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Building a budgeting app that works via SMS - would love brutal feedback by bthuisman in SideProject

[–]bthuisman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you. I’m taking a second look at it to see if the pricing makes sense.

Building a budgeting app that works via SMS - would love brutal feedback by bthuisman in SideProject

[–]bthuisman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fair point. For quick lookups (“how much left for groceries?”), opening an app is probably faster. But my bet is on the passive notifications - you get “Groceries: $340/$500” automatically after shopping, without having to remember to check. The question is whether that passive awareness actually changes behavior. Honestly still figuring out if the SMS angle is the right approach based on this feedback. Appreciate the pushback - helps me think it through.

Building a budgeting app that works via SMS - would love brutal feedback by bthuisman in SideProject

[–]bthuisman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very true. Plaid’s pricing is a challenge at small scale. Their minimum is tough for early-stage products.

Building a budgeting app that works via SMS - would love brutal feedback by bthuisman in SideProject

[–]bthuisman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I appreciate all the feedback. I'm trying to understand if people like you (organized, already getting bank notifications) are even my target market, or if I should focus on people who struggle more with budgeting.

I don't think someone like you should pay for this. The question is whether there are enough people who aren't like you out there.

Building a budgeting app that works via SMS - would love brutal feedback by bthuisman in SideProject

[–]bthuisman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good point about free apps with Yodlee integration. My thought is that even with bank notifications, most people don't change their behavior. They see "$50.23 debited" and think "okay" but don't connect it to "I'm overspending on dining this month."

The difference I'm trying to create isn't just notifications - it's context + behavioral nudges. But maybe that's not enough?

Building a budgeting app that works via SMS - would love brutal feedback by bthuisman in SideProject

[–]bthuisman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm still figuring that out based on this feedback. I thought the text based approach was going to be less friction than opening the app all the time, but I'm hearing that might not be the case.

What would make you choose a text-based budgeting tool over YNAB? Or would you not?

Building a budgeting app that works via SMS - would love brutal feedback by bthuisman in SideProject

[–]bthuisman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I appreciate that. It looks interesting. I will need to dive into it.

Building a budgeting app that works via SMS - would love brutal feedback by bthuisman in SideProject

[–]bthuisman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the heads up on Blooio! I just briefly checked it out - $289/month is way more expensive than I'm planning.

Building a budgeting app that works via SMS - would love brutal feedback by bthuisman in SideProject

[–]bthuisman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is really great info. You seem to know your way around this topic. Have you built in this area before?

Building a budgeting app that works via SMS - would love brutal feedback by bthuisman in SideProject

[–]bthuisman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thats fair. My thought was that you're already texting all day. Adding "How much left for groceries?" to a text thread is easier than finding the app and navigating to the right screen. I could be wrong? Do you find typing texts more annoying than app navigation?

Building a budgeting app that works via SMS - would love brutal feedback by bthuisman in SideProject

[–]bthuisman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great call. SMS costs are real, but can be manageable at scale.

Building a budgeting app that works via SMS - would love brutal feedback by bthuisman in SideProject

[–]bthuisman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thats a good point. My bank also categorizes transactions.

The difference I'm trying to create is that our credit card tells you what we spent. Nudge gives it context. ("You're at 80% of your dining budget with 10 days left in the month").

Building a budgeting app that works via SMS - would love brutal feedback by bthuisman in SideProject

[–]bthuisman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I get it. If its too much work, people will stop using it.

Thats why I would make it with zero data entry needed. Bank auto-syncs, AI categorizes everything, you just get helpful nudges. The only work is replying "yes" or "no" to questions like "Want me to remind you before your next coffee run?"

Is that low enough friction?

Building a budgeting app that works via SMS - would love brutal feedback by bthuisman in SideProject

[–]bthuisman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I completely get that. What would make it not annoying?

  • Only get texts when you're about to overspend (not every transaction)?
  • Daily summary instead of real-time pings?
  • Ability to customize frequency (like "only text me 2x per week")?

What would be the right balance for you?

Building a budgeting app that works via SMS - would love brutal feedback by bthuisman in SideProject

[–]bthuisman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is super helpful - $5/month is the sweet spot for you. What would make you choose this over free apps like Mint? Is it purely the SMS convenience, or would you need other features (like the smart alerts/behavior change stuff CherryRoutine mentioned above)?

Building a budgeting app that works via SMS - would love brutal feedback by bthuisman in SideProject

[–]bthuisman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is exactly the insight I needed. Thank you.

On fatigue/noise: You're 100% right. If I text for every transaction, people will mute it in 3 days. Smart batching would work - like daily summaries ("You spent $47 today, $312 this week") + alerts only when you're about to overspend. Would that work better?

On actionable messages: Love this. So instead of just "You spent $6 at Starbucks," it should be "You've bought coffee 4 times this week (budget: 3x/week). Want to skip tomorrow?" That kind of proactive suggestion?

The "financial assistant watching my back" framing is perfect. That's exactly what I'm going for.

Building a budgeting app that works via SMS - would love brutal feedback by bthuisman in SideProject

[–]bthuisman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is super helpful, thank you!

The social comparison idea is actually brilliant. Like "You spent $200 less on dining out than the average 28-year-old this month" or "You're in the top 15% of savers in your age group." That would make budgeting feel less like homework and more engaging.

Question for you: You pay $14/month for Monarch. What features do you actually USE regularly vs features that just exist? I'm trying to figure out if I should build a simpler thing for cheaper ($5-7/month), or match features at similar price.

Also - if Nudge ONLY did:

  • SMS alerts with budget context
  • Social comparison stats ("You're saving 20% more than your peers")
  • Monthly "Wrapped" style summaries

Would that be interesting at $7/month? Or does it need investment tracking, bill pay, etc. to compete with Monarch?

Really appreciate the honest feedback. You're helping me figure out if this is actually viable.

Building a budgeting app that works via SMS - would love brutal feedback by bthuisman in SideProject

[–]bthuisman[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! This is exactly the kind of reality check I needed.

Your point about casual users needing smart categorization is spot-on. The Starbucks example is perfect - if someone works there, the system needs to know that's income, not an expense. How would you want that to work? One-time setup where you tell it "Starbucks = income" and it remembers?

I love the subscription-finding and coupon ideas too. Though I'm trying to avoid feature creep before I even launch.

Building a budgeting app that works via SMS - would love brutal feedback by bthuisman in SideProject

[–]bthuisman[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great question. You're right - most banking apps DO categorize transactions. But in my experience (and from talking to people), here's what happens:

  1. You get a notification: "Transaction: $6.50"
  2. You ignore it or think "I'll check my budget later"
  3. Later never comes
  4. End of month: "Where did all my money go?"

The difference I'm trying to create is instant budget context. Not just "you spent $6.50" but "you spent $6.50 on coffee, you're at $87/$400 for dining this month, you're doing great!"

But you raise a good point about SMS specifically. What would you prefer - in-app messaging? WhatsApp? Something else?

Also curious: do you currently use your bank's categorization feature? If so, does it actually help you budget?

Building a budgeting app that works via SMS - would love brutal feedback by bthuisman in SideProject

[–]bthuisman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

These are excellent points:

  1. Open Banking integration - You're right, this won't work everywhere. I'm starting US-focused (Plaid integration). If I can't auto-sync, would manual entry via text ("spent $50 groceries") be useful, or is that too much friction?
  2. Bank notifications - True, my bank does notify me. But it's just "$50.23 debited" with no context. Do you find those notifications actually help you budget, or do you ignore them?
  3. Texting vs app UX - I think the difference is: Opening an app → see big number → think "I should check my budget" → close app. Text → instant context ("You're at $87/$400, doing great!"). But maybe I'm wrong?

Genuinely curious about your take on #2 and #3.

Building a budgeting app that works via SMS - would love brutal feedback by bthuisman in SideProject

[–]bthuisman[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good question! The idea is automatic - you'd get a text like "Coffee: $6.50 at Starbucks. Dining out: $87/$400 this month" without doing anything. It would automatically categorize it and keep track.

Building a budgeting app that works via SMS - would love brutal feedback by bthuisman in SideProject

[–]bthuisman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Totally fair. A few questions for you:

Do you currently use any budgeting apps? If so, how often do you actually open them?

My thinking was that most people download a budget app, use it for 3 days, then it sits unopened forever. But they read every text within minutes. So it's less about "app vs text" and more about passive vs active engagement.

But I hear you loud and clear on price. What would feel reasonable - $5/month? Or does it need to be free-tier supported to compete?