SaveBetter

Inspiration: I was inspired by the struggles I saw in myself and others around me. The 50/30/20 budgeting rule doesn’t fit real life—especially in Canada where rent and living costs are so high. For example, a $65,000 salary with $2,400 rent makes “saving 20%” impossible. I wanted to build something that offered hope instead of guilt: a tool that adapts to people’s reality.

What it does: SaveBetter is an adaptive financial planning platform that adjusts savings recommendations based on real spending patterns. Instead of demanding 20% no matter what, it creates achievable goals—sometimes 5%, sometimes 10%, but always realistic. With SaveBetter, users can: Get personalized targets from the Adaptive Saving Engine, Take a dual assessment that considers both financial knowledge and personality, Compare rates across 22+ Canadian banks and credit unions, Explore 20+ TSX stocks and 10+ ETFs with risk profiles and filters.

How we built it: I built SaveBetter with Next.js 14, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, Recharts, and Framer Motion, and deployed it on Vercel. Kiro was my co-pilot throughout the build: I leaned on specs-to-code in .kiro/specs to translate requirements directly into features. I used hooks to automate type-checking, linting, and even AI-generated test files. Kiro’s code generation saved me the most time—like when it created an entire Canadian stock market service with TSX data, ETFs, and intelligent recommendation logic. That would have taken me weeks to do alone.

Challenges we ran into: Managing large datasets while keeping the app smooth and responsive. Dealing with GitHub’s file size limits when pushing code. Making sure the UI was not only functional but also motivational and intuitive. Balancing hackathon speed with clean, maintainable code.

Accomplishments that we're proud of: Building a fully functional MVP in just a few days. Creating a system that actually gives realistic, achievable savings advice. Integrating comprehensive Canadian banking and investment data in a clean interface. Using Kiro not just as a helper, but as a real development partner that helped me move faster and build better.

What I learned: How to structure my prompts and conversations with Kiro so that it could deliver production-ready code. The value of spec-driven development—having clear requirements and acceptance criteria sped up my build. That with AI, even a solo developer can build something that looks and feels like a professional product in hackathon time.

What's next for SaveBetter: Right now, SaveBetter focuses on the Canadian market—but this is just the start. The architecture Kiro helped me design is scalable worldwide. Next, I want to:

Expand to international banks and investment markets. Add real-time APIs for live market data. Introduce features like receipt scanning, tax optimization, and financial health scoring. Build a mobile app for everyday financial guidance. My ultimate goal is to make adaptive financial planning accessible globally, so anyone—whether they’re in Toronto, US, or India—can save smarter, not harder.

Built With

• framer-motion
• json
• lucide-react
• next.js-14
• recharts
• tailwind-css
• typescript
• vercel