Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login
Ask HN: Would an app for cross-border collaborative family budgeting be useful?
5 points by coderKen 5 months ago | hide | past | favorite | 3 comments
I have an idea born from a problem I experienced. Coming from a poorer country and now living in Western Europe, I regularly send money back home to support my family. Fortunately, my brothers, whom I mentored to be good programmers, have joined me here, easing the financial burden as we contribute equally to the funds sent back home.

To manage our contributions, we use an Excel spreadsheet to track expenses, discussing the cost of items in the comments section. We adjust these costs monthly, either increasing, decreasing, or carrying them over to the next month. Over the past five years, we've accumulated about 60 months of data through this budgeting process.

I want to build an app to help us manage our finances better. This app would allow us to track expense trends, collaborate on specific expenses, and even have a voting system for decisions. My brothers and I live in different parts of the city, and some of my siblings still live in my home country. We collaborate online using the spreadsheet, so the app could also include a conference calling feature for more effective communication.

I have yet to see an app that addresses our specific needs. Most solutions are geared towards significant corporate expenses, single individuals, or family budgets.

Before coding, I'd love to know if others face similar challenges. Does this solution sound useful to you? Your feedback would be greatly appreciated!




This would apply to lots of people all over the world. Even to well to do people who come from different parts of the world and need to maintain family assets back home.


How would that work if you didn't have any brothers to collaborate?

Not quite clear to me what's the benefit over a single spreadsheet.


Skip the conference calling feature




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: