The Budget Category Problem

One element that can make budgeting difficult is how to have personalized categories that fit you, not everyone else.

Pennytext.us is different then the rest because of our unique chat-based interface that allows users to easily set up their categories to best suit their needs. Now, I know many apps allow users to create any budget category they want... but ours learns from the user and can interpret categories. This user-friendly feature makes budgeting more accessible and convenient.

Why is category interpretation so important to me?

Well, early on in our marriage, I tried using an online tool called Mint to help us budget. I remember it was popular at the time as a free, easy way to sync up bank accounts and track spending.

But, I rapidly grew frustrated with the app. It categorized all my spending into these hyper-specific spending areas... did the app really need to label an item "Winter Coat Purchases"? That's an exaggeration of course, but I do remember it that I had to login every day and fix almost every single purchase so that it matched my categories.

Other problems arose as certain bills were every other month. Within a few months, my tracking was completely chaotic. Instead of financial clarify, I experienced the opposite. That led me to giving up on the website entirely. (Note: I will post a review of Mint's current app in a future post).

What sets Pennytext.us apart from other financial management tools is our use of AI to help with categorizing. For example, let's say you go to In 'n Out for lunch with a friend. You type "in 'n out 21", and our system does the rest. It checks your categories, and finds that you have a restaurant category with 200$ set aside for the month. It notifies you, saying "Thanks! I see you spent 21$ at In 'n Out, which fits in your restaurant category. You've got 179$ remaining this month. Enjoy the burger; stay the course on your goal!"

I'm really excited to share this with the world because I know that it works. Using AI to help categorize purchases is just one way to make budgeting intuitive and easy. I'm looking forward to share more with you, including some of the program's other details in future posts and as we launch.

All for now 😁,

-Kevin