How DIY Money Works
Your Journey to Financial Independence
Follow this proven process to take complete control of your financial future
This is how it works: First, it's free and you own your own data. Like all DIY projects, you'll need to learn a little as you get ready to get started. The good thing is with over 20 years experience teaching at a university, I am well prepared and willing to teach you everything you need to know to get started.
1
Learn the Basics
Understand the core principles of DIY financial management and why tracking every transaction matters for building wealth.
2
Try the Demo
Experience the full system with sample data. See if it answers all your questions before committing to the process.
3
Understand the Theory
Learn why you need to track what the software tracks and how this data drives better financial decisions.
4
Deploy Your System
Walk through the install process and get your own instance running on the host of your choosing—including free options.
Step 1: Learn the Basic Principles
DIY financial management isn't complicated, but it requires understanding a few core concepts that most people never learn:
- Your savings rate is everything – It's more important than investment returns for building wealth
- Transaction-level tracking beats budgeting – See exactly where money goes instead of guessing
- Asset allocation drives long-term returns – How you split investments matters more than picking winners
- Fees compound against you – A 1% advisor fee costs hundreds of thousands over time
- You can do this yourself – The tools professionals use aren't magic, they're just software
Once you understand these principles, you'll see why most financial advice is designed to benefit advisors, not you.
Why DIY Works Better
Step 2: Try the Demo Account
Before you invest time in learning the system, see if it actually answers your questions. The demo includes:
- • Sample portfolio with real-world data scenarios
- • Multiple account types (401k, Roth IRA, taxable, HSA)
- • Transaction history showing different investment types
- • Live savings rate calculation based on sample income
- • Professional reports showing annual performance
Spend 10-15 minutes clicking through the demo. If it doesn't feel like something you'd use daily, this system isn't for you. If it makes you excited about tracking your own finances, keep reading.
Try the Live DemoDemo Features You'll Experience
| Dashboard | Net worth tracking over time |
| Transactions | Every buy, sell, dividend, fee |
| Asset Allocation | Real-time portfolio breakdown |
| Savings Rate | Automatic calculation display |
| Reports | Annual performance analysis |
Step 3: Understand the Theory
Now you need to understand why the software tracks what it tracks. This isn't academic—it's practical knowledge that will change how you think about money:
- Why track every transaction? Because aggregated data hides the truth about your spending and returns
- Why calculate savings rate automatically? Because manual budgeting fails 90% of the time
- Why monitor asset allocation daily? Because portfolio drift costs you money over time
- Why track inflation-adjusted returns? Because nominal returns lie about your real purchasing power
- Why separate account types matter? Because tax optimization can add 1-2% annually to your returns
Understanding these concepts turns you from someone who "invests money" into someone who "builds wealth systematically."
The Most Important Number
28.4%
Your path to financial independence
Higher savings rate = Earlier retirement
Step 4: Deploy Your Own Instance
Ready to take control? Time to get your own private financial management system running. You have several options:
- • Free hosting options: Railway ($5/month credit), Render (free tier)
- • Premium hosting: Professional hosting around $30/month
- • Self-hosted: Run on your own server or Raspberry Pi
- • One-click deployment: Working system in 60 seconds
- • Complete control: Your data never leaves your server
Personally, I pay about $30 a month for my software to be hosted very professionally on a service that gives me 99.9% uptime, automatic backups, and SSL certificates. But you can start completely free and upgrade later.