WiseWallet

A personal finance tool for flexible budget management

WiseWallet is a mobile budgeting tool designed for young adults with tight budgets who need more control than existing apps provide. I recruited and led a three-person team through this project.

While we collaborated on overall design direction, I focused on the core budgeting feature– including a budget reallocation tool that allows users to adjust multiple categories simultaneously. Raksha led onboarding, and Anna specialized in data visualization and documentation.

Timeline
Sep - Dec 2024

Team
3 Designers / Researchers

Industry
Fintech

Outcomes

72% improvement in comprehension

Reduced user confusion from 6/7 to 1/7 through transparency features

Validated budget reallocation feature

Simultaneous multi-category adjustment addresses a key gap in competitor apps

Background

Overspending & Manual Tracking

Despite widespread availability of digital budgeting tools, over 80% of Americans continue to overspend their monthly budgets (Marder, 2023). Millions rely on spreadsheets to manually manage their finances (Mehta, 2024). This gap particularly affects young people and lower-income individuals who need maximum control over tight budgets.

Problem Statement

Existing budgeting apps either oversimplify (limiting flexibility) or require too much manual effort (like spreadsheets). Current solutions force users to adjust budget categories one at a time, requiring mental math to maintain balanced budgets. When unexpected expenses occur, reallocating funds becomes tedious and error-prone.

User Research

Survey: 54 Respondents

I conducted a survey to understand budgeting behaviors and pain points at scale.

User Interviews: 16 Participants

Lack of flexibility: Users couldn't easily adjust budgets when unexpected expenses arose, forcing them to either overspend or do complex mental math

Poor categorization: Bank apps provided categories that didn't match how users thought about their spending

Time burden: Manual tracking took too long, causing users to abandon their budgets

Key Insight:

Users want automated basics, with granular control when needed, especially when reallocating funds between categories.

Defining Core Features

Survey: 54 Respondents

Based on research findings, I identified three design requirements that would differentiate WiseWallet from existing solutions:


Based on research, I identified three design requirements:

Simplify and automate: Reduce manual entry through bank account linking
Personalize with flexibility: Allow users to adjust budgets easily in real-time
Educate through insights: Provide spending pattern analysis


These requirements translated into four key features:

  • Bank account linking for automatic transactions

  • Flexible budget creation and adjustment with real-time reallocation

  • Spending insights to identify patterns

  • Transaction categorization with manual override

Low Fidelity Designs

I created initial wireframes focusing on the core budget management flow, then conducted quick concept testing with 5 users to identify usability issues early.

Issue #1: Redundant Navigation

Problem: We assumed four tabs was the standard, but users couldn’t understand the difference between dashboard and plan

Solution: Consolidated to three tabs with clear purposes (Budget, Transactions, Insights)

Issue #2: Confusing Visuals

Problem: We wanted to include many graphics that aided understanding, but users found it unnecessary and confusing

Solution: Simplified to essential data visualizations only

Feature #3: Smart Recommendations

Problem: Users wanted to know how auto-generated numbers were determined and disliked not being able to edit

Solution: Made all calculations transparent and editable, with clear explanations of how defaults were determined

Key Takeaway from Lo-Fi Testing:

Users valued simplicity in data visualizations, automation in budget generation, and flexibility in editing suggested limits and categories.

Final Designs

Key Innovation: Budget Reallocation

This is the standout feature that emerged from user feedback about "lacking flexibility" was the budget reallocation tool.

Problem: When users overspend in one category, they need to reduce spending elsewhere. Existing apps force users to adjust categories one by one.

Solution: When increasing the budget for a category, WiseWallet prompts users to select another category to decrease by the same amount—maintaining budget balance automatically.

How It Works:

  1. User increases a category (e.g., Dining: $250 → $275)

  2. Modal asks: "Change the budget of another category?"

  3. User selects which to decrease (e.g., Shopping: $150 → $125)

  4. Both changes apply simultaneously

This mirrors how people naturally think about budgeting ("If I spend more here, I need to spend less there") but no major competitor offers this functionality.

Onboarding & Budget Creation

After linking accounts, WiseWallet suggests initial budgets based on spending patterns with clear explanations. Users can immediately adjust via sliders or manual input.

Transaction Management

Transactions auto-categorize but users can manually recategorize with a tap, addressing the "poor categorization" pain point.

Reflection

Simpler is better: I initially designed four navigation tabs and explored numerous graphics thinking they'd aid understanding. Users quickly pointed out redundancies—starting with core features rather than trying to do everything at once better served their needs

Test early: Early concept testing revealed users struggled with terminology and had strong preferences for interaction patterns. Catching these issues in lo-fi saved significant time. Design is never "final"—it's continuous refinement.

Next steps: If continuing this project, I would:

  • Establish baseline metrics to quantitatively measure improvement

  • Test the reallocation feature with current spreadsheet users

  • Explore month-to-month budget carryover functionality