Inspiration
College students often struggle to manage their personal finances. Tracking daily expenses, managing college fees, remembering scholarship deadlines, and saving money for future needs can become difficult without a proper system.
We were inspired to build SkillPay AI to help students develop better financial management habits and make smarter financial decisions.
SkillPay AI is a student-focused financial management platform designed to simplify personal finance management.
Its key features include:
Student Authentication: Individual student registration and login.
Financial Dashboard: Provides an overview of income, expenses, and available balance.
Income and Expense Tracking: Allows students to record and monitor financial transactions.
College Fee Management: Helps track college fees and payment status.
Scholarship Tracking: Helps students organize scholarship applications and deadlines.
Savings Goals: Allows students to set savings targets and monitor their progress.
Future AI Insights: Planned intelligent financial recommendations based on student spending habits.
How we built it
We developed SkillPay AI using a combination of frontend and backend technologies.
Frontend: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for the user interface.
Backend: Python and Flask for application logic and server-side functionality.
Database: MySQL for storing student information, transactions, college fees, scholarships, and savings goals.
Database Connectivity: MySQL Connector for communication between Flask and MySQL.
Version Control: GitHub for project management and source code hosting.
We designed the application around individual student accounts so that financial records can be associated with the correct student.
Challenges we ran into
During development, we encountered several challenges:
Connecting the Flask application with the MySQL database.
Implementing secure student registration and login.
Designing database tables and relationships.
Connecting frontend forms with backend routes.
Displaying dynamically calculated financial information.
Managing multiple modules within a single application.
Organizing project files correctly for Flask.
Overcoming these challenges helped us understand how different components of a full-stack application work together.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Developing a student-focused financial management concept.
Building a Flask and MySQL application foundation.
Implementing student authentication and transaction management.
Designing separate modules for different student financial needs.
Integrating database operations with the application.
Creating a project that addresses a practical problem faced by college students.
What we learned
Through this project, we learned:
How to develop web applications using Python and Flask.
How to create and manage relational databases using MySQL.
How frontend and backend technologies communicate.
How to implement authentication and database operations.
How to organize code into different application modules.
The importance of teamwork, problem-solving, and time management during project development.
What's next for SkillPay AI
We aim to improve SkillPay AI by introducing:
AI-powered personalized financial insights.
Smart expense categorization.
Monthly spending analysis and interactive reports.
Scholarship opportunity recommendations.
Financial planning suggestions based on student budgets.
Savings recommendations and goal-based planning.
Improved user experience and mobile responsiveness.
Secure deployment so students can access the platform online.
Our long-term vision is to make SkillPay AI a useful financial companion that helps students become more financially responsible and independent.
