plum
Proactive budgeting for real-time financial decisions
Role
Role
End-to-end product design (research, product strategy, interaction design, UI)
End-to-end product design (research, product strategy, interaction design, UI)
Status
Status
QA (Post Development)
QA (Post Development)
Year
Year
2025
2025
Most budgeting tools rely on post-spend reflection, requiring users to review behavior after decisions have already been made. Financial decisions, however, happen in the moment.
Plum was designed to bridge this gap by helping users anticipate and adjust spending before it happens.
Most budgeting tools rely on post-spend reflection, requiring users to review behavior after decisions have already been made. Financial decisions, however, happen in the moment.
Plum was designed to bridge this gap by helping users anticipate and adjust spending before it happens.
Problem
Problem
Problem
Users often understand their spending habits but lack support when making real-time financial decisions.
Users often understand their spending habits but lack support when making real-time financial decisions.
Solution
Solution
Solution
Designed a proactive budgeting system that introduces decision support before spending occurs.
Designed a proactive budgeting system that introduces decision support before spending occurs.
Outcome
Outcome
Outcome
Shifts budgeting from reactive tracking to behavior-driven financial guidance.
Shifts budgeting from reactive tracking to behavior-driven financial guidance.
Shifts budgeting from reactive tracking to behavior-driven financial guidance.
Closing the gap between financial awareness and action
Users are often aware of their spending habits but struggle to translate that awareness into action. Most budgeting tools focus on reviewing past behavior rather than supporting decisions in the moment.
Users are often aware of their spending habits but struggle to translate that awareness into action. Most budgeting tools focus on reviewing past behavior rather than supporting decisions in the moment.
Target User
Target User
Young professionals with loosely managed or inconsistent income who struggle to proactively manage spending.
Young professionals with loosely managed or inconsistent income who struggle to proactively manage spending.
Key Insight
Key Insight
The challenge isn't awareness—it's supporting users when financial decisions are being made.
The challenge isn't awareness—it's supporting users when financial decisions are being made.
Understanding why budgeting breaks down
Through user interviews, a clear pattern emerged: users didn’t struggle with awareness—they struggled with acting on it in the moment. Financial stress wasn’t caused by a lack of information, but by the difficulty of making consistent decisions under real-world conditions.
Through user interviews, a clear pattern emerged: users didn’t struggle with awareness—they struggled with acting on it in the moment. Financial stress wasn’t caused by a lack of information, but by the difficulty of making consistent decisions under real-world conditions.
Inconsistent financial habits
Inconsistent financial habits
Users struggle to act on financial awareness because most budgeting tools focus on reviewing past behavior instead of supporting real-time decisions.
Users struggle to act on financial awareness because most budgeting tools focus on reviewing past behavior instead of supporting real-time decisions.
Delayed decision-making
Delayed decision-making
Users often recognize financial issues too late, as most tools rely on reviewing past transactions rather than supporting real-time decisions.
Users often recognize financial issues too late, as most tools rely on reviewing past transactions rather than supporting real-time decisions.
Cognitive overload
Cognitive overload
Financial tools often present too much information, making it difficult for users to interpret and act quickly.
Financial tools often present too much information, making it difficult for users to interpret and act quickly.
The problem at scale
Secondary research reinforced interview findings, highlighting how financial stress is often driven by behavioral challenges rather than awareness alone.
Secondary research reinforced interview findings, highlighting how financial stress is often driven by behavioral challenges rather than awareness alone.
38%
Admit to living beyond their means
Admit to living beyond their means
Admit to living beyond their means
2/10
Canadians feel confident in their financial situation
Canadians feel confident in their financial situation
Canadians feel confident in their financial situation
27%
Lack access to financial education
Lack access to financial education
Lack access to financial education
These findings challenged my initial assumption that budgeting tools needed to provide more financial information.
Instead, the research revealed a different opportunity: helping users make better financial decisions before spending occurs.
This shifted the focus from designing a tracking tool to designing a system for proactive financial decision-making.
These findings challenged my initial assumption that budgeting tools needed to provide more financial information.
Instead, the research revealed a different opportunity: helping users make better financial decisions before spending occurs.
This shifted the focus from designing a tracking tool to designing a system for proactive financial decision-making.
From insight to product strategy
Strategic Shift
Strategic Shift
The research revealed that users didn't need more financial information—they needed support at the moment financial decisions were made.
This shifted the focus from designing a tracking tool to designing a system that supports proactive financial behavior.
The research revealed that users didn't need more financial information—they needed support at the moment financial decisions were made.
This shifted the focus from designing a tracking tool to designing a system that supports proactive financial behavior.
Product Principles
Product Principles
01
Support decisions before spending occurs
Support decisions before spending occurs
Financial awareness is most valuable before money is spent—not after.
02
Reduce cognitive effort
Reduce cognitive effort
Users should be able to understand their financial position quickly without interpreting complex data.
03
Design for consistency over perfection
Design for consistency over perfection
The goal is to help users make better decisions consistently, not manage every financial detail perfectly.
Product Decisions
Product Decisions
Prioritizing proactive intervention
Shift budgeting from post-spend reflection to pre-spend decision support.
Opportunity
Opportunity
Users often recognize financial issues only after spending has already occurred.
Users often recognize financial issues only after spending has already occurred.
Decision
Decision
Introduce guidance before spending decisions occur rather than after.
Introduce guidance before spending decisions occur rather than after.
Tradeoff
Tradeoff
Frequent intervention risks notification fatigue if prompts are poorly timed.
Frequent intervention risks notification fatigue if prompts are poorly timed.
Simplifying financial feedback
Opportunity
Opportunity
Too much financial information makes it difficult for users to quickly determine what action to take.
Too much financial information makes it difficult for users to quickly determine what action to take.
Decision
Decision
Prioritize high-level financial signals over detailed budgeting breakdowns.
Prioritize high-level financial signals over detailed budgeting breakdowns.
Prioritize high-level financial signals and simplified feedback over detailed budgeting breakdowns.
Tradeoff
Tradeoff
Reduces flexibility for users who want granular financial control and advanced budgeting features.
Reduces flexibility for users who want granular financial control and advanced budgeting features.
Designing around decision moments
Opportunity
Opportunity
Users rarely check financial dashboards but frequently make spending decisions.
Users rarely check financial dashboards but frequently make spending decisions.
Decision
Decision
Design interactions around key financial decision points rather than relying on users to proactively review dashboards.
Design interactions around key financial decision points rather than relying on users to proactively review dashboards.
Tradeoff
Tradeoff
Reduces visibility into a complete financial overview in favor of contextual guidance.
Reduces visibility into a complete financial overview in favor of contextual guidance.
Deliberate tradeoffs
Deliberate tradeoffs
Rather than prioritizing detailed budgeting categories, advanced reporting, or highly customizable dashboards, I focused on simplicity and timely decision support.
While these features provide greater control, they also increase complexity and shift attention away from real-time financial guidance.
Design Direction
Design Direction
Together, these decisions established a product strategy centered on proactive intervention, simplified financial guidance, and support at key decision moments.
The next step was translating these principles into a complete user experience.
Together, these decisions established a product strategy centered on proactive intervention, simplified financial guidance, and support at key decision moments.
The next step was translating these principles into a complete user experience.
Designing the experience flow
The experience was structured around key financial decision moments, ensuring users received guidance before spending occurred rather than after.
Each step was designed to reinforce proactive financial behavior while minimizing friction.
The experience was structured around key financial decision moments, ensuring users received guidance before spending occurred rather than after.
Each step was designed to reinforce proactive financial behavior while minimizing friction.
Exploring interaction patterns
Early explorations focused on how proactive guidance could be introduced without increasing friction or overwhelming users. This was achieved by iterating through designs that prioritized visual storytelling, using graphics and diagrams to communicate information efficiently and reduce cognitive load from text-heavy content.
Early explorations focused on how proactive guidance could be introduced without increasing friction or overwhelming users. This was achieved by iterating through designs that prioritized visual storytelling, using graphics and diagrams to communicate information efficiently and reduce cognitive load from text-heavy content.
Testing how financial prompts and other information
could appear naturally within the flow.
Supporting proactive financial decisions
Supporting proactive intervention
Rather than relying on users to review past transactions, the experience introduces proactive guidance before spending decisions occur.
Rather than relying on users to review past transactions, the experience introduces proactive guidance before spending decisions occur.
Know before you act
Know before you act
Know before you act
The most important information regarding the status of the user's budget will always be displayed at the very top of the Home and Budget pages.
The most important information regarding the status of the user's budget will always be displayed at the very top of the Home and Budget pages.
Budget tracking made efficient
Budget tracking made efficient
Budget tracking made efficient
Users don't need to spend tedious time organizing their spending as their transactions will automatically be tracked and categorized.
Users don't need to spend tedious time organizing their spending as their transactions will automatically be tracked and categorized.
Reduce cognitive effort
Financial information was simplified into high-level signals, allowing users to quickly understand their financial position without navigating dense reports.
Financial information was simplified into high-level signals, allowing users to quickly understand their financial position without navigating dense reports.
Prioritize your spending
Prioritize your spending
Prioritize your spending
The budget screen surfaces upcoming financial decisions instead of past transactions, encouraging forward-looking behavior.
The budget screen surfaces upcoming financial decisions instead of past transactions, encouraging forward-looking behavior.
Simplified financial signals
Simplified financial signals
Simplified financial signals
Visual cues replace dense data, making insights easier to understand quickly.
Visual cues replace dense data, making insights easier to understand quickly.
Designing around decision moments
The experience focuses on moments where financial decisions are made, providing context and guidance when users are most likely to need support.
The experience focuses on moments where financial decisions are made, providing context and guidance when users are most likely to need support.
Prioritize your spending
Prioritize your spending
Prioritize your spending
When a user overspends in a certain budget category, they can reallocate their funds to maintain overall budget-balance. This promotes flexibility against inconsistent cash flows.
When a user overspends in a certain budget category, they can reallocate their funds to maintain overall budget-balance. This promotes flexibility against inconsistent cash flows.
Be confident with your decisions
Be confident with your decisions
Be confident with your decisions
Before making any changes to a user's budget structure, they will be shown a preview of the end-result.
Before making any changes to a user's budget structure, they will be shown a preview of the end-result.
Prototype
Outcome
Outcome
This solution reframes budgeting from passive tracking to proactive financial decision support.
By helping users engage earlier in the decision-making process, the experience encourages more intentional financial behavior and reduces reliance on post-spend reflection.
Future Opportunities
Test effectiveness of proactive prompts in reducing overspending
Explore personalization based on spending behavior
Refine timing and frequency of interventions
Evaluate long-term engagement and habit formation
