Big $hot

Big $hot Sign In Page
Big $hot Navigation Design
Big $hot Sign Up Page
Big $hot Overview Page
Big $hot Personal Pet Page
Big $hot Plaid Connect Page
Big $hot Budget Limit
Big $hot Budget Page
Big $hot Brand Leaderboard

Inspiration

Managing finances can feel intimidating and dull, so we wanted to make it fun. Inspired by the adventurous spirit of space cowboys, we created a budgeting experience that turns financial management into an engaging, gamified journey across the stars.

What it does

Big $hot is a customizable budgeting web app with a space cowboy theme. It helps users track their money and stick to their financial goals — but with a twist. Through gamified elements and an AI-powered pet companion, users are motivated to build better financial habits while enjoying the experience. Users can import their financial data through CSV uploads or securely connect their bank accounts via Plaid integration. Customizable widgets allow each user to design their own dashboard to fit their budgeting style, and a built-in light and dark mode ensures a comfortable experience for every user.

How we built it

We built Big $hot using Flet for the frontend and FastAPI for the backend, with Supabase managing both user authentication and database storage. We integrated the Plaid API to securely connect and track users’ financial data. Throughout development, we used GitHub Copilot to streamline coding and improve productivity. We also explored incorporating LLMs to provide users with interactive financial guidance and AI-driven insights, which we plan to expand in future iterations.

Challenges we ran into

During development, we faced challenges such as losing progress during merge conflicts, connecting and authenticating the LLM, and maintaining consistent UI behavior across pages. These obstacles pushed us to improve our version control practices and communication as a team while finding creative solutions under time pressure.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of achieving fully functional pages with widget customization, creating a cohesive UI design that includes both light and dark mode, and successfully building and managing our own database with Supabase. Beyond these technical milestones, we made significant progress in our teamwork, coordination, and problem-solving skills throughout the hackathon.

What we learned

Through this project, we learned the importance of proper branching and merge strategies, effective time management, and clear communication when working on large, multi-component projects. We also gained valuable hands-on experience in backend integration, UI design, and connecting real-world financial APIs like Plaid.

What's next for Big $hot

Looking ahead, we plan to expand the game mechanics of Big $hot, allowing users to customize their pet and unlock accessories as rewards for positive financial habits. We also aim to fully integrate LLMs so the pet can offer personalized, conversational financial advice tailored to each user’s spending patterns. In addition, we plan to develop a robust multi-user authentication system to support secure, personalized profiles and ensure safe data handling across all accounts.