Inspiration
Many people are not aware of the benefits of investing early. We wanted to create an easy-to-understand, interactive resource for people to understand the benefits of retirement savings and how to start saving.
What it does
Finance Ferret is a website that guides the user through saving for retirement and provides an interactive real-time Python model to model retirement savings over time, showing the benefits of compound interest.
How we built it
We first researched information on retirement investments. Then outlined how the information would flow on the website both visually, such as the layout, and in terms of the flow of ideas so that our audience would be able to follow along with what’s being shown. We found it most effective to orient the information and website’s layout in a vertical style. We then tested out modeling investment growth with the Dash Python framework. Then we worked on the front-end using HTML/CSS/JS while a team member designed visual assets for the site.
Challenges we ran into
A challenge we encountered during the development process was to find a way to model 401k/IRA investment growth appropriately while keeping things user-friendly and simple to understand. We also had challenges while using Javascript to make elements interactive and animate since we were new to it.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
The biggest accomplishments that went beyond our expectations was successfully formulating an equation to calculate 401K growth and using it to create an interactive data visualizer to convey the data in an understandable manner. Another accomplishment we achieved in this project is implementing animation features in CSS in a timely manner in order to increase user-engagement by making the site more dynamic.
What we learned
We learned how to develop an interactive website from the front end, to the back end, and producing our own assets to enhance the appeal of our website. With the front end and back end, there was a lot of active communication between the members to make sure that the code flows without errors. With the creation of the assets and graphics, we primarily aimed to make the visuals simple and approachable, and cohesive when they are all put together. We also used certain colors to establish our brand, specifically mint, pink and dark turqoise.
What's next for Finance Ferret
We plan to add information and data visualizers for other safe investment options users can choose if they find that the options currently shown on our site are not suitable for their financial goals. Such options would include U.S. saving bonds and certificates of deposit(CD’s). This will help personalize their investment-learning experience as there are more options they can consider.
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