Saving for Smiles
Designing a Family-Friendly Budgeting App for Dream Vacations
I designed a budgeting app that transforms saving for family vacations into a shared, joyful experience — helping users stay 30% closer to their savings goals through visual progress tracking, collaborative goal-setting, and family-friendly engagement features.
Executive summary
Project name: Saving for Smiles
Duration: 8 weeks (from research to final prototype)
My role: Lead UX Designer & Researcher — responsible for end-to-end process including research planning, user interviews, journey mapping, wireframing, prototyping, usability testing, and design system creation.
Tools used: Figma, FigJam, Miro, Google Forms, Zoom (for interviews), Lookback (for usability testing).
Team: Solo project (with external user testing participants), inspired by real-world family budgeting challenges.
Designed a multi-user budgeting experience with distinct Family View (visual, gamified) and Detailed View (breakdowns, expense categories).
Created an onboarding flow that reduced setup friction by 40% in tests, allowing users to start tracking savings within 3 minutes.
Introduced goal visualization using a “filling suitcase” progress tracker and milestone celebrations that boosted user engagement.
In usability testing, 87% of participating families reported feeling more motivated to save after using the prototype.
The most impactful feature: Collaborative savings tracker where each family member can log contributions and see their personal impact toward the shared goal.
Why it matters (context in one line):
In a market where most budgeting apps focus on serious finance tracking, Saving for Smiles differentiates itself by making saving a positive, emotionally rewarding experience for the entire family, including children — reinforcing both financial literacy and shared excitement for a common goal.
Context & Challenge
The Real-World Backdrop
Vacations are often one of a family’s biggest shared goals, but turning that dream into reality requires consistent saving. Many existing budgeting apps are designed for solo users or serious finance tracking, often using data-heavy interfaces and jargon. This leaves a gap for a tool that’s fun, easy to use, and collaborative for the whole family.
Research & Discovery
To design an app that families actually want to use, I started by understanding current behaviors, emotional motivators, and frustrations around saving for a vacation. My research focused on both parents and children, since the app would serve multiple age groups with different motivations and skill levels.
Methods:
User Interviews: 10 families (at least 1 parent + 1 child, aged 8–15). Sessions conducted via Zoom, 30–45 mins each.
Online Survey: 68 respondents, targeting parents who had planned or were planning a vacation in the last 12 months.
Competitor Analysis: Reviewed 5 popular budgeting apps (Mint, YNAB, Monzo Goals, Revolut Vaults, Goodbudget) for onboarding flows, visual progress tools, and family/collaborative features.
Observation: Watched how families set and track goals using their current tools (spreadsheets, envelope cash system, existing apps).