Project Overview

The Budget Planner App is a financial planning tool that helps users manage their money using the well-known Fifty Thirty Twenty rule. Users enter their monthly income, plan for multiple months, and receive recommended amounts to spend on needs, wants, and savings or debt repayment. The app also allows users to compare their personal savings goals to the recommended savings. The program provides results on screen and saves a formatted report as a text file.

Necessity of the Project

Managing money is a crucial life skill, and many people struggle to plan their budgets effectively. This app demonstrates how research-based budgeting methods can be applied in a practical software tool. By using the Fifty Thirty Twenty rule and giving clear feedback, the app encourages users to plan their income, track expenses, and save money.

Materials / Tools

Software

• Python programming language
  
  

• Spyder IDE through Anaconda for writing and running the code
  
  

Hardware

• Computer capable of running Python and Anaconda

Build Process/Steps

1. Research and Planning
   
   

   • Studied budgeting strategies and the Fifty Thirty Twenty rule
     
     

   • Planned program structure and features

2. Programming
   
   

   • Wrote Python code to get user inputs and calculate budget allocation
     
     

   • Added input validation with three-attempt rules for each question
     
     

   • Program outputs both monthly and multi-month totals
     
     

3. Testing and Debugging
   
   

   • Ran the program multiple times in Spyder to ensure correct calculations
     
     

   • Verified that text output and saved report matched expected results
     
     

4. Saving Output
   
   

Created a text file to save the personalized budget plan

Learning Experience 

Throughout this semester, I took ENGR 123, an introduction to programming class. I have been introduced to multiple programming languages,  but this was my first semester using Python. Everything I learned in the course, including programming concepts, logic, was applied directly to this project.

Using Spyder through Anaconda allowed me to test and debug the code efficiently, strengthening my programming skills and understanding of software development.

Research: Budgeting Strategies for Personal Finance

Budgeting has become increasingly important as people face higher living costs and more unpredictable expenses. To build a budgeting app that can help a wide range of users, it is necessary to understand which budgeting method is supported by recent evidence and works well for most people. The purpose of this research is to review current budgeting approaches and choose the strategy that is most effective and practical.

One of the most commonly recommended budgeting methods is the Fifty Thirty Twenty rule. This method divides take home income into fifty percent for needs, thirty percent for wants, and twenty percent for savings or debt payments. Kiplinger, a well known personal finance organization, explains that this structure is helpful because it gives people a clear, simple way to organize their money while still being flexible enough for different lifestyles (Kiplinger, 2023). Although some experts have pointed out that rising housing and grocery costs make it harder for some people to stay within the exact percentages, the overall structure continues to be recommended in recent financial guidance because the categories are easy to adjust without losing the main idea.

Zero based budgeting is another method that receives attention in recent financial articles. It requires every dollar of income to be assigned to a specific category so that no money is left unplanned. The Guardian reported in twenty twenty four that this method has grown more popular because it helps people control impulse spending and understand exactly where their money is going (The Guardian, 2024). Even though this method can be very effective for building discipline, many individuals find that it takes too much time and daily effort to maintain, which reduces its long term usefulness for everyday users.

Behavioral research also suggests that people benefit from budgeting methods that are simple and easy to follow. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau notes that clear structure helps people stay consistent with their budgeting habits over time (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2023). This supports the idea that methods with flexible categories are easier for users to maintain than methods that require very detailed tracking.

After reviewing these recent sources, the most universal and practical budgeting strategy is the Fifty Thirty Twenty rule. It is supported by reputable financial organizations, it is flexible enough for people in different situations, and it does not require intense daily tracking. Because it is both simple and based on research, this method will be used as the foundation for the budgeting recommendations in my app.

References

           Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. (2019, March 21). Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/

           Guardian staff reporter. (2024, April 20). “Every penny has a purpose”: the rise of zero-based budgeting. The Guardian; The Guardian.          https://www.theguardian.com/money/2024/apr/20/every-penny-has-a-purpose-the-rise-of-zero-based-budgeting 

           Bendig, E. (2023, July 25). The 50-30-20 Budget Rule: A Simple Way to Save Money. Kiplinger.com. https://www.kiplinger.com/personal-finance/how-to-save-money/

               50-30-20-budget-rule-save-money 

Code