Cash Course

Landing page!
Our AI chat bot!
Credit
Retirement
Federal Aid

Inspiration

Financial literacy is a critical life skill that often goes untaught, particularly affecting first-generation and low-income students who may lack access to financial mentorship or resources. Many students enter college and the workforce without understanding basic financial concepts, making it difficult to make informed decisions about student loans, budgeting, and long-term financial planning. This gap in knowledge can have long-lasting impacts on their financial well-being and future opportunities.

What it does

Cash Course is an interactive educational platform that explains financial concepts for students who may not have easy access to financial literacy resources. Our platform features:

Interactive modules covering essential topics like student aid, credit management, and retirement planning
An AI-powered chatbot that answers financial questions in plain language
Curated resources and practical guides for real-world financial decisions

How we built it

We developed Cash Course using a modern tech stack focused on accessibility and user experience:

Streamlit framework for the main web application interface
Python for backend logic and data processing
CSS for styling
Gemini API integration for our interactive chatbot
Git for version control and team collaboration

Challenges we ran into

Our team faced several learning curves during development:

First-time experience working with external APIs, particularly in implementing the Gemini-powered chatbot
Learning to use Streamlit's framework and its unique approach to web development
Coordinating version control with Git for team members who were new to collaborative development
Balancing technical complexity with user accessibility in our explanations of financial concepts

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Successfully created a fully functional web application from concept to deployment during the hackathon!!
Implemented an AI chatbot that provides personalized financial guidance
Built a platform that can make a meaningful impact on students' financial literacy

What we learned

Working with APIs, Streamlit development, collaborative coding practices User experience design: Creating interfaces that are both informative and engaging

What's next for Cash Course

Adding personalized learning paths based on user goals and knowledge levels possibly developing a mobile version of cash course for better accessibility