AFINA.
An app for tracking personal and family finances. It installs on a phone straight from the browser, with no App Store or Google Play, and works like a regular app. I came up with it, designed it and built it myself, from the idea and design to the server and database.
A family budget that's always in your pocket, no app store required
Money tracking people don't give up after a week
Almost everyone has tried budgeting, and almost everyone has given up. Not out of laziness: the tools are awkward exactly where money gets spent, on a phone and on the go.
One app for yourself and the whole family
Why Athena
Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom and good judgement. The name sets the tone: money likes calm and a cool head. The first thing users see is a splash screen with a marble Athena veined with gold.
Launch splash screen
Green is always income, red is always spending, purple is your money, teal is the family's. No need to read the labels.
The balance is the biggest number on screen. Everything else is detail you open when you need it.
Light for daytime, dark for evening. The palette is tuned so both themes feel like one product.
“How much money do I have?” answered in a second
Open the app and you immediately see your balance, the month's income and spending, the biggest expense categories and recent transactions. No menus, reports or extra taps.
Balance, income and expenses on one card. A swipe switches between personal and family accounts.
The biggest spending categories with their share of the total. “All” opens a chart where you can toggle categories on and off.
Who you owe, who owes you and how far you are from your goal. With progress, not just a number.
One-tap filters for Income, Expenses and Debts. Mistakes can be fixed right from the feed.
Five sections under your thumb. Everything you need every day, one-handed.
Three taps while you're still at the till
People give up tracking when logging a spend takes longer than making it. So the app's main flow is stripped to the bare minimum: no forms, calendars or required fields.
Tap the steps: the screen shows what the user sees
A shared budget without “where's the money gone?”
Members join a group and see the shared balance, shared debts and everyone's transaction feed. Personal accounts stay personal: one swipe on the card switches between them.
Everyone logs their own spending, and everyone sees the total
An app on your phone without the App Store
AFINA is built as a PWA (progressive web app). Users open a link, add the app to their home screen, and from then on it launches from an icon, full screen and with notifications, like any other app.
From a message, a QR code or a website. No searching an app store.
One action in the browser menu on iPhone or Android.
The AFINA icon on the home screen, launching with its own splash screen and no address bar.
| Native app | PWA, like AFINA | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Two separate builds: iOS and Android | One codebase for iPhone, Android and desktop |
| Publishing | Developer accounts, app review, store fees | A link or QR code, no review |
| Updates | Through the store; users have to update it themselves | Instantly for everyone on next launch |
| Icon, full screen, push | Yes | Yes |
Adapts to the person, not the other way round
Currency, language, theme, pennies, how many categories appear on screen, and custom categories of four types: expense, income, debt and savings pot. Rename a category and the change applies to all past transactions. Try switching the settings.
New skins will unlock with achievements over time.
Under the hood: no frameworks, no subscriptions
The whole stack is hand-written and runs on ordinary hosting. No monthly fees for third-party services, and the interface opens fast even on a budget phone and mobile data.
A single-page app in plain JavaScript: switching sections without reloading.
- Vanilla JS
- CSS
- 2 themes
Manifest and service worker: icon, splash screen, full-screen mode and push notifications.
- Manifest
- Service Worker
- Web Push
Authentication, transactions, categories, family groups and balance calculations.
- PHP
- JSON API
- Auth
Users, family groups, transactions, categories and each member's settings.
- MySQL
- Groups
- Categories
A living product that keeps growing
AFINA evolves in versions. Version 3.1 is live now, and the next sections are already built into the navigation.
Stats, quick entry, debts and savings pots, family group, notifications, currencies and themes.
A shared family shopping list: add it at home, buy it in the shop, and the amount goes straight into expenses.
Rewards for habits like “30 days without overspending”, unlocking new card skins.
The same approach works for your project
AFINA shows how I build web apps from idea to launch. The same way, I can build a tool for your business that staff and customers install on their phones in a minute.
Bookings, payments, documents and order status in an app on the customer's phone.
Sales, costs and leads on one screen instead of five spreadsheets.
Tracking, checklists and staff reports from a phone, with notifications.
One codebase instead of two apps, with no store fees or monthly subscriptions.
Open AFINA on your phone
The app is live. Open it, add it to your home screen and log your first spend.