Cash flow forecasting has been all the rage in the Lunch Money developer community lately!
Last month, we featured a nifty tool called Projected Cash Flow, which let you see how big purchases could affect your future finances.
This month, we’re highlighting another handy (and open-source!) project to help you visualize where your money is headed, by projecting your Lunch Money transactions, including income, expenses, and future balances!
This month’s spotlight is on Wesley Prudencio, creator of The CashFlow App!
Q: Hi Wesley. Please tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from?
I live in the US, but I’m Canadian/Brazilian. I’m also the father of two beautiful girls; the younger, Chloe, is in the photo with me.
Q: How did you come to start using Lunch Money?
Like many others, I was a long-time Mint user. When Mint announced it was shutting down, my main goal was to find an alternative that prioritized user privacy and wasn’t built on monetizing personal data. I discovered Lunch Money through recommendations on Reddit. The privacy-first, user-funded approach really stood out to me, and the trial period sealed the deal — it was precisely the tool I was looking for.
Q: What gave you the idea of creating The CashFlow App?
It started with a personal pain point that I think many people share. A balanced monthly budget is great, but it doesn’t always protect you from the timing of transactions. A large bill might arrive in your account just a day before your paycheck, creating a temporary cash shortfall that can lead to overdraft fees or other financial issues.
For a while, I had been managing this with a manual spreadsheet, but then I had an “aha” moment — why not use the Lunch Money API to automate the entire process? I built a prototype for myself, and it worked so well that I knew I had to polish it and share it with the community.
Now I can visualize how my spending will impact the balance in an account into the future:
Q. Your project requires that users provide a Lunch Money API Token. How do you ensure that this is stored safely and not misused?
Security and trust are paramount, so I designed the app with a privacy-first architecture. Here’s how it works:
- Local-Only Storage: Your Lunch Money API key and financial data never leave your browser. They are never sent to my server or any third-party service. The only external communication is directly between your browser and the official Lunch Money API.
- User Control: You have complete control and can wipe your API key from the browser at any time.
- Full Transparency: The project is 100% open-source, allowing anyone to inspect the code themselves and verify exactly how their data is being handled. It’s the ultimate guarantee of transparency.
Q. Did you learn anything about Lunch Money or Lunch Money users that you didn’t know when you started this project?
I learned about the Lunch Money Discord Server where I found many other interesting projects that are not yet listed in the Lunch Money Awesome Projects page. I definitely recommend everyone take a look there.
Q. Is there anything you’d like to ask the LM user community for?
Yes! I built this tool for myself, but my goal is for it to be useful for the entire community. I would love for people to try the app and share their honest feedback. Does it work for you? Are there bugs I missed? What feature would make it indispensable for you?
All feedback, feature requests, and bug reports are welcome. For any developers out there, the project is open-source, and I would be thrilled to review pull requests. Let’s work together to make it even better!
That’s awesome, Wesley! Thank you for building The CashFlow App and enriching the Lunch Money experience!
Calling all Financial Coaches! 💰
Are you a financial coach who loves using Lunch Money? We’re launching our coaching certification program—a new way to grow your financial coaching practice through community, collaboration and modern tools.
For more details, visit the page below and apply now to be considered among the first cohorts!
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Thinking about your next big getaway? Taking a vacation shouldn’t have to come with a financial hangover.
Check out the latest YouTube video from Lunch Money financial coach Jacob Wade to learn how to estimate a realistic travel budget, save ahead of time, track travel spending, and enjoy a stress-free trip! 💡
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Latest from our blog! 📰
The school year has already started, but if you waited until the last minute to do your back-to-school shopping or still need more supplies, it’s not too late! 🎒
In this article, Ashley Barnett shares some creative ways to save money on back-to-school shopping—and if you’ve already finished your shopping, Ashley explains how you can use Lunch Money to start budgeting for next year’s school supplies! Check it out!
Do you have a story or idea? 💭
We’d love to feature more community stories in our newsletter!
👉 Do you have an interesting story about using Lunch Money that you’d like to share? Have you built a cool app, plugin, or tool you’d like to share with the Lunch Money community? Are there topics you’d like to see us explore in future issues of the Community Newsletter?
Please reach out to JP by email at jp@lunchmoney.app!
