Welcome to BankCat!
I am not scared of AI. I don’t loathe it nor am I particularly upset by it’s use. There are some very real benefits of it’s use and that if we get proper legislation and guard rails around it, it can be a huge benefit to society. But that’s not what this post is about. This post is about something I created with the use of AI. Yes, I probably could have created it on my own writing code myself, but with the help of artificial intelligence I was able to produce a more solid product, faster.
I created a tool for myself called “BankCat“. The name came from CATegorizing BANKing transactions. BMO, my bank, used to have this tool which allowed you to keep track of your spending and categorize things and it was really informative. For some reason they got rid of it and never replaced it. As a result I made my own:
But I also wanted other people to use it, however I don’t want to be responsible for their data, for obvious reasons. So this was the solution. You can upload you own data and run it and then export it when you’re done. When you want to add new data you just reload the save file which is JSON and any new transactions. I even provide a test statement to play with.
It starts with the dashboard, and right off the bat, tells you about cash flow. I have written about cash flow before and how, to me, it is priority number one.
Another feature I added was a calendar of expenses. I would fine I spent money without knowing exactly when or where I spent it. This way I was able to see where I spent money and as the icons show what I spent the money on.
Another thing I added, which is of limited use to me, but might be more interesting to others is a comparison of your spending to the average Canadian. The reason why it is of limited use is that some things I already know. Like I know I send less on transportation. I walk everywhere. I don’t own a car. What is helpful are the projections. I’m on pace to spend X this month is handy.
Anyway I hope you find it useful. Remember: the first step in solving a problem is admitting there is one.