MakeCents
Helping users make smarter financial decisions through proactive AI insights
Overview
MakeCents is an AI-powered personal finance app designed to help users better understand their recurring expenses and spending habits. Rather than acting as another budgeting dashboard, MakeCents proactively surfaces personalized insights that help users identify unnecessary subscriptions, reduce monthly spending, and make informed financial decisions.
The goal of the project was to explore how AI could simplify subscription management by removing manual tracking and presenting actionable insights at the right moment. Instead of asking users to search through financial data, MakeCents brings the most relevant information directly to them, making it easier to stay aware of recurring spending and take action before unnecessary charges occur.
Role
UX Designer
Team
5 people
Timeline
5 weeks
Tools
Figma, Sketch
Methods
Interviews, Prototyping
Year
2026
The Problem
Managing recurring subscriptions has become increasingly difficult as more services adopt monthly billing and automatic renewals. While budgeting apps make it easy to view transactions, they often expect users to sift through financial data, recognize spending patterns, and decide what action to take on their own.
As a result, many users continue paying for subscriptions they rarely use, not because they choose to, but because the information needed to make a decision isn't surfaced at the right time. The challenge wasn't a lack of financial data. It was a lack of timely, actionable guidance.
$219
Average monthly subscription spent per US adult — recurring payments often go unnoticed because they're spread across multiple services.
42%
Users pay for subscriptions they don't use — financial awareness isn't the problem. Remembering to take action is.
#1
Reason subscriptions stay active is simple: users forget they are still enrolled.
Research & Key Findings
To better understand how people manage recurring expenses, our team reviewed academic research and evaluated existing budgeting applications such as Rocket Money, Monarch, and YNAB. While these products excel at tracking spending, they also revealed several opportunities to better support users in making financial decisions. Three insights ultimately shaped the direction of MakeCents.
Insight 01
Tracking isn't enough
Budgeting apps excel at organizing financial information, but they often stop short of helping users act on it. Simply showing transactions doesn't reduce unnecessary spending if users are left to interpret the data themselves.
Insight 02
Timing Drives Action
Financial decisions are most effective when they're supported at the right moment. Users are far more likely to review or cancel a subscription when reminders appear before a renewal rather than after a charge has already been processed.
Insight 03
AI Should Feel Effortless
AI should reduce complexity, not introduce more of it. Instead of requiring users to interact with a dedicated chatbot, we embedded personalized insights directly into the interface where they could provide immediate value.
How might we design an AI-assisted financial awareness tool that increases subscription visibility without overwhelming users?
How Might We
Smart recommendations should feel like a natural part of the experience, not another feature users have to discover.
Design Principle
User Flows
We mapped the core paths through MakeCents before moving into interface design, connecting account setup, spending insights, subscriptions, and AI recommendations into one cohesive experience. The flows helped us simplify navigation and ensure users could move from understanding their finances to taking action without unnecessary steps.
←
→
Design Decisions
Every major feature in MakeCents was guided by insights gathered during our research. Rather than adding functionality for the sake of innovation, each design decision focused on reducing cognitive effort and helping users make informed financial decisions with less friction.
Decision 01
Bring recommendations to the user
Early concepts explored a dedicated AI chatbot where users could ask questions about their spending. As we refined the experience, we realized this still required users to actively seek out financial guidance. Instead, we integrated AI directly into the home screen through contextual insight cards that surface personalized recommendations as soon as the app opens.
Decision 02
Eliminate manual subscription tracking
Managing subscriptions manually creates unnecessary effort and often discourages users from consistently monitoring their spending. To reduce this friction, we designed an onboarding flow that securely connects users' bank accounts using Plaid, allowing recurring subscriptions to be detected automatically. By removing the need to manually enter or organize subscription data, users can begin receiving personalized insights immediately.
Decision 03
Highlight subscriptions that matter most
Not every subscription deserves the same level of attention. During the design process, we recognized that monthly cost alone doesn't determine whether a subscription is worth keeping. Instead, we prioritized subscriptions using contextual indicators such as usage activity, renewal timing, and potential savings. This helps users quickly identify subscriptions that may require action while allowing actively used services to fade into the background.
Final Solution
The final experience combines AI-powered insights, automated subscription tracking, and intuitive financial visualizations into a single, easy-to-use budgeting experience. Each feature works together to help users better understand recurring expenses and take action before unnecessary charges occur.
Feature 01
Home Dashboard
The home dashboard provides users with an immediate overview of their financial health. Account balances, monthly spending, and AI-powered recommendations are surfaced in one place, allowing users to quickly identify important updates without navigating through multiple screens.
Feature 02
Subscription Management
Recurring subscriptions are automatically organized into a single view where users can review billing information, monitor activity, and manage upcoming renewals. Bringing everything together simplifies subscription management and reduces the effort required to stay on top of recurring expenses.
Feature 03
AI Insights
Instead of expecting users to analyze spending patterns themselves, MakeCents surfaces personalized recommendations based on subscription activity and financial behavior. Insights are designed to encourage timely action through relevant, easy-to-understand suggestions.
Feature 04
Spending Overview
The spending overview organizes monthly expenses into clear categories, helping users understand where their money is going. Visual summaries and budget progress indicators provide context without overwhelming users with unnecessary detail.
Reflection
Designing MakeCents reinforced the importance of creating products that support user behavior rather than simply presenting information. Throughout the project, I learned how thoughtful interaction design, clear information hierarchy, and timely guidance can make complex financial decisions feel significantly more manageable.
Designing for Behavior
One of the biggest takeaways was realizing that awareness alone does not change behavior. The experience needed to surface timely, actionable guidance that helped users make better financial decisions.
Balancing Simplicity and Functionality
Financial tools can quickly become overwhelming when too much information is presented at once. Prioritizing essential content while progressively revealing details helped keep the experience clear without sacrificing functionality.
Designing Trust
Designing around financial information reinforced how important consistency and transparency are to building trust. From onboarding to AI recommendations, every interaction needed to feel clear, predictable, and easy to understand.
Looking Ahead
Next Project