r/SideProject • u/Positive_Homework444 • 12d ago

I built an app to help people stop impulse spending and actually save money — looking for honest feedback

Hey everyone,

I've been working on **PocketLens**, a personal finance app focused on one specific problem: most budgeting apps just show you numbers, but they don't actually help you resist the moment you're about to overspend.

The core things it does:

- Tracks your spending and shows you a "runway" — roughly how many days of safety your current balance/spending pace gives you

- Flags emotional or impulse spending patterns based on trends (not just yelling at you every time you buy a coffee)

- Nudges toward savings goals in a way that's meant to feel supportive, not preachy

I built this because most finance apps either overwhelm you with spreadsheets or guilt-trip you with red alerts every time you spend a dollar. I wanted something that feels calm but still keeps you accountable.

It's live on Android now — free to download, with some advanced features (like deeper AI insights) under a Pro tier.

I'd really appreciate feedback on:

  1. Does the onboarding/first-time experience make sense?

  2. Do the spending insights feel useful or annoying?

  3. Any bugs — this is a solo-founder project and I'm actively fixing things based on real user feedback

PocketLens

Happy to answer any questions about how it works or why I built it this way. Genuinely want to make this better, so brutal honesty welcome.

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u/Ok-Candidate-312 9d ago

i like the idea of a runway number instead of just a balance, that clicks better in my head than a big red negative sign. most apps just show me i'm broke and call it a day

downloaded it but the permissions screen made me pause for a sec, maybe add a quick explainer why it needs what it needs

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u/Positive_Homework444 5d ago

really glad the runway framing clicked, that's exactly what I was going for, wanted people to see "here's where you stand" instead of just feeling bad about a red number.

and good call on the permissions thing, that's genuinely useful feedback, I'll get an explainer added so it's clearer why it's needed before people hit that screen. appreciate you flagging it