Launch a minimal but lovable version of BudgetPal that enables roommates (especially students) to split rent and track shared expenses with clarity — while offering budget visibility and eliminating manual reminders/conflicts.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Rent & Utilities Splitter | Create a group, enter recurring monthly rent and utility costs, auto-split |
| Group Ledger | Shared record of who paid for what, categorized by type |
| Payment Reminders | Auto-reminders for rent or bills due dates |
| Shared vs Personal Tags | Each expense can be marked as shared or personal |
| USD to INR Converter | Optional toggle for international students to view spend in home currency |
| Monthly Spend Summary | Budget chart (e.g., how much spent/shared, progress bar for budget cap) |
| Group Onboarding Flow | Invite roommates, name group, select rent split ratio |
| Deferred Features (Post-MVP) | Reason for Deferral |
|---|---|
| In-app payment integration (Venmo/Zelle) | Requires compliance & 3rd party APIs |
| Gamified savings goals | Not critical to core experience |
| Export to CSV/Google Sheets | Advanced user need – defer to Pro version |
| AI-based budget suggestions | Useful, but high complexity for V1 |
| Notification Center | Overhead for MVP; use push/reminder alerts instead |
| Problem | Feature Solving It |
|---|---|
| Confusion over who paid for what | Group Ledger + Tags |
| Lack of reminders for rent/utilities | Payment Reminders |
| No visual overview of total/monthly spend | Budget Summary |
| Difficulty converting INR to USD mentally | Real-time converter toggle |
| Awkwardness in asking roommates to pay up | Auto-reminders + Shared Ledger transparency |
A user group of 2–4 roommates should be able to: