Inspiration

While brainstorming for app ideas, I realized that the biggest issue first-generation low-income students face is money. I have personally seen the struggles many students face in balancing their budgets and managing expenses, so I was inspired to create a tool that makes financial planning accessible and understandable. I wanted to provide such students with the resources they need to make informed financial decisions and improve their financial literacy.

What it does

Our financial app is designed to help first-generation low-income students manage their money better and make smarter financial choices. It offers several key features: budgeting, where users can track their income and expenses easily and based on their income, they get financial tips; savings goals, which allow them to set and monitor goals for saving up for things like a new laptop or a trip; affordable meal suggestions, providing budget-friendly meal ideas with ingredients and recipes; expense analysis, featuring charts and graphs to visualize spending patterns; community sharing, where users can share financial tips and read stories from others; debt management, to track loans and manage payments effectively; and budget plans, enabling users to create and save personalized plans for managing their money. Overall, the app acts like a personal finance assistant, helping students stay on top of their finances, save money, and make informed decisions.

How I built it

I built the app using Python. First, I set up a database using SQLite to store all the information like income, expenses, and meal suggestions. The database helps keep track of everything in an organized way. I created different features for the app, like budgeting and savings goals, using Python’s tkinter library. This library helps make windows and buttons so users can interact with the app. For example, users can enter their income and expenses, and the app saves this info in the database. I also added some graphs using matplotlib to show expenses in a visual way. This helps users see how they’re spending their money. For meal suggestions, I added a feature where users can enter their income, and the app gives them ideas for affordable meals along with recipes.

Challenges I ran into

While building the app, I ran into a few challenges. One big problem was making sure all the data was saved and retrieved correctly from the database. At first, there were some bugs that made it hard to get the right information when we needed it. Another issue was designing the user interface so that it was easy to use and looked good. I had to spend extra time tweaking the layout and making sure all the buttons and fields worked properly. Finally, I also had to deal with making the graphs accurate and clear, which took a lot of testing and adjusting.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

I’m really proud of how my financial app turned out! One major accomplishment was successfully connecting the app to a database, which lets us save and manage all the financial information in one place. I’m also happy with how I made the user interface simple and easy to use, so people can navigate the app without getting confused. Creating the meal suggestion feature was another highlight because it helps people find affordable meal ideas based on their income, which is super useful. Plus, designing the graphs for expense analysis was pretty big, as it helps users see their spending patterns clearly. Overall, I’m proud of how everything came together.

What I learned

Working on this financial app taught me a lot about coding and app development. I learned how to use Python to create and manage a database, which was really cool and useful for saving all the financial info. I also figured out how to make a user-friendly interface using Tkinter, so people can easily navigate through the app. Building features like meal suggestions based on income showed me how to make practical tools that really help people. Plus, I got better at solving problems and debugging code, which is super important when you’re building something new.

What's next for Finance App

The next steps for the Finance App involve adding more cool features to make it even better. I want to include things like improving the app’s design to make it look even more modern and user-friendly. Another option could be, planning to test the app with real users to get feedback and see how it can be improved. Plus, I want to explore adding more advanced features, like tracking investments and setting financial alerts.