The Inspiration
Let's be real - just about everyone wants more money. But, if you had it, would you know what to do with it? Financial literacy is crucial in navigating the complexities of money management, yet many neglect it - or worse, fail to realize its importance in the first place. Enter get$mart: your gateway to financial literacy.
What Does it Do?
get$mart helps users to be more realistic about their level of financial literacy. Many people have a tendency to perceive themselves as financially literate - yet only a fraction of people are considered to actually be so. A lack of financial literacy can be detrimental to an individual, as poor financial decisions can often snowball and spiral out of control. The best way to avoid this? Prevent it from happening in the first place.
get$mart provides a variety of tools and resources so that everyone can improve upon their knowledge - regardless of how much or little they know. From quizzes to budgeting and savings goals to motivational quotes, get$mart is a platform that helps expose users to new information and new perspectives on finance.
The Process
To begin developing get$mart, I outlined the various different features that I wanted to implement. I wanted there to be a balance between self-evaluation, education, and resources so that it could be both an informative and constructive experience for the user. Throughout the event, I have refined different features and displays to help ensure a positive and productive user experience.
Along the Way...
There were certainly some ups and downs! As a super beginner programmer, I've never worked on something that has left the terminal. Beyond that, I spent quite a long time setting up a new IDE, learning a new library, and exploring the whole new world of hackathons! I am a firm believer that there is always room to learn in any situation, but I can certainly say that I have never learned this much this quickly.
The biggest challenge I faced was working with what I had. My interest is in Data Science, so I was hoping to lean into a more statistical aspect. However, after hours spent searching for data sets, I knew I would need to take things in a different direction. When working on get$mart, I realized that the best way to help someone learn is to show them what they don't know. Once I pivoted to this new goal, I was able to effectively utilize my skillset to create the final product.
At the End of the Day,
It's not about what you have - it's about what you do with it. From money to programming, this statement rings true. get$mart allows you to improve upon your existing level of financial literacy, educate yourself using a variety of tools, and discover realistic ways toward a better financial future.
Similarly, my experience working on get$mart showed me that I have a lot to learn, but it also helped reveal how much I do know and how I can apply it to a multitude of other projects. Moving forward from get$mart, I am really excited to begin using Streamlit for other projects. Working with the library was such an eye opening experience as to how even a simple program can be made into an appealing visual. I am looking forward to implementing it into some of my own projects, as Streamlit would allow me to balance my focus between data analysis and production.
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