Why you wouldn’t use a personal finance tool, and why you wouldn’t pay for one
A few months ago I started building Bertly with one goal in mind: giving users more financial sovereignty.
From day one, the product had to stand on three pillars:
• Open‑source, so anyone can audit or improve the code.
• End‑to‑end encryption on the device (E2EE), so your financial data stays yours.
• Adaptability, so the tool can follow you through different stages of life.
I didn’t look at competitors at first. In Europe, there isn’t much happening in this space. In the US, tools like Monarch or YNAB are well‑established. Recently I’ve seen a wave of indie devs in Spain and a few projects on Reddit trying similar things, which is great.
But it made me ask myself two simple questions:
- What makes someone not use a personal finance tool?
- And what makes someone not pay for one?
These questions matter more than “how to build the tool” or “how to market it”. They go straight to the heart of adoption and value.
What is your answer?
Hey,. I’m speaking with a few early-stage builders to understand how they go about validating their ideas and what they find difficult.
Would you be open to a quick chat about your experience? building something around
The two questions are more interesting than the usual “what feature should I build?” discussion. Curious what answers you get from people who have actually tried and abandoned finance tools.