PERSONAL FINANCE / DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT
Happy Buckets
Learning SwiftUI, listening to feedback and rebuilding a simple money planner.
A small app for my own money
I started Happy Buckets for myself. I wanted a simple way to put the approach from The Barefoot Investor into practice, and a real project to learn SwiftUI with. It was my first app, and it was called Barefoot Buckets then.
The idea was straightforward: enter your income, split it into buckets and see what each part of your money is for. I designed, built and released it on the App Store.
Exploring the main screen
I explored a few ways to show and adjust bucket allocations on the main screen, from sliders to a simple list and stepper controls.
Simple, or too simple?
The reviews pulled in two directions. Some people liked how simple it was. Others found it too basic.
That tension became the starting point for the rebuild. I wanted to give people more room to plan without losing the small, approachable tool that others valued. The aim was still an app you could check in with occasionally, rather than something that asked you to record every transaction.
More detail inside the buckets
I kept the overall money split at the centre of the experience. Underneath it, I added detail for different needs: everyday expenses, savings goals, debt repayments and investing.
That gave each bucket a job beyond holding a percentage. The Daily bucket could show how planned spending compared with its allocation. Smile could hold individual savings goals. Fire could bring debts and repayment plans together.
I also made the plan more flexible. Multiple income sources, editable names, colours and icons, and custom buckets let people shape it around their own circumstances. Mojo and Grow extended the starting set of buckets, while reminders offered a way to come back to the plan.
The book was my starting point, but I didn’t want familiarity with it to be a requirement. I added explanations inside the app so the purpose of a bucket was there when someone needed it.
An evenings-and-weekends rebuild
I worked on the rebuild around everything else, using AI agents to help with development. The project brought the design and software decisions together: how much to show on the main screen, what belonged inside a bucket, and where extra guidance would help.
A small milestone
The app has reached No. 1 in the App Store’s paid Finance chart a few times over the years, including when it was still called Barefoot Buckets. For a small app I started for myself, that feels pretty special.
It feels great to know the app is helping people. Hearing from someone who’s made it part of their everyday life means a lot.
Happy Buckets is the name today. The app has grown from a small income splitter into a more detailed planner, while keeping the original idea at its centre: see where your money is going, make a plan and return to it when you need to.