Many Americans have tried every budgeting strategy and tip in the book, yet still can not successfully make sense of how to properly manage their money on their own. Most people are just not innately equipped to handle their finances.

Certified financial education coach and instructor, Maggie Germano share with Bustle.com, "The key to financial health is paying attention to your money." She adds,"Figure how much you make and how much you spend every month. Come up with a budget that aligns with your goals, and then track your spending as the month goes on.”

While this is great advice to some and even common sense to others executing on a daily, monthly or annual basis is problematic for the masses.

Brad Klontz, a certified financial planner, and psychologist believes the idea of budgeting is flawed. Klontz informed New York Magazine’s The Science of Us, “Your emotional brain responds to the word budget the same way it responds to the word diet. The connotation is deprivation, suffering, agony, depression.”

With all of the back and forth debate it can be easy to give up in the midst of all the confusion.

The solution to complicated budgeting

For the majority of the budget struggling populace, ideas42, a nonprofit behavioral design firm based in New York city has helped to modernize and simplify budgetary complexities by introducing the Feedback Card concept. The economic concept behind the Feedback Card merges behavioral science with smartphone app technology and a trustworthy payment platform to completely simplify the process of staying on top of spending in real time.

"Traditional budgeting tools are made by people that like to do budgeting. And as finances get more complicated, with more bills with different due dates and more credit cards and accounts, budgeting and financial tools just add more complex features and options to deal with," commented Hyunsoo Chang, a leader of the team that developed the concept and a Senior Associate at ideas42 in a statement.

Chang continues, "We built this concept as a tool for the other 99 percent of us --people that want some feedback on their finances, but won't spend hours a week making and managing a detailed personal budget."

At the moment, the Feedback Card app is a functioning prototype that will utilize an uncomplicated method to safely examine the user’s bank accounts and transactions history to generate a straightforward budget.

The app can combine incomes together, deduct recurring bills and allocate any remaining funds to create a; day-to-day, weekly, and monthly "safe to spend" amount for discretionary expenses.

Following a straightforward two-minute login process, the budget is immediately available in the app. Even more compelling, the Feedback Card itself has an appearance similar to that of a credit or debit card with the capability to display up-to-the-minute budget information on the front of the card by using protected near-field communications (NFC) technology from the smartphone app.

By simply touching a smartphone (that has the app installed) with the Feedback card, it will automatically synchronize the card with the most recent financial data.

Then pressing down the button on the card will immediately reveal the amount of money that is accessible to spend that day, week, or month. Multiple accounts can be attached to the card. Ultimately, the Feedback Card puts financial data at the user’s fingertips the very instant they need to make a purchase.

The Feedback Card has been user-tested bi-coastally in California, and New York with a no holds barred positive introductory response among participants according to ideas42.

With regards to safety, the Feedback app accounts are linked to a distinctive micro chip displayed on a singular Feedback Card protecting personal data. An accessible, simple to-utilize security mode guarantees individual data is secured at all times.

The Feedback Card is back by behavioral science research

The development team of the Feedback Card and app was lead by a team of elite behavioral scientists, inclusive of Eldar Shafir of Princeton University, a co-founder of ideas42. The concept expands upon a 2015 report presented in the Journal of Consumer Policy, demonstrating that furnishing individuals with input on receipts enabled them to take control of their personal finances.

"The Feedback Card and tools like it can harness the moment of choice and help people make better spending decisions and improve their financial lives," explained Shafir.

At this time, ideas42 is making the Feedback Card and app available to any financial institution or financial service associations that are receptive to providing the cutting edge tool to their patrons.

"We're not out to make a buck off of this, we want to help millions of people have more control of their own bucks," commented Josh Wright, Executive Director of ideas42 in a statement.
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