I'm a financial analyst who couldn't manage his own money. So I built the budgeting tool that was missing.
I know how that sounds. I work with financial data professionally — and for years, I couldn't keep my own household budget together for more than two months in a row.
It wasn't for lack of trying. I went through all the "major" apps. They all do roughly the same thing — connect to your bank via Plaid, auto-categorize everything, give you charts. Sounds great on paper. In practice, two things kept happening:
The auto-categorization wasn't done the way I'd like. I didn't get any "actionable insights" at the micro-level from the fancy charts. And because everything was automated, I'd stop checking in. The app was "handling it." Except it wasn't — it was just collecting data I wasn't looking at.
So I'd go back to spreadsheets. Download my bank's CSV, build formulas, categorize manually. This actually worked — I understood where every dollar went. But it took time I didn't have. One busy month and I'd fall behind. Two months and I'd give up. Then start the whole cycle over.
No one had built the middle ground. You either hand your bank credentials to an app and let it do everything (badly), or you open a blank spreadsheet and do everything yourself (unsustainably).
So I started building OpBoard.io
What it does:
You export a CSV from your bank (every US bank lets you do this — takes 30 seconds). You drag it into OpBoard. It uses AI-suggested keywords to auto-categorize your transactions into your expense categories.
But here's the key difference: you define the keywords. You control the categories. You see every transaction and can override anything. The AI suggests — you decide. Next month, when you import again, your keywords remember everything. The more you use it, the less work there is.
No bank login. No Plaid. No one touches your accounts.
Why I think this works:
Budgeting apps fail because they remove you from the process. Spreadsheets fail because they dump the entire process on you. OpBoard automates the tedious part (pattern matching transactions to categories) while keeping you in the loop on everything else.
I've been using it myself for months and it's the first time I've actually stayed consistent. If you've been through the app-spreadsheet-give-up cycle, you know that's not a low bar.
Where it's at:
Live at opboard.io. Free beta — no credit card. Solo founder, built nights and weekends with Next.js and Supabase.
It's probably not going to replace YNAB for people who love YNAB. But if you wanted spreadsheet control without spreadsheet maintenance — or you just don't want to give Plaid your bank password — You'll find it useful.
Would love feedback from this community. Beta key: OPBETA-PH-50
The scratch your own itch angle is a great way to build. If you felt the pain yourself you'll know when the solution actually works, and if it works for you, probably there will be other people who will also benefit.
The no-Plaid approach is underrated too. A lot of people are uncomfortable connecting bank credentials to third party apps and that's a real segment you can own.
Curious about your next steps on the insight side. The data collection part is solved, the harder problem is telling someone what to actually do with what they're looking at. I'm also a financial analyst and feel very confortable analyzing financial data and charts but for a lot of people that task might be time consuming and not worth it. Are you planning to move in that direction? the insight side i mean.
The "no bank login, CSV-based, user stays in control" philosophy resonates — it's exactly how I think about this problem too.
I've been building something similar but for a different market: Israeli freelancers and small business owners. Same core idea — privacy-first, no signup, everything stays in the browser. The big difference is it's built around local bank CSV formats and Hebrew UX, because that market has nothing like this.
Curious whether you've seen international demand for OpBoard, or are you keeping it US-focused for now?
The app-spreadsheet-give-up cycle is real and you've named it perfectly.
The insight that resonates most is "automation removes you from the process." I think that's actually the root cause of why most budgeting apps fail — not the features, not the UI, but the psychological distance they create. When the app is "handling it," your brain opts out.
I took a slightly different angle when I built mine — no CSV import at all, fully manual entry by design. At first that felt like a limitation, but it turned out to be the point. The 30 seconds it takes to log a $42 dinner is where the awareness actually happens. You can't outsource that moment without losing the whole benefit.
Curious how OpBoard users are responding to the CSV workflow — do they find the monthly export habit easy to maintain, or do you see the same drop-off after a couple of months that kills most budgeting tools?
That cycle you described (app automates everything, you stop checking, spreadsheet, burn out, repeat) is so real.
I went through the same thing with industry news monitoring. What I noticed is that the "AI suggests, you decide" step still requires you to show up every time. The moment life gets busy that's the first thing you skip.
Did you think about a mode where it just runs with your rules and only pings you when something looks off? Like a "I trust my past self's setup, just flag the weird stuff" option.
This resonates a lot.
I’ve seen the same pattern with people who understand finance perfectly in theory, but still feel disconnected from their own money in practice.
It’s rarely about missing features — it’s about control, trust, and clarity.
Curious: was there a specific moment where you realized spreadsheets and existing apps were actively making things worse, not better?
Thanks for the comment. The moment I realized something needed to be done was when I couldn't have a productive money conversation with my wife. Spreadsheet takes too long to maintain that I don't update it often enough. Apps are somewhat hard to understand at the beginning and don't fit my situation, especially when my primary interest is understanding the cash flow, not my wealth or liability. My product may not satisfy everyone, but I believe it could really hit in the niche.
That’s a great example.
Teams are one of those features that signal seriousness more than they actually solve a core problem for early users. They look important on a roadmap, but for most individuals they add complexity before there’s real leverage.
I’ve noticed that once founders clearly define who the product is not for, decisions like this get much easier. Did cutting teams change how you thought about your ideal first user, or did that clarity come first?
Your tool reminded me of a popular tool we have in France called "Finary". It's tracks your budget but also your investments (stocks, etc). You should look into it.
Thank you, I'll take a look! My primary focus, however, is the cash flow and budget to help track expenses clearly. That's where I feel like major apps are overbuilt. But I could definitely expand it to that level if there's demand!
love the "scratch your own itch" angle. literally the best way to build something people want - be the person who wants it lol
im doing something similar. i wanted a daily cryptic crossword that wasnt the nyt or some janky web app, so i built one (wordplay). wanted personalized horoscope content without the generic garbage, so i built that too (astrologica). wanted to listen to articles without paying speechify 140 bucks a year, so built speakeasy
the financial analyst building a budgeting tool is peak irony but also makes total sense. you know exactly what the existing tools get wrong because youve probably tried all of them
how are you handling the monetization? subscription or one-time? thats always the hardest decision for solo tools imo
Thanks for the comment. I think it makes sense to go with subscription because I'll continue to upgrade my product instead of just handing it over to customers and leave them. I also plan to take users' feedback and make improvements. I think these justify the use of subscription.
This really resonates. I had the same cycle — apps made me passive, spreadsheets made me quit after a few weeks.
The “AI suggests, you decide” approach feels like the right balance. One suggestion: add a simple monthly summary that highlights 1–2 unusual spending changes — that’s usually the trigger that keeps people consistent.
The no-Plaid angle is also a huge trust win.
Thank you, and that's a good idea! I will definitely add something like that in the nearest future!
The CSV approach is smart too. Privacy-conscious users will choose slight friction over handing credentials to third parties every time. Your retention insight from earlier comments is spot on - most tracking apps fail because people stop engaging after the novelty fades. Keeping users in the loop with decisions seems key to long-term stickiness.
Thanks for the comment. In addition to the privacy issue, sometimes bank connection gets disconnected when there's a change from the bank's side. It gets frustrated when there's no manual way to import transaction in that gap period. My product, on the other hand, is built to prevent duplicate line import, so the users can choose a wide range of dates and import only what's missing in the system.
I really like the positioning:
“AI suggests. You decide.”
That’s the hook.
A short product video showing the exact workflow (drag CSV → categorize → refine → repeat faster next month) would instantly differentiate you from Plaid-based apps.
I create UI-driven SaaS videos that clarify this kind of subtle but important difference. Happy to collaborate if you're open to it.
Thank you for the comment. Video is really a powerful tool to get anyone up to speed. I already have a video but will consider a remake when I make a major visual/design updates.
Sure. I will love to redesign your video. can we connect over LinkedIn, So that i can share some of my previous client work and also for future reference
How do you ensure that process is automated? Do you need to keep adding CSVs on a monthly basis to so that it keeps you updated?
Adding CSV's can happen at any frequency, though I'm guessing the active users will probably do it about once a week (like on Sunday night). It's not 100% automated in terms of feeding data although I tried to make it easy by not allowing duplicate lines to be imported.
Since this product is positioned as privacy-first, no bank credential application, I won't automate that at this point. But if there's demand from users on getting Plaid or other connectors, I'm planning to add that as a more premium plan, which will be an optional feature for those who want automation over privacy.
The automation at this stage is mostly on Categorizing based on Keywords. Once you have a good set of keywords/categories, they will capture most of recurring transactions and put them in the right bucket even with the new data. Any uncategorized data would mean the user did something new, which is worth a look anyway.
The app-spreadsheet-give-up cycle is so real. I've been through it probably four times in the last three years. Download CSV, spend an evening setting up formulas, feel productive for two weeks, then life gets busy and the whole system collapses.
Your keyword memory approach is clever. That's basically the part of spreadsheet budgeting that actually works (you learning your own patterns) minus the part that doesn't (rebuilding the whole thing every month). The fact that it gets easier over time instead of staying the same amount of work is a big deal for retention.
One thought — have you considered letting users share keyword sets? Like if someone already mapped out all the common Venmo/Zelle description patterns, that'd save the next person a bunch of setup time. Could be a nice community flywheel without touching anyone's actual financial data.
Also the no-Plaid angle is underrated. I know devs who refuse to use Mint/Copilot specifically because of the bank credential thing. That's a real segment you can own.
Thanks for sharing your thought. That's actually very clever. I have a pre-built category/merchant mix that the users can start with even before their CSV's get imported, but that won't catch all the edgy transaction descriptions. I will definitely consider creating a preset of category/keyword combo.
Really like the “AI suggests, you decide” approach — that middle ground makes a lot of sense. Curious if you’re planning insights like simple monthly summaries or spending patterns based on the custom categories?
Thank you. Monthly summaries are already built, but the spending pattern is underway. While the spending pattern can be "seen" by the user through applying a couple of filters, I'm exploring a summary in text (powered by AI) or in graphics.
Love the approach here - the CSV export angle is smart for privacy-conscious users. As a solo founder myself, I've found that managing personal budgets is just one piece of the puzzle. The real stress comes from not knowing your business runway. I built a simple tool called Runway Rocket specifically for indie hackers to track how many months they can survive without revenue. It's the anxiety-reducer I wish I had when I started. Search 'Runway Rocket runway calculator' if you want to check it out. Would love your take as a financial analyst!
That's really interesting. I wonder what defines as "survive" because some businesses can finance their expenses more than others to keep the operation running. The bandwidth of tolerance seems like a key to consider.
The "middle ground" insight is spot on. Most personal finance tools swing too far in either direction — either they're black boxes that auto-categorize everything (badly) or they're blank spreadsheets that require too much maintenance.
The CSV export approach is underrated. Yes, it's slightly more friction than Plaid, but it solves the trust issue completely. People are way more comfortable uploading a file than handing over bank credentials.
Curious: what's your retention looking like so far? The biggest challenge I see with budgeting tools is that people churn after 2-3 months once the novelty wears off. Have you found anything that keeps users engaged long-term?
OpBoard is still in early stage, so I'll have to wait for retention rate.
The beautiful part, in my honest opinion, is that users can always come back when they want, and import csv's to see how they did in the months they were away! The existing transactions are prevented from being imported, so they can just download with the Year-To-Date or whatever convenient data range they go with.
But thanks for the question. I will build something to reward their consistency.
Great insight on the retention challenge - I think the novelty wears off because people don't see the consequence of their budgeting. They track spending but miss the 'when do I run out of money' signal. I built a simple tool called Runway Rocket that shows exactly how many months of financial runway you have left based on real burn rate, not just category totals. It's designed for the moment when budgeting feels pointless because you can't see the finish line. Search for Runway Rocket if you want to give users that 'aha' moment that keeps them engaged long-term.
Really resonates with the CSV workflow approach. I've been working on something similar for small business bookkeeping and the exact same insight applies — the middle ground between full automation (that miscategorizes everything) and manual spreadsheets (that nobody maintains) is where the real opportunity is.
Curious about your AI keyword categorization — how are you handling the edge cases? Like when the same merchant name shows up for both business and personal purchases, or when bank descriptions are just cryptic strings of numbers. That's where I've found most categorization tools break down. The happy path works great but real bank data is messy.
Also smart to avoid Plaid dependency. The "export CSV" workflow feels clunky but it solves so many trust and security objections. People are way more comfortable with that than handing over bank credentials.
Thank you for the comment.
For those edge cases, I advise/allow users to identify and define what those are based on what they see on their bank lines. There are "ugly" descriptions, but as long as it has a recurring component within them, they should be able to set up their own keyword.
In OpBoard, AI Suggestions are more like for low-hanging keywords. I found that it gets chaotic when I let the AI suggests outside the strict rules I set. Until AI gets as smart as human in terms of cognitive intuition, I intend to keep it this way.