Question 1

What is Murphy's Ledger?

Accepted Answer

Murphy's Ledger is a financial planning platform for the hidden and irregular costs of ownership. It shows estimated replacement windows, asset age and status, and approximate future costs for homes and vehicles. Saving is optional: you can use the forecast even if you choose to save $0.

Question 2

What is a sinking fund?

Accepted Answer

A sinking fund is money you choose to set aside over time for a future expense. Murphy's Ledger calls this optional preparation a Murphy Fund. The app estimates likely replacement costs and planning horizons, but you decide whether and how much to save, and the money remains in your own bank or credit-union account. Murphy's Ledger never holds customer funds.

Question 3

How much does Murphy's Ledger cost?

Accepted Answer

Public search and forecast previews are free. Account-based saving, editing, and tracking use Basic or Household Plus. Founding Basic is $3/month or $30/year for the first 500 qualifying paid subscribers. Saving an asset or starting checkout does not claim a founding membership; a confirmed first payment does. Standard Basic is $5/month or $48/year. Household Plus is $9/month or $89/year.

Question 4

What happens when I add a property?

Accepted Answer

During setup, you enter your home's address, year built, square footage, and household details. Then you select your specific home systems: heating type (gas furnace, electric furnace, heat pump, boiler, or baseboard), cooling type (central AC, window units, or mini-split), water heater (gas or electric, tank or tankless, or heat pump), and oven/range (gas or electric). Murphy's Ledger uses these selections to create accurate lifecycle forecasts for your exact systems.

Question 5

Why do you ask about my specific heating and cooling systems?

Accepted Answer

Different systems have different typical useful lives and replacement costs. Knowing which systems are installed makes the replacement windows and cost estimates more relevant to your home, while still keeping them clearly identified as planning assumptions rather than exact predictions.

Question 6

What if I have a heat pump?

Accepted Answer

If you select a heat pump for heating, the cooling selection is automatically set to 'None' since heat pumps handle both heating and cooling. Murphy's Ledger tracks the heat pump as a single system with the appropriate lifespan and replacement cost.

Question 7

Can I add appliances that aren't in the default list?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Beyond the core appliances and the systems you select during onboarding, you can add any custom appliance with your own name, expected lifespan, and replacement cost. You can also add items from our library of 50+ common home components.

Question 8

How are appliance lifespans calculated?

Accepted Answer

We use source-attributed baseline service-life data for each appliance type, along with any actual installation or replacement history you enter. Household size and pet ownership do not change launch lifespan forecasts.

Question 9

Do household size or pets change my forecast?

Accepted Answer

No. Murphy's Ledger may retain those profile details for relevant product features, but they do not silently change lifespan, maintenance intervals, replacement timing, or replacement goals without evidence supporting a reviewed model.

Question 10

What do the health status colors mean?

Accepted Answer

Home replacement colors follow the planning horizon: Needs Attention within 12 months, Coming Up in 1 to 3 years, Plan Ahead in 3 to 5 years, and Longer Term beyond 5 years. These are planning estimates, not assessments of physical condition. Once you replace an appliance, update its age to restart the planning cycle.

Question 11

How does vehicle maintenance tracking work?

Accepted Answer

Murphy's Ledger tracks mileage-based maintenance items like oil changes, tire rotations, brake pads, transmission fluid, and more. Based on your current odometer reading and expected annual mileage, we calculate when each service is due and how much to save monthly to cover the costs.

Question 12

Why does my maintenance item show as 'good' when I just bought a used vehicle?

Accepted Answer

Murphy's Ledger uses smart initialization for used vehicles. Rather than flagging everything as overdue (which would be inaccurate for a vehicle you just purchased), we assume recent maintenance and calculate forward from your current odometer reading.

Question 13

How many vehicles can I track?

Accepted Answer

Basic includes up to 2 vehicles. Household Plus includes up to 5 vehicles. Vehicles are tracked separately from properties, with their own mileage-based maintenance schedules and savings calculations.

Question 14

What happens to my property data if I sell my home?

Accepted Answer

When you mark a property as sold, it is removed from your active portfolio. Your private Home record remains yours. Approved, sanitized property observations may remain associated with the physical property for a later owner, but your identity, household settings, notes, serial numbers, and other private account data do not transfer.

Question 15

What if someone else already has my address registered?

Accepted Answer

You can add it normally. Murphy's Ledger creates a separate private Home record for you and may reconcile an exact normalized-address match to the same physical property. The other user's private record is never reassigned to you.

Question 16

What is the Compare Homes tool?

Accepted Answer

Buying, browsing, or evaluating a property? Start with the free ownership-cost forecast for one home, without an account. With an active account plan, Compare Homes shows properties side by side across 3, 5, and 10-year planning horizons, subject to your plan's comparison limits. It helps explain differences in estimated replacement costs and monthly preparation paces. Basic and Household Plus include printable PDF reports; PDF export is not available in the free preview.

Question 17

Do Compare Homes and my dashboard use the same lifespan baseline?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Both use the same approved baseline lifespan assumptions. Results may still differ when your dashboard has actual installation history, custom assets, replacement costs, repair-reserve settings, or other product-specific inputs, but household size and pets do not create a hidden difference.

Question 18

Is my data secure?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Your data is stored securely and is only accessible to you. We use industry-standard encryption for authentication and a two-layer privacy system that separates your personal information from analytical data. We never share your personal data with third parties.

Question 19

Can I track multiple properties?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Basic covers 1 property and up to 2 vehicles at the account's server-authorized Basic price. Household Plus covers up to 3 properties and 5 vehicles at one $9/month or $89/year price. An ordinary move from Founding Basic to Household Plus and back preserves the authorized Founding Basic rate; Stripe handles payment methods and invoices.