weBudget

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Inspiration

Inspired by the financial difficulties that many people face and the desire to help others overcome these challenges, we decided to create a finance platform called weBudget. Financial struggles can be incredibly challenging and stressful, but they can also be a powerful motivator for change. When we face financial difficulties, we may become more aware of the importance of managing our money wisely and developing healthy financial habits. This realization can inspire us to take action and seek out resources to help us improve our financial literacy and skills. For some, this may mean creating a website that offers helpful information, tools, and support to those facing similar challenges. By sharing our experiences and knowledge, we can empower others to take control of their finances and build a better financial future. This not only benefits individuals, but also contributes to a more financially literate and resilient society as a whole.

What it does

The platform is designed to connect people based on their financial struggles, offer them advice, and give them insight into their spending. It also has resources that users can access to help them learn more about managing their finances. But one of its most important use-case is that colleges can use this data that is collected in the Statistics tab to see where students are spending the most and provide support in forms such as coupons or discounts in that area.

How we built it

To build weBudget, we first researched different financial apps and platforms to understand what features and functionalities they offer. we then used this research to create a list of the key features that we wanted to include in my platform, such as a budgeting tool, a community forum, and a resource library. Using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, we built the front-end of the platform. Additionally, we integrated Capital One’s API, Nessie, with its multifaced development to help gather merchant data and help colleges see where they can support students.

Challenges we ran into

One of the main challenges we faced was ensuring that the platform was secure and that users' personal and financial information was protected. We plan to implement Nessie's API to help secure customer data. Another challenge was building a community forum that would be inclusive and supportive of all users. To achieve this, we developed a productive communication model with threads to ensure that the community remained welcoming and safe.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Some of the accomplishments we are proud of are:

Helping people improve their financial literacy: By providing informative articles, tools, and resources, a financial website can help people understand the basics of personal finance, budgeting, investing, and more. Helping people become more financially literate can be a powerful way to empower them to make better financial decisions.
Providing practical advice and guidance: A good financial website should offer actionable advice and guidance that people can use to improve their financial situation. This could include tips on saving money, reducing debt, building an emergency fund, or planning for retirement.
Building a supportive community: Financial struggles can be isolating and stressful, so building a community of people who are going through similar challenges can be incredibly valuable. A financial website that fosters a supportive community where people can share their experiences, ask questions, and offer advice can be a great accomplishment.
Making a positive impact on people's lives: Ultimately, the goal of a financial website should be to make a positive impact on people's lives. If the website is able to help people achieve their financial goals, reduce their stress, and improve their overall well-being, then that would be a great accomplishment to be proud of. Also, in the end as first-years this was more importantly a huge learning experience for us. We are still on our coding journey, learning every step of the way and are proud of our end result. We hope to continue advancing our project and our skills, especially through hackathons like this that empower us.

What we learned

Overall, building weBudget was a challenging but rewarding experience. We learned a lot about financial management, web development, and community building, and we’re proud of the platform we created to help others on their financial journey. Throughout this hackathon, we gained significant insights into establishing links between web pages and traversing through various nodes. It is noteworthy that a significant portion of our team members lacked prior experience in web development, particularly in HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. Nonetheless, we were able to broaden our knowledge and skills in these areas through our participation in this event.

What's next for weBudget

We have a forward-thinking plan for weBudget that entails leveraging the full potential of Capital One's Nessie API to extract and evaluate financial information. Our ultimate goal is to encourage students at Georgia Tech to embrace our project and explore the benefits of our website. By incorporating the Nessie API, we can enhance the functionality of weBudget and enable users to gain valuable insights into their financial data. Our vision is to establish weBudget as a useful tool that can facilitate financial planning and management among students and beyond.