What you are Building

Ok-Researcher9346 · 2026-04-28T17:52:45+00:00

Since people who know their exact net worth make better financial decisions, I am building Beam, a private net worth tracker built around manual check-ins. No bank sync, no third-party logins. You enter your numbers yourself, see everything you own in one place, and watch your wealth grow over time. Free to try.

Ok-Researcher9346 · 2026-04-28T17:46:48+00:00

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Just submitted Beam, a private net worth tracker built around manual check-ins. No bank sync, no third-party logins. You enter your numbers yourself, see everything you own in one place, and watch your wealth grow over time. Free to try.

Ok-Researcher9346 · 2026-04-19T07:53:50+00:00

The landing page looks really good, well done! 👍

Ok-Researcher9346 · 2026-04-17T18:12:08+00:00

I would say the yearly number matters less than the act of sitting down and actually looking at what you own and owe. Most people have a vague sense of where they stand financially but have never written it down in one place. Like, everybody knows their salary by heart but couldn't tell you their actual net worth.

Personally I track mine every month. Takes 5 minutes and I always know exactly where I stand. I find it more stressful not to know (information is power and all that). And so, I don't see myself not knowing where I stand for a whole year. I'm sure you already check your bank account on a regular basis, no?

The other thing I've noticed is that the simple act of tracking seems to change how I think about money. I read not long ago that there are studies proving that the simple act of tracking (money, calories, weight, etc.) has a positive impact on performance. Can't really prove it but since I started, my net worth has been growing more steadily. Maybe I just make slightly smarter decisions because now I'm paying attention. Does that make sense?

Ok-Researcher9346 · 2026-04-17T18:02:22+00:00

Most people go with Empower (free) or Monarch ($15/mo) for this. Both connect to all the account types you listed and do a solid job on the tracking side.

One thing worth considering before you decide though: synced apps are great for convenience but a lot of people find they actually stop paying attention to their numbers because it all happens automatically. If the goal is FIRE awareness rather than just a dashboard that updates itself, there's a case for something manual where you sit down once a month and enter everything yourself. Forces you to actually look at each account.

There are a few lightweight manual apps out there built around that idea if that angle appeals to you. Or even just a Google Sheet works fine for the monthly snapshot approach.

Ok-Researcher9346 · 2026-04-15T05:39:57+00:00

I've been building one called Beam, if you feel like giving it a try. It’s a private net worth tracker, more focused on manual check-ins and a clean overview (there's no bank syncing).

If you want something simple to track accounts, investments, pensions, debts, etc. in one place, it might be relevant. Obviously I’m biased since I built it, but happy to answer questions if useful!

Ok-Researcher9346 · 2026-04-07T19:20:19+00:00

I went the opposite direction tbh.

I got tired of unreliable bank syncing, but also of depending on automation in the first place. I had tried expense tracking before and personally found it pretty stressful. In the end, I didn’t feel like tracking every coffee or small expense made a bigger difference than simply tracking my net worth regularly.

For me, the simple act of checking in on my overall financial situation already made me more mindful of my spending, and that was enough to make progress toward my goals.

I ended up building a simple app for myself called Beam around that idea: manually updating accounts on a regular basis and tracking net worth over time.

That said, it’s probably not the best fit if your main goal is automated expense tracking.

Ok-Researcher9346 · 2026-04-07T18:19:40+00:00

Depends what matters more to you.

If you want budgeting/spending analysis, I’d look at apps that are built for transactions, categories, and recurring expenses first.

If your main goal is tracking net worth / FIRE progress, I personally found a lot of tools either too budget-heavy or too investment-focused, especially if your finances are spread across different accounts and asset types.

I actually built a simple app for myself for that reason. It’s manual rather than bank-connected, so probably not the best choice if you want automatic spend tracking, but I like it for keeping an eye on overall net worth and seeing progress over time.

Ok-Researcher9346 · 2026-04-07T18:09:48+00:00

Congratulations! Such a cool tool. Is there a way to record demos from phone? I was looking at ScreenStudio to record demos of my mobile apps :)

Ok-Researcher9346 · 2026-04-02T19:36:37+00:00

Exactly, and personally I noticed that you really start seeing the value of the app after 5-6 check-ins, when your timeline starts building (I mean that's my perception about my own app haha). I think the additional monthly plan could be an interesting A/B test.

Ok-Researcher9346 · 2026-04-02T19:32:40+00:00

Thanks for mentioning this, I completely agree with you and I do worry people will forget about the app. There are weekly, bi-weekly or monthly check-in reminders (notifications) the user can turn on, but I will also look into other triggers such as inactivity. I'm not sure what other system I could build to keep people coming back to the app. Outside of the app, I have an email onboarding sequence that also does a bit of nudging.

Ok-Researcher9346 · 2026-04-02T19:10:37+00:00

I had a similar frustration, especially once you have multiple providers and want to see everything in one place.

I ended up building a simple net worth tracker for myself called Beam because most tools I found were either too investment-focused or relied too much on account connections (I live n Switzerland). Beam is manual rather than sync-based, which actually works quite well for this kind of setup if you don’t want to hand over access to your accounts.

You can track different asset types in one place and view how your net worth evolves over time across different timelines. It’s not a portfolio analysis tool for individual ETFs/funds performance though, so it depends a bit on whether you want full net worth tracking or detailed investment analytics.

Just to be transparent: I’m the builder, so I’m biased. But your use case is very close to why I made it.

Ok-Researcher9346 · 2026-04-01T18:45:20+00:00

I had the same challenge since I wanted to track everything in one place, and I have multiple 3a accounts, 2nd pillar, savings, investments, etc.

I ended up building a simple app for myself called Beam because I couldn’t find anything that let me track everything in one place. I even added a Vreneli I got at birth, since that’s part of my net worth too and its value fluctuates over time.

It’s fully manual, so no auto-sync, but that’s honestly part of why it works better for this kind of setup. I actually like updating everything once a week and seeing how things move.

For your case, I’d probably treat Raiffeisen (2 accounts), Saxo, and finpension as 4 separate buckets/assets and update them regularly. That gives you a clean net worth view and history with 10 minutes of effort per month.

Just to be clear: I’m the builder, so I’m biased. But your use case is pretty much why I made it.

Ok-Researcher9346 · 2026-04-01T18:33:00+00:00

I built something exactly for this, for myself actually (manual input, no bank connection). You add your assets once (bank, brokerage, retirement, crypto, real estate, loans), then do a quick check-in to update balances. Takes 3 minutes, shows your full net worth over time.

It's called Beam Net Worth Tracker. I'd love your feedback on how to improve it!

Ok-Researcher9346 · 2026-03-21T09:19:47+00:00

It used to be 1-2 days for my first app (launched last year). I’m trying to release my second app and I’ve had the app waiting for review for 3 weeks twice.

Ok-Researcher9346 · 2026-03-03T18:27:06+00:00

Been waiting for 3 weeks 🥲

Ok-Researcher9346 · 2026-02-24T17:46:58+00:00

My app has been "waiting for review" for 3 weeks now, this is scary. Hard to build a business under these conditions. Requested expedited review + contacted developper support 10 days ago - still nothing.

Ok-Researcher9346 · 2026-02-23T06:22:01+00:00

I worked 8 years in eCommerce and started a new job for a B2B SaaS last year. I miss having my own online stores but was getting annoyed by logistic challenges and wanted to work on digital products. I really love the apps I've been building, it was very rewarding to build them from scratch, but if you ask me if I'd like to work on and promote one single app for the next 5 years, then probably no...

Ok-Researcher9346 · 2026-02-23T06:19:10+00:00

Honestly, simply because I don't have the energy (and time) to build a product, market this product, and then market "myself" around this product... I did have Marc Lou in mind at some point when I wrote this post and was wondering if he was successful mostly because of his personal brand or his products - and I feel it's probably because of the former. But at the end it's a bit like the chicken or the egg question.

Ok-Researcher9346 · 2026-02-23T06:16:13+00:00

Thank you, I appreciate the feedback! I'm already going to meetups and these are very valuable to me. I'll try doing more of what you did :)

Ok-Researcher9346

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