Budget Buddy
An app designed to help young teens learn basic financial literacy
my role:
Product Designer
Researcher
Branding
timeline:
April 2023 - May 2023
Context: Empowering Young Teens with Budget Buddy
Financial literacy is a critical life skill, yet it is often overlooked in traditional education systems, particularly for young teens. To bridge this gap, I worked towards a solution that guides young teens through the fundamentals of financial literacy in a fun and accessible manner.
Research Goals: Uncovering Young Teens' Financial Literacy Needs and
The research goals for Budget Buddy revolve around understanding the financial literacy needs, pain points, and motivations of young teens.
User Interviews and Insights: Unveiling Young Teens' Financial Literacy Needs and Preferences
Assumptions
Majority of users would prefer an online course or gamified learning modules to help them learn basic financial literacy.
Findings
Research revealed that people prefer a more hands on approach to learn about their finances and goals. Many participants cited that a budgeting feature would be most helpful in seeing how they could have a healthy relationship with their spending habits while also being able to save for important future milestones.
Key findings from user interviews:
3/4 participants had little to no knowledge of the concept of credit cards when they first signed up
3/4 participants did not have clear budgeting plans or goals when getting their checks from their first job
3/4 participants did not know how to manage their money besides put it into their bank accounts
3/4 participants mentioned a budgeting feature to be most helpful for teaching financial literacy
Competitive Analysis: Assessing the Strengths and Opportunities in Financial Literacy Apps
During my competitive analysis I researched and compared 4 popular financial literacy apps aimed at teens. I compared their strengths and weaknesses to help determine what would make for my own successful financial literacy app.
From my research I gathered the following:
Gamification and interactive learning are effective ways to engage young teens in financial education. Apps like Zogo and RoosterMoney use gamification to make financial literacy fun and engaging for young users.
All participants agreed that Zogo had the most comprehensive look and feel as a financial literacy app and that while there are qualities that they enjoy about the other two apps shown, the execution ultimately made it difficult to understand what their message was.
Customization and parental controls are important features for a financial literacy app aimed at young teens. Parents want to be able to customize the app to fit their family's needs and have control over their child's spending.
Accessibility and ease of use are important factors for success in the financial literacy app market. Apps like World of Money and Famzoo have advantages in terms of offering in-person classes and a family finance management platform, but they face challenges in terms of accessibility and user interface. A successful app for young teens will need to prioritize accessibility and ease of use to stand out in a crowded market.
Feature Set Roadmap: Developing Budget Buddy's Key Features
In order to provide a clear direction for the development of Budget Buddy, I had to prioritize key features that users felt were most important. Based on user interview data, they identified a budgeting feature to be the most useful in learning basic financial literacy.
Sketches and Mid-Fidelity Screens: Designing an Intuitive User Interface
Based on insights gathered from interviews, people appreciate a more hands on approach to learning something new. To cater to this preference, I made sure to include bright colors and engaging graphics to keep that learning process enjoyable. I also experimented with different types of graphs to effectively illustrate users' spending patterns and habits.
These mid fidelity screens feature a ‘create new budget goal’ button positioned in the lower right corner for easy access and intuitive interaction. Users are provided with the flexibility to explore their spending patterns through graphs, available in both monthly and weekly views. These design choices aim to enhance usability and empower users in their financial journey.
User Flow: Creating a Budget Goal and Transferring Funds - Empowering Teens to Take Control of Their Finances
One of the fundamental aspects of Budget Buddy is enabling young teens to set and achieve their financial goals. In this user flow, I explore how the app guides users through the process of creating a budget goal and transferring funds to make progress towards that goal. This user flow is designed to empower teens to take control of their finances and develop responsible money management skills.
High-Fidelity Screens: Polishing Budget Buddy’s User Interface
In response to valuable mentor feedback on my mid-fidelity screens, I refined my design, introducing subtle iterations to enhance its visual appeal and add depth. By changing the background to a light grey shade and using a white background for foreground components, the design gained dimension and a more dynamic appearance. This adjustment, coupled with a carefully chosen color palette, succeeded in maintaining user engagement. In addition, to improve navigational clarity, I incorporated labels into the navigation bar, creating easy identification of the various accessible pages for users.
Usability Testing: Refining Budget Buddy's User Experience
After usability testing, results showed that users found the app to be extremely intuitive and the engaging graphics were appropriate for the targeted demographic. Users had little trouble understanding the tasks before them.
With their insight I made the following iterations:
Adding the ‘Create new goal’ button permanently to the bottom navigation bar
Included more labels on the home screen to make it even easier for users to find their transactions and goals
Adding a notification feature to remind users to contribute to their savings goals
Why these iterations?
2/4 users had minor difficulty finding the ‘Create new goal’ button
Users were having difficulty figuring out where to access their completed savings goals
User input called out that a forgetful teen would benefit from a notification feature that would remind them to contribute to their savings goals
Reflections:
Of the projects I’ve completed so far, developing this app proved to be both the most challenging and enjoyable. Fintech is an industry that is new to me and I initially faced the challenge of making financial literacy engaging for teens, without succumbing to a "boring" approach. With that said, I was able to use my strengths in color and captivating imagery to create an inviting space that encourages teens to get excited about developing good spending habits.
Next Steps:
If given the opportunity to revisit the project, I would have dedicated more time to enhancing the app's informative aspects. My intention would be to provide users with additional tips and comprehensive information on budgeting their finances. Given more time, I would have loved to further expand the app's learning feature, incorporating a repository of targeted reading materials and interactive quizzes to help users' review and check their comprehension.
