There is one opt-in path and it is double opt-in. No number can be enrolled by anyone other than the person holding the phone.
- Accept a beta invitation and sign in at www.cheapskate.chat using Google sign-in and an invitation code. Existing members may also sign in with a passphrase they set earlier. SMS is not offered to anyone who is not signed in.
- Open Text Penny → “Penny on your phone” inside the signed-in dashboard.
- Tick the consent checkbox. It is unchecked by default, it is never pre-selected, and the “Create phone link” button stays disabled until you tick it. The checkbox reads, word for word:
“By checking this box, I agree to receive recurring Cheapskate SMS about my personal finances: replies to my questions, receipts and bill splits; reminders; and purchase bookkeeping texts when new purchases are detected (on by default after phone verification). Transaction alerts and daily spending recaps are off unless I enable them. I can pause bookkeeping in settings or by texting BOOKKEEPING OFF. Message frequency varies with my activity and settings, up to 30 messages per day. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to cancel or HELP for help. SMS consent is optional and not required to use Cheapskate. See our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.”
- Verify the number from the phone itself. Cheapskate shows a one-time code and asks you to text LINK <code> to the Cheapskate number from the mobile number you want to use. The code expires in 10 minutes. Because the first message is sent by you, from your own handset, a number cannot be enrolled by anyone else.
- Choose what you want. Bookkeeping questions start on after verification. You can turn them off in Text Penny or by texting BOOKKEEPING OFF. Transaction alerts and daily recaps are separate checkboxes, off until you enable them.
Consent is recorded with a timestamp when the verifying text arrives, and it is never inferred from a purchase, a form, or any other activity.
Consent flow preview
The real controls are inside the signed-in dashboard. This read-only preview shows the wording and sequence members see; it cannot enroll a phone number.
Link your phone
The box starts unchecked. The button is disabled until the member checks it.Text from your own number
From your phone, text LINK [one-time code] to the Cheapskate number shown in your account. The private code expires in 10 minutes. Penny sends a welcome only after the code arrives from that phone.
LINK is a verification step after web consent, not a public SMS signup keyword.Sample messages
Card coach is a separate, optional setting, off by default. Verified members may enable it in Text Penny or text CARD ALERTS ON. It adds reservation tips, potential credit-expiry reminders, bank-reported payment reminders, and optional iPhone arrival tips (location permission required). It sends at most two extra messages per 24 hours, respects quiet hours, and can add reward advice to existing purchase texts. Text CARD ALERTS OFF to stop card coaching, or STOP to stop all messages. Issuer usage and enrollment are not guaranteed.
Example: “Cheapskate: Your reservation at Corner Bistro is at 7 pm. Use Amex Gold: 4x points vs 2x on United Explorer. Merchant coding and annual caps apply.” A reservation is not location evidence or proof of Resy credit eligibility.
These are real examples of every kind of message the program sends.
- Welcome, sent once after you verify: “Penny here. Your phone is connected to Cheapskate. Bookkeeping is on: I will text you about newly detected purchases after account refreshes. Text BOOKKEEPING OFF to pause. Ask me money questions, send a receipt, or split a bill anytime. Message frequency varies; message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to stop SMS, START to resume, HELP for help.”
- Transaction alert, only if you enable it: “Cheapskate: New outflow $84.26 at Whole Foods Market, Amex Gold ••••1007, 2026-09-27. Bank data may change after posting. Reply STOP to pause texts.”
- Daily recap, only if you enable it: “Cheapskate 2026-09-27: $84.26 spent. Whole Foods Market $84.26. Month: $3,984.02. On track: $3,984.02 of $4,950.00 budget. Pending included; before refunds. Reply STOP to pause SMS.”
- Bookkeeping purchase question, on by default after verification:“Cheapskate bookkeeping: 1 new purchase since the last refresh (bank posting may be late): A1A2B3C4D5E6 Whole Foods Market $84.26 (Groceries). Budget: $3,984.02 of $4,950.00; on track. Reply A-code + what it was and why. Have a receipt? Text SAVE RECEIPT A-code with its photo. SKIP A-code if needed. Reply STOP to stop SMS.”
- Reply to a question you sent us: you text “how much did I spend on groceries this month?” and Cheapskate answers with your own figure.
- A link you asked for: if you ask Cheapskate to split a bill, the reply contains a prepared venmo.com request link for each person, for you to open and send yourself. Penny may reuse a Venmo username you confirmed and saved. Optional Gmail-derived recent activity can suggest a person but is never treated as identity proof. Cheapskate never contacts or signs in to Venmo and never moves money. Links appear only in a reply to a request you made, never in a proactive message, and we never use public link shorteners.
Message frequency
Message frequency varies with your purchases and settings. Replies are sent only when you text us first. Bookkeeping is on after phone verification and sends a purchase recap when new activity is detected during scheduled refreshes; other syncs may prompt separately. Text BOOKKEEPING OFF or use Text Penny to pause it. The optional daily recap is at most one message a day, at a time you choose. Optional transaction alerts are sent only when new activity syncs. All outbound messages are capped at 30 per day; messages beyond the cap are not sent. Proactive messages are never sent between 10 pm and 8 am in your own time zone.
Cost
Cheapskate does not charge for text messages. Message and data rates may apply from your mobile carrier.
How to stop, resume, or get help
Reply STOP to any message to cancel. You will receive one confirmation and then no further messages. STOP also works as STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, and QUIT.
Reply START to resume messages after stopping.
Reply HELP for help, or email garv5114@gmail.com.
You can also switch messaging off entirely from the dashboard, and stopping texts never closes your account or affects anything else.
Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. Supported carriers may change.
Privacy
No mobile information is shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Your number is used only to operate this messaging service. The only third party that receives it is our messaging carrier, Twilio, purely to deliver and receive your messages. Your number is stored encrypted. Full detail is in the Privacy Policy.
Contact
Questions about this program: garv5114@gmail.com.