Ask HN: I built an AI money coach for new grads and it might be awesome

4 points by Kartikey08 133 days ago | 6 comments

i’ve always felt like budgeting apps are great at telling me where my money went, but terrible at telling me what to do next. once i started earning, i could see every transaction in a clean dashboard and still have no idea if any of it made sense. it was just a nicer way to feel confused.

rough description of what i hacked together:

- it connects to accounts in read‑only mode.

- it remembers goals, life stage, and past conversations.

- it uses that memory to nudge you toward better decisions over time, instead of just saying “you spent 23% on restaurants last month”.

the moment it started to feel real for me was when the memory system clicked. it could reference things i’d said weeks before and give me insights i didn’t expect, and it actually changed how i felt about a couple of my decisions. that was the first time any personal finance tool felt more like a coach than another dashboard.

i wrote more about it as well here on linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7411827481483345920/

i also put up a simple landing page at https://usefinny.com, but the app itself is still in development and not on app store yet. this isn’t a launch; i’m trying to pressure‑test the idea and some assumptions before i ship a real beta.

a few things i’d really like to chat about-

- for you personally, what would an ai money coach have to do (or avoid doing) for you to still be using it a month later?

- does this feel like a real problem you’ve seen (either personally or with clients)? I’ve feel I’ve seen this problem a lot with people

- if you work in personal finance or coaching: what do tools like this usually get wrong about behavior change and trust?

blunt takes are very welcome. if this sounds doomed, i’d rather hear it now. if it sounds promising but i’m thinking about it the wrong way, i’d love to hear that too.

One thing I want to say is that its not that new grads, and genz doesn’t have money, its just that they make stupid decisions with what they have and buy what they don’t need (eg, expensive watches, concerts, sneakers, trips, clothes, and countless examples i've seen etc)

burdfili 133 days ago |

I like the instinct, but I think the framing is off.

Most people already know what to do. They know eating out less saves money. They know carrying a balance is bad. The problem isn’t knowledge, it’s that the consequences don’t feel real in the moment.

Money decisions are made by present-you and judged by future-you. Most tools talk to neither. If your real advantage is memory, then the product isn’t advice. It’s continuity. It’s reminding me that past-me cared about something and current-me is quietly changing the deal.

“Three months ago you said this mattered” is more powerful than any chart or benchmark. If you lean into that, this could be super interesting but pls don't blend into optimizations for consumer ai.

And I agree on your point that this isn’t about income but about impulse and right steps

swashq 133 days ago |

Cool idea. One thing that could differentiate this from "another budgeting app":

Add market context to the coaching. Right now most finance apps show spending in isolation. But "should I invest?" is different when: - S&P is at ATH vs down 20% - Fed just raised rates vs cutting - Your industry is laying off vs hiring

A few data points that could make the coaching smarter: - Historical market returns (so "invest in index funds" has numbers behind it) - Inflation rate (to show why cash loses value) - Average savings rate by age bracket (peer comparison)

The "memory" system you built could remember their risk tolerance AND market conditions when they made past decisions, then reference both.

Kartikey08 132 days ago | |

yeah, thats a pretty helpful take! That's in my product roadmap for future after getting early customers.

Inherently, I'm thinking for now to build something actually useful for personal finance growth and then move on towards investing side as well.

As of now as well, it does a web search behind whenever there's a change going on in market. but thanks for the suggestions!

would love to give u a try of the app if you're down.

bejmainpaul 133 days ago |

There's a chance that this could work if it actually changes behaviour in personal finance, because thats the main game. Even some billionaires are not so smart about their money but they make stupid money decisions but they can afford those.

if a coach can remind me why I said I wanted to save for that trip while I’m tempted to blow $300 on shoes, that’s actual behavior change but it has to avoid being judgemental but still be strict about goals.

seems super cool, would love to try

burdfili 133 days ago | |

that's pretty interesting that u want it to be strict but still not judgemental lol, but somewhat true that could feel like a coach. id be curious to use it

Kartikey08 132 days ago | |

awesome! join our community once u sign up here - http://usefinny.com/