Matthew TurlandNov 17, 2022

Last year, after looking at solutions in the space and deciding none jived with me, I built a #PersonalFinance management app in #PHP.

@BeeTurland and I have been using it for nearly a year now. It's been a great help, but could still be a lot better. And, while it works, the source code is also a bit of a mess.

Now that the overall concept has born out as useful, I want to rewrite it, and ideally release it as #OSS. And I think I'd rather not do it alone.

Anyone interested in collaborating?

Show threadChris⚡️Arter 🤘
@elazar @BeeTurland what’s the concept behind it? I’ve also noodled with a similar idea.
Nov 17, 2022 at 8:13pmWeb
Show threadMatthew TurlandNov 17, 2022
@chrisarter In short, we use it to track expenses (e.g. what's cleared or outstanding), to coordinate spending, and to know what funds we have available in our checking account and credit cards at any given time. It gives us more confidence of affordability anytime we consider a purchase.
Show threadChris⚡️Arter 🤘Nov 17, 2022
@elazar this sounds a lot like Simple, which is now gone after getting bought out (RIP) and I’ve been looking for something similar but nothing exists. It told you what you had “free to spend” based on upcoming bills and other automations and had little wallets for each bill.
Show threadMatthew TurlandNov 17, 2022

@chrisarter Not that familiar with Simple, but yeah, it does sound pretty similar. 🙂

Something like recurring transactions and/or templated batches of transactions (e.g. to make paying a bunch of bills at once easier) was a feature addition I had in mind.

Another possibility is integration with something like Plaid for potentially more real-time data and to minimize data entry required by the user.

Show threadMatthew TurlandNov 17, 2022
@chrisarter I also wanted to build this piece-wise: library, backend service, mobile web frontend. Would make usage in custom applications, custom backend integrations, and custom clients all possible.
Show threadMatthew TurlandNov 17, 2022

@chrisarter I drew from past experiences using ledger when building the first iteration of this.

https://matthewturland.com/2014/03/29/ledger-basics-and-habits/

Compared to ledger, my iteration is relatively simplified in a number of ways (e.g. no hierarchical category support, no currency exchange support, transactions only support two postings, etc).

I'm hoping to make it more robust in terms of feature offerings, ideally in an iterative fashion so that a first version can be delivered to prospective users sooner.

Ledger Basics and Habits - Matthew Turland

I thought I'd take a blog post to talk about some basics of using ledger and some of the habits I've cultivated in my own usage of it.

Show threadMatthew TurlandNov 17, 2022

@chrisarter With regards to the backend, I was thinking of starting by creating an OpenAPI specification, as that can be then used to generate documentation, to handle validating requests and responses, and to generate structured client libraries in other languages, among other things. 🙂

As you can probably tell, I have no shortage of ideas for this project. I just have limited time and energy that I can devote to it. It would progress further and faster if I had help to design and build it.

Show threadJessica Nov 18, 2022

@chrisarter @elazar didn't Simple get bought like over a year ago?

I switched to Monarch Money when that happened, and I use it with Wealthfront and One.

Show threadMatthew TurlandNov 18, 2022
@jessicamauerhan @chrisarter Interesting. Can't say that I've heard of any of these. Monarch definitely looks better than the UI I built myself. 😅 I'd be curious to hear more about your experiences with all of these solutions, though. I think I may still pursue this project, though, for those that want a self-hosted / #OSS solution.
Show threadJessica Nov 18, 2022

@elazar One Finance and Wealthfront are banking institutions, but both offer features I liked from Simple.

After my frustrations with Simple shutting down, I also tried Aspiration Bank, but they had a data breach and didn't disclose it, then I decided to diversify even my checking/savings.

Show threadMatthew TurlandNov 18, 2022
@jessicamauerhan Gotcha. Do you think you might have use for the sort of project I'm proposing, depending on what features it offers? On that subject, what features would you find useful that you either use regularly with these providers or wish they had?
Show threadJessica Nov 18, 2022
@elazar I'll think on it and see if I have any ideas for features - I think I'm just not your target audience because I would rather use a hosted product for something like this.
Show threadMatthew TurlandNov 18, 2022
@jessicamauerhan That's fair, though the nice thing about a self-hosted solution is that you can pay someone else to host it for you. 😉
Show threadJessica Nov 18, 2022

@elazar A self-hosted solution is a great idea, but does that allow you to automatically pull data from all your accounts?

That's one of the things I really like about Monarch, is I linked all my accounts via Plaid.

Wealthfront has one feature I wish Monarch did, which is projecting how big events will affect when I can retire - for example, when we decided to move, I entered the projected home sale / purchase into Wealthfront, and it showed me what would happen to my ability to retire at 65.

Show threadMatthew TurlandNov 18, 2022
@jessicamauerhan My first iteration didn't because I wanted to keep it simple. I keep running into mention of Plaid, though, and if it's possible to use it on an individual basis (which I think it is), we could look at integrating with it to have more automation.
Show threadMatthew TurlandNov 18, 2022
@jessicamauerhan Insofar as retirement calculators of that sort, I don't know that I could say they'd be a feature for a v1, but it's possible. One thing I definitely want is for this thing to be extensible, so people can easily add functionality via plugins or what have you.