MOBILE BUDGET PLANNER & SHOPPING ASSISTANT Intuitive and on-the-go approach to budgeting Andrew Okoh Dr. Marko Popovic Kwan Hong Lee

General Goal Statements  Budget planner helps in setting and tracking budget goals in real time.  Shopping assistant helps in optimizing shopping experience based on parameters like cost, and proximity to store.

Problems with personal budgeting  Vague budget goals are set.  Progress in sticking to budget is poorly tracked.  Difficult to pinpoint weak areas in spending categories.  Identifying categories where budget goals are broken could lead to better adherence to future budgets.  Budget goals are rarely dynamic.  Long-term spending and savings habits aren’t taken into account.  There’s little motivation for budgeting

Solutions to preceding problems  Spending and savings is tracked in real time by lucid and interactive representations.  Budget goals are determined for spending categories.  Intuitive touch-oriented editing of budget goals.  Dynamic depiction of expenditure in each category.  Alerts deployed when budget constraints are broken in each category.  Easy interaction with “shopping assistant” to save on problematic categories

Budget Planner User Interface  Total balance, budget goals, and expenses are depicted by rectangular bars  Budget goals are entered by readjusting category bars by finger(using red tickers on diagram to right)  Bars are automatically updated when purchase is made.

Shopping assistant  Aids in saving on problematic categories.  Presents a map platform for viewing stores with desired items.  A search feature helps generate a list of deals on with highest priority given to cheaper items.  A wishlist is implemented.  Alerts user if a store in close proximity is carrying out a sale on item in wishlist. Wishlist Backpack ipod Sneakers Add item Search for item

Scenario 1  John is taking a stroll on main street and remembers that he needs to get a new backpack. So he consults the shopping optimization search feature. Backpack __ Search by proximity Search by cost Generates a list of the closest stores and an option of viewing them on the map Generates a list of stores with the cheapest at top of the list John goes for proximity

Scenario1 (continued) Backpack: $24 Estimated discount: 20% Distance: 0.6 miles Touching one of the locations comes up with more information about the store

Scenario 2  John is walking on main street again and this time he is walking past T.J.Maxx which is having a sale on jean pants. Because John has this on his wishlist, he is alerted by a vibration on his phone. Deal: Sale on jean pants Location: 7 blocks east View on map

Data & Technical Issues  The budgeting tool will require access to users account information which should be available on bank server.  The shopping assistant will require a database for merchant name, location, item prices, etc.  Since the mobile device doesn’t have enough memory, a web server will carry this information and is connected via the web tto the device.  Merchants should be willing to post these deals on the database as a form of marketing. Courtesy FCN Group at BAC

Current tasks on the agenda  Generate shopping assistant database.  Set up web server.  Implement necessary user interface.