PesoShield
A Spanish-language money app that helps older adults in Argentina plan the month, track spending, and keep an eye on the dollar.
Why I built it
I built PesoShield for my grandparents in Argentina. After years of high inflation, they needed a simple way to see whether the money arriving each month still covered the month, and to ask family for help when it didn’t.
What it does
Monthly budget
Mi mes
A budget across five categories (food, utilities, transport, health, and other) that flags any category close to or over its plan, with a plain summary of the month.
Income and expenses
Movimientos
A log grouped by day, with search and filters.
Currency
Convertir
Dollar-to-peso conversion across the official, blue, MEP, and other rates, saying plainly whether you are buying or selling, plus up to a year of rate history.
Help
Ayuda
Plain-language answers about the dollar and budgeting, and a WhatsApp message to family that includes a summary of your money only if you tick the box.
Design choices
- The home screen opens with what’s left this month; exchange rates come second.
- The monthly summary is plain arithmetic rather than generated text, so the same numbers always produce the same words.
- No account needed: budgets and expenses stay in the browser, and signing in is optional.
- Large type in Atkinson Hyperlegible, a typeface drawn to keep easily confused digits apart.
Status
In development and used by family and friends in Argentina. The app is in Spanish.
PesoShield is a budgeting tool. It is not financial advice.
How it’s built
Next.js, React, TypeScript, and Tailwind, deployed on Vercel. Exchange rates come from DolarAPI, with Bluelytics as a fallback, and refresh every 15 minutes. Supabase handles the optional accounts.