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 🤘Nov 17, 2022
@elazar @BeeTurland what’s the concept behind it? I’ve also noodled with a similar idea.
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 Turland

@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.

Nov 17, 2022 at 9:24pmWeb