Minty

launch page
create account for new minter
choose seedling for new minter
input details for new minter
home page for existing minter
view categories
add categories
add expense
Alternate cheaper options for every expenses
Reward if alternate option is chosen
friends page
view garden

💡 Inspiration

As college students, we know firsthand how hard it is to manage money. Between classes, part-time jobs, and just trying to keep up with life, we barely have time to sit down and manually track expenses in a spreadsheet or use generic budgeting apps that feel overwhelming and impersonal. But at the same time, we constantly feel like our money is disappearing—and we don’t know where it’s going.

After sending out a quick user survey, we realized this wasn’t just our problem—many people our age feel the same. They want to build better financial habits, but traditional tools are either way too complex or just don’t fit into their lives.

We wanted to make budgeting feel less like a chore and more like a game. Many young adults struggle to keep up with saving habits, not because they don’t want to save—but because it’s hard to stay consistent and motivated. We asked ourselves: What if saving money felt more like nurturing something?

That’s how Minty was born—a savings-focused app where every good financial decision helps grow your own little plant.

📱 What It Does

Minty turns budgeting into a gamified, rewarding experience. Users set savings goals across custom categories, and as they consistently track and save, their virtual plant grows. Over time, users can unlock and build an entire garden—visually representing their progress and dedication.

It keeps you and your friends using the app accountable by allowing users to visit their friends ' gardens and keep track of their progress.

Features include:

Customizable categories
Visual plant growth tied to making better financial decisions
Allows users to build gardens and also maintain a shop to personalize and accessorize their plants.
Smart spending suggestions: get lower-cost alternatives for each of your expenses and earn water droplets to grow your plant when you choose the cheaper option

🛠️ How We Built It

Figma for all app UI design and prototyping
Google Forms and user surveys to guide feature development and understand user needs
SQL and PostGreSQL to build a structured and reliable database
HTTP functions (GET, POST, PUT) to fetch and send data between the front end and the database
Axios for seamless communication between the front end and back end
Good implementation of both front-end and back-end representation through proper data flow and integration

🚧 Challenges We Ran Into

Deploying the application on a scalable server
Designing UI that was both aesthetic, intuitive, and most importantly user-friendly.
Making sure the game mechanics felt rewarding but not overwhelming
Conducting user research in a short time and synthesizing the feedback meaningfully

🏆 Accomplishments That We're Proud Of

Completed a fully designed and interactive mobile app prototype
Developed a concept that resonated deeply with ourselves and our peers—especially students aged 18–24
Created a foundational back-end to build upon
Designed an intuitive, joyful UI experience centered around positive reinforcement
Collaborated effectively as a team under time pressure and division of tasks

📚 What We Learned

How to design with user experience and psychology in mind
The power of gamification to motivate healthy habits
How to translate an idea into a polished, presentable prototype
How to successfully integrate the front-end and back-end into an interactive design
How to collaborate across disciplines—design, front-end, and back-end