Velocity Lab
Track your spending momentum in real time — and see where you'll land by end of month.
TL;DR
Velocity Lab is Module B of the Jijenga Intelligence Suite. Monthly totals tell you what happened. Velocity tells you what's happening right now — with time to change course.
What it is
Velocity Lab tracks how fast you're spending your variable (discretionary) income this month — and projects where that pace will take you by the end of the month. Fixed obligations like rent, utilities, and loan repayments are excluded deliberately: this shows the spending you can actually control day-to-day.
Navigate here via MORE → INTELLIGENCE → Velocity Lab.
How to use it
Read your three velocity numbers
The top panel shows three metrics:
- CURRENT_VELOCITY — your average daily variable spend since the start of the month. Tagged SAFE if below your income pace, CRITICAL if above it.
- SAFE_LIMIT — your total income this month divided by days in the month. This is the upper ceiling: stay below it and your variable spending is mathematically sustainable.
- PROJECTED_TOTAL — where your variable spending will land at end-of-month if today's rate continues unchanged. Tagged ON_TRACK or OVER_BUDGET.
Read the Ghost Chart
The chart shows your cumulative variable spending day-by-day this month (your line) plotted against last month's pace (the ghost line).
- Above the ghost = spending faster than last month
- Below the ghost = spending slower
- The dotted section right of today is the projection zone
- A steadily widening gap that never closes back is the signal for lifestyle creep — not a spike, a structural shift
Check Anomaly Detection
The ANOMALY_DETECTION section shows categories where spending has shifted significantly vs last month. A category must move by at least +10% to appear as an increase, or -5% to appear as a decrease.
Each card shows:
- The KES delta — how much more or less you spent vs last month
- The percentage change
- The Driver — the specific sub-category or counterparty causing the shift
What to look for
- CRITICAL velocity early in the month — check the Ghost Chart first; if it's a rent or one-time payment, the line will flatten. If it keeps climbing, it's a real problem
- OVER_BUDGET projected total — find the highest KES delta in Anomaly Detection, not the highest percentage; that's where to act
- A YOU line that climbs above the ghost and never returns — this is lifestyle creep. Not a mistake, a new baseline
- The Driver label — it names the specific merchant or person causing a category to jump. That's your first target for investigation
Tips
- Focus on the KES delta in Anomaly Detection, not the percentage. A +686% change on KES 900 matters less than +20% on KES 12,000
- A steep early-month spike that then flattens is usually rent or a one-off purchase — not a problem
- If OVER_BUDGET: a 20% reduction in your top variable category usually brings the projection back ON_TRACK
- Check Velocity Lab at mid-month — that's when there's still time to course-correct
See also: Operating Statement · Flow Explorer