PerCent

PerCent: Uncover the Worth of Every Cent! Personalized Insights, Cost-Cutting Tips, and the Latest Financial News at Your Fingertips!

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PerCent - Your Personal Finance Partner

Inspiration

As international students, we quickly realized how challenging it can be to manage finances independently, especially when we were used to having our parents oversee it. After talking with peers, we found that this struggle was common among local students moving out and young professionals starting corporate jobs. To help everyone achieve their financial goals, we created PerCent.

What it Does

PerCent helps users set and track financial goals, both short-term (monthly savings) and long-term. Using transaction data, the app provides users with real-time insights on how close or far they are from reaching their goals each month.

For personalized financial guidance, PerCent includes an interactive chatbot that not only addresses general finance questions but also provides personalized insights based on the user's transaction history. This gives users clear advice on where they can cut costs to save more.

Additional features like course recommendations and a news feed help users stay informed about personal finance trends and tools.

How We Built It

We built PerCent using a stack that includes React Native, Express, Redis, PostgreSQL, and React, along with Hugging Face for natural language processing in the chatbot. With two team members, we divided frontend and backend tasks, allowing us to work efficiently and implement our features effectively.

Challenges We Faced

Early on, we encountered technical difficulties: one teammate’s laptop stopped working, and we couldn’t find a substitute. We adapted by sharing a single laptop, constantly switching back and forth to continue our work, which added an unexpected layer of fun and teamwork to the process.

Additionally, we faced compatibility issues with Expo and React Native. Midway through development, we discovered that a recent update changed the routing methods, requiring us to modify a significant portion of our code.

Accomplishments We’re Proud Of

We’re proud of reaching this stage despite our technical challenges. Implementing nearly all of our planned features is an accomplishment that reinforces our dedication and teamwork.

What We Learned

We learned the value of resilience and efficient time management in a high-stakes setting. This hackathon taught us a lot about the hackathon culture, networking, and collaboration, making it a valuable learning experience.

What’s Next for PerCent

Looking ahead, we envision a family integration feature where families can set and work towards a common financial goal together, fostering a collaborative approach to saving and financial planning.

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