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