BudgetBrew

BudgetBrew: Brewing Your Budget Like a Potion

The Spark College students are supposed to be “responsible adults,” but let’s be honest, most of us forget to track our bank accounts until something goes mysteriously missing. Financial literacy is critical, but most apps make it feel like a lecture. Boring colors, endless tutorials… yawn.

Inspired by HackUTD 2025’s fantasy and quests theme, we thought: what if budgeting felt like a game? What if saving money was a quest, and tracking spending was an adventure? That’s how BudgetBrew was born.

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The Quest

Originally, we wanted a mobile app with Flutter, but the learning curve and limited support slowed us down. Instead, we pivoted to a web platform, keeping the fantasy theme intact.

We built it with: • React.js for the frontend • JavaScript for interactivity • Partial Firebase integration, giving us experience in backend concepts and hosting

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Trials and Dragons • Learning new frameworks under a 24-hour deadline. • Pivoting from mobile to web mid-hackathon. • Limited backend integration—but we built a foundation for future expansions.

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Victory Moments • Seeing our ideas come alive in real-time on a webpage. • Learning to collaborate effectively under pressure. • Watching a mundane topic—budgeting—transform into a magical, engaging experience.

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Spells We Learned • New frameworks like React.js and Firebase. • Frontend-backend interaction and hosting basics. • Effective teamwork in rapid prototyping scenarios.

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Next Level • Full backend integration to handle real user data. • Add mini-games and animations with Poyo as your guide. • Enable social sharing and challenges for competitive fun.

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Built With • React.js • JavaScript