Thimble

Inspiration

Before studying computer programming, I worked as a financial analyst helping companies budget, save and understand money. I understand how stressful and scary finance can be - even for adults! But I believe that financial literacy and access to financial resources are crucial for everyone. A 2020 study conducted by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada found that fewer than half of Canadians have a budget, with many saying they keep their budget in their mind alone.

Having a strong financial understanding begins as early as 4 years old! The habits we develop carry into our adult lives and even affect our feelings and sentiments towards money. However, most parents don't feel equipped to teach their kids about money. That's why I wanted to create a product that helps build a strong foundation and habits for kids.

What it does

It teaches kids about the three basic pillars of money through visualization and creative storytelling. The app imagines a bank run by elves, where each pillar is a 'department'.

Spend: Quality Control (teaches opportunity cost, decision-making and delayed gratification)
Save: The Workshop (teaches dicipline, saving, and bridges the gap between digital money and physical goods)
Invest: The Greenhouse (teaches patience, interest and time value of money)

How it was built

Tech Stack:

Node.js
Express.js
EJS
Client-Sessions
Bcrypt
MongoDB
OpenRouter (Gemini 3 Flash Preview)
TailwindCSS and daisyUI

Other Resources:

Nano Banana
Hero Patterns
Avatars in Pixels

Challenges

My biggest challenge finding the balance between including hard to understand concepts, and focusing on reinforcing important foundational concepts (and lack of sleep).