Why We Built Fina?
Imagine walking into a party full of strangers. Some people glance your way and whisper, “Who is that?” Others huddle in corners, spinning wild guesses and gossip about you. This reaction is perfectly natural; it’s a trust issue that every newcomer faces when entering an established network. But what if there were a way to turn those whispers into welcoming conversations? Let’s try that today with this article, :)
Today, there are many financial tracking apps, often referred to as “budgeting apps.” Some of the popular ones include Monarch Money, Copilot Money, Tiller Money, and YNAB. Fina is a newcomer in this crowded field. While the comparison chart prioritizes the features that set Fina apart from the others, it’s worth taking a closer look to understand what makes Fina unique. Let’s start with that!
So why did we build Fina? Surely, such a brilliant team wouldn’t just copy what’s already out there, right? 😉
Today, let’s dive into this question by first exploring two other important context-setting questions.
Why people want financial tracking?
Finance is a subject that concerns everyone. We aim to save more money, live a life free of financial worries, plan for major life events that require funding, and achieve the life goals we strive for.
It’s important to first gain financial clarity and understand the big picture, including your current status and future projections. By tracking your finances, you can stay on the right path toward your life goals and build confidence in your financial situation.
Why many apps not fulfill the gap?
Personal finance is a crowded space, with numerous recommendations and ads for various apps. Among them, Tiller Money stands out by using spreadsheets as its main user interface, while most others are primarily phone apps offering similar dashboard views. These are often referred to as cookie-cutter financial apps.
There are two major problems here:
- Special Background
Every person has a unique background in culture, career stage, language, race, religion, and more. This uniqueness demands different philosophies in financial tracking.
One Muslim friend and now a Fina user shared that he wants to reserve a fixed percentage for charity every month.
Another friend, in the middle of his career, told me he no longer budgets; he only cares if his investment returns (passive income) can cover his household expenses. These diverse needs make personalized financial tracking essential. - Special Community
People are busy and not everyone wants to develop their own tracking system from scratch; they prefer to follow someone they trust, like Dave Ramsey.
Beyond him, there are numerous financial coaches each advocating their own methodologies. These coaches build special communities where they share financial knowledge, host workshops, and provide educational videos, highlighting the vital role that community plays in guiding and supporting individuals on their financial journeys.
The first issue underscores the need for flexible, customized finance tracking solutions tailored to individuals’ preferences.
The second issue emphasizes the importance of community and connection, where people can find coaches to follow, access valuable financial knowledge, and engage with others in meaningful discussions.
Why we built Fina?
We created Fina to address a critical gap: people deserve a platform that works specifically for them, alongside a community where they can learn and engage.
Recognizing that existing apps, including Tiller (which uses a spreadsheet UI that isn’t user-friendly for many), fail to meet this need, we embarked on building Fina with a clear mission: to empower people with personalized financial solutions that instill confidence.
Our mission drives us to integrate these compelling features into Fina:
- Simplicity: We automate where possible to deliver a minimalist experience — easy data input leads to clear insights.
- Flexibility: Customize Fina to suit your needs by organizing accounts into profiles, setting up transaction views, refining financial categories, defining metrics, and generating unlimited reports.
- Shareability: Fina users are part of a connected community. Share your customized setups (categories, rules, documents, etc.) securely today, and soon, publish documents on marketplaces to connect with like-minded individuals and discover new financial strategies.
Join The Mission
Ready to experience the difference with Fina and start building your personalized tracking system? Visit us now — it’s guaranteed to be much easier than Tiller, :)
If you’re a creator, join Fina early and showcase your templates to our community, we would love to put your work under the spotlight in front of all Fina users. Be a pioneer like Easlo on Notion and shape the future of financial tracking with us.
We’re also seeking partners. Let’s chat! Reach out to me at cao@fina.money.
