Product Vision¶
What is Bamboo Money?¶
Bamboo Money is a self-hosted personal finance dashboard designed for people who want full control over their financial data. Unlike Mint, YNAB, or Copilot, your data never leaves your machine.
Core Principles¶
- Privacy first — Your financial data stays on your hardware. No cloud sync, no third-party access.
- Zero-based budgeting — Every dollar gets a job. Unspent budget rolls forward automatically.
- AI-assisted, human-controlled — The chatbot helps you explore your data, but you make every decision.
- Bank-agnostic — Import from any bank via CSV. Auto-detection handles format differences.
Target Users¶
- Tech-savvy individuals who want financial visibility without giving data to fintech companies
- Couples managing household finances (multi-user support)
- Anyone frustrated with the limitations of spreadsheet-based tracking
Competitive Landscape¶
| Feature | Bamboo Money | Mint | YNAB | Copilot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-hosted | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| AI chatbot | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Zero-based budgets | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Sankey cash flow | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Net worth tracking | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Excel export | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Free (self-hosted) | ✅ | N/A | $15/mo | $12/mo |
| Bank CSV import | ✅ | API | API | API |