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Hi OP, I was in your exact position just over a year ago. I had been using my own spreadsheet for 1.5 years and finally found time to turn it into a web app (ba

by jnfr 6y ago

Hi OP, I was in your exact position just over a year ago. I had been using my own spreadsheet for 1.5 years and finally found time to turn it into a web app (backstory at https://lunchbag.ca/lunch-money https://lunchbag.ca/lunch-money) The main features I found missing in other budgeting apps that prompted me to make my own were: - native multicurrency support (I travel a lot and am a digital nomad by lifestyle, so this was quite important to me) - curtains pulled on the "magic" that some budgeting apps try to add to my transactions - the ability to split/group transactions so I can see how much I actually spent when I pick up a large bill and friends pay me back - separate tracking of recurring expenses - seeing historical spending trends and having information help drive my budget for the next month I've implemented all of this and more. If you're interested, check it out at https://lunchmoney.app https://lunchmoney.app. I'd love to hear what you think. In terms of what's missing that's not currently on the roadmap: - rollover budgets - a savings and/or goals feature - debt repayment feature As made evident by this thread, everyone has their own preferred way to budget, and of course there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Looking forward to seeing what you build, if you end up going down that path. Cheers!

beartech 6y ago
Hey jnfr! Your app is definitely what I envision for mine. Website and all that is absolutely amazing! Congrats! My app is "similar" in some ways but, of course, in a very small scale at the moment (still in development: live for me, wife and a couple of friends). This is what I've got so far: - Web version only - Multi currency is a must for me too (Brazilian living in Europe here) - Looking at the screenshots of your app, I also have the "category listing" by percentage. I don't look at it on a daily basis but I think it's important to at least have some control over stuff I'm spending my money with. - Under the hood, I share the same "account" (but different user credentials) with my wife so we both leverage saving transactions wherever we are, together. - I've also got historical transactions. It's the only way I found how to identify where my money is going over time. - No "budgeting" per se: I understand how some folks need to spare X amount of money for "Groceries" or "Travel".. and as some have already pointed out, I don't want to be on day 20th of the month and running out of budget for a specific category and not being able to keep spending if I have to. For a customer point of view, it would bring me "frustration" by simply checking that I'm below budget on the next month. Again, I value that, but I'm fine with my finances. For now, I'm not sure how I can make money out of it. I'm strongly thinking about simply releasing it, getting feedback and improve along the way. I don't want to be a competitor of yours and I'm more than happy that list your app as an alternative if necessary as soon as I go live! Again, congratulations. I want to be a solo entrepreneur in the future. I'm not just there yet. Thanks for your insights and good luck with your product!

by jnfr 6y ago

beartech 6y ago

Hey jnfr! Your app is definitely what I envision for mine. Website and all that is absolutely amazing! Congrats! My app is "similar" in some ways but, of course, in a very small scale at the moment (still in development: live for me, wife and a couple of friends). This is what I've got so far: - Web version only - Multi currency is a must for me too (Brazilian living in Europe here) - Looking at the screenshots of your app, I also have the "category listing" by percentage. I don't look at it on a daily basis but I think it's important to at least have some control over stuff I'm spending my money with. - Under the hood, I share the same "account" (but different user credentials) with my wife so we both leverage saving transactions wherever we are, together. - I've also got historical transactions. It's the only way I found how to identify where my money is going over time. - No "budgeting" per se: I understand how some folks need to spare X amount of money for "Groceries" or "Travel".. and as some have already pointed out, I don't want to be on day 20th of the month and running out of budget for a specific category and not being able to keep spending if I have to. For a customer point of view, it would bring me "frustration" by simply checking that I'm below budget on the next month. Again, I value that, but I'm fine with my finances. For now, I'm not sure how I can make money out of it. I'm strongly thinking about simply releasing it, getting feedback and improve along the way. I don't want to be a competitor of yours and I'm more than happy that list your app as an alternative if necessary as soon as I go live! Again, congratulations. I want to be a solo entrepreneur in the future. I'm not just there yet. Thanks for your insights and good luck with your product!