For the last two months, I’ve been preparing a surprise for all my subscribers. I would like to thank each and every one of you who subscribed for financial tips. You motivate me to keep writing articles and sharing my experiences in the financial world to bring you practical and insightful tools.
The surprise? An app! BudgeBuddy is a new app that focuses on budgeting and expense splitting. It even includes features for investing the leftover funds from your monthly budget whenever you manage to save.
For now, I’ve already implemented the budgeting and splitting features. When I started this website, I wanted to offer something special to everyone who subscribes. Initially, I thought of creating free financial templates, but then I decided to go a step further and develop apps instead.
BudgeBuddy is the first app I’ve ever created that will be available on the Google Play Store and, hopefully, on the App Store as well. I’m excited about this because Google only requires a one-time fee of €25 to publish as many apps as you want for a lifetime, whereas Apple charges $99 per year.
I’ll give the App Store a try for the first year and see how it goes. If any of you want to help me offer the app for free on the App Store, you can make a donation of €1 via PayPal @ericlluch, or sign up for an account with any of the exchanges I shared here, which might offer you a bonus as well.
I hope you like the idea of the app more than the templates. The app works directly with Google Sheets, so you can use the data generated to create your templates seamlessly.
Why I Chose Google Sheets Integration
Many people still budget using Excel or Sheets, and I wanted to keep things familiar. With BudgeBuddy, you can log expenses directly when they happen using your mobile phone instead of waiting until the end of the month.
Additionally, Google Drive’s functionalities make it easy to share spreadsheets with others. This feature is especially useful for splitting expenses with family and friends. These factors, along with the Christmas holidays, were why I took a short break from posting new content. But now, we’re back on track with weekly updates! 🙂
Why I Created BudgeBuddy
For my wife and me:
We’ve been using Splitwise, but its free version is very limited (only three expenses per day).
Tricount’s free version doesn’t provide detailed expense overviews, making it less useful for budgeting.
None of the existing apps integrate with Sheets, and we prefer managing our data this way.
For you:
BudgeBuddy is designed for all of you who actively engage with the website. I wanted to offer something more practical than templates—something truly helpful.
As a better alternative to Splitwise and Tricount:
BudgeBuddy combines budgeting, expense sharing, and investment insights, filling the gaps left by apps like Splitwise and Tricount.
It’s also free
Features of BudgeBuddy
Expense Splitting: Easily divide expenses with family and friends in real-time.
Google Sheets Sync: Automatically back up and organize your data with Sheets integration.
Fast Tracking: Log expenses instantly—no more end-of-month headaches.
Set a Budget per category:
For more details, check out BudgeBuddy App Overview.
How I Developed BudgeBuddy
Tools and Technologies
Programming Language: Python
Framework: Kivy (for cross-platform development)
Compilers: Buildozer (for Android) and Xcode (for iOS)
How ChatGPT Helped
When developing BudgeBuddy, ChatGPT became my invaluable coding assistant. I used it to navigate Kivy’s API and refine app visuals with prompts like:
"Make the chart bigger."
"Use the font OpenSans."
"Optimize button placement."
For technical integration with Google Drive, Sheets, and expense computation, I combined my programming skills with ChatGPT’s insights. While ChatGPT couldn’t handle everything, it accelerated my workflow significantly and improved the app’s final design.
Step-by-Step Process
Development Setup:
Used PyCharm as my IDE.
Purchased a MacBook for iOS development.
Google Integration:
Created Google credentials and added scopes for Google Drive and Sheets APIs.
Publishing Requirements:
Paid €25 for a lifetime Google Play license.
Paid $99 for the first year of Apple’s App Store.
App Compilation:
Android: Compiled the app using Buildozer (each build took over 3 hours on my old Linux laptop).
iOS: Debugging was challenging due to folder protections and integration issues with Google Sheets.
Documentation:
Created a homepage for the app.
Developed detailed terms, conditions, and privacy policies.
Made a YouTube video explaining data sensitivity and app functionality to meet Google’s requirements.
Synchronization:
Ensured seamless online and local data synchronization using background threads.
Challenges:
Overcoming the steep learning curve of Buildozer for Android.
Resolving iOS-specific debugging issues.
Managing app approvals on both Google and Apple platforms.
Learnings and Challenges
Time Investment: Creating BudgeBuddy took significant hours of coding, debugging, and learning. Compiling the app for different platforms was the most time-consuming part.
Platform Differences: Debugging for iOS and Android presented unique challenges, especially with Google Drive and Sheets integration.
Community Support: This project wouldn’t have been possible without my subscribers. If you’d like to support the app’s development, consider donating via PayPal (@ericlluch) or Revolut (@eric15wqe) or by creating an account to any of the exchanges, banks or brokers I mentioned here (https://www.byobanking.com/post/how-to-earn-800-in-one-day-with-sign-up-bonuses)
Summary: Why BudgeBuddy is worth It
BudgeBuddy is more than just a budgeting app. It allows you to split expenses with your buddies or groups of friends and family and it integrates seamlessly with Google Sheets, allowing you to:
Create detailed financial templates.
Share expenses with ease.
Gain insights into category budgets and investments.
Whether you’re looking for an alternative to Splitwise or a more robust financial management tool, the new App I created can help you. It wil be available in the next weeks and I will let you know when it’s out. For now it’s a teaser that I hope motivates you as much as it motivated me creating it 🙂
Comments