To create an expense tracker app which lets users categorise, account and track their expenses. The application should be designed in a way that can help people understand their expense habits, and provide them cues and prompts to change their negative habits while promoting good behaviours.
An expense tracker app that divides all expenses into 3 categories: Needs, Wants and Savings. This makes it easier to track the category in which expenditure is higher than expected.
The app also lets the users create a comprehensive budget and track goals to increase accountability of the user. It utilises various visualisations of spending trends and has additional curated insights for its premium users.
<aside> 🔦 The goal of this expense tracker is not just to tell you how much you are spending but to also help you become more accountable and efficient in terms of saving
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When examining spending behaviour, I was able to classify people into 3 broad categories:
New earners: Young adults who are earning money but struggle to keep a positive cash flow throughout the month. These people are looking to budget their spendings. In India, the growth of such individuals in the stock market has also become prevalent, showing they are looking to save their money wisely as well.
Seasoned Professionals: High-salary, high net-worth individuals who have a stable positive cash flow. These are typically middle-aged people with standard monthly expenditure. These people have enough money to plan for their future or spend lavishly on vacations, luxury items etc. Due to their busy schedules and lifestyle, they do not really have the time or need to track their expenses.
Dependents: People who do not earn their own money and depend on their spouse, children or parents for their expenses. This is an interesting group to design for, especially when considering expense tracking as family activity.
<aside> 🔦 For the sake of this project, we proceed with NEW EARNERS AS THE PRIMARY USER GROUP
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I started out by talking to a few people and reading app store reviews on existing expense tracker apps. The goal of this activity to understand spending behaviours, how people budget and what problems they face from existing methods.