<p>SavePoint didn't start as a software company. It started as a spreadsheet in 2013 because, honestly, I just wanted to know where my money was going. I had attended a class on personal finance, created a vision board, and really got into the mindset. It has sort of always been with me, but I took that and each year decided to iterate and take tracking a step further, adding more data and making each spreadsheet more useful.</p>
<p>When it comes to tracking, it was never like a vague "I probably spend too much on food" kind of way (although a particular coffee shop I would visit daily, for "not coffee" would beg to differ!). But I wanted to know exactly how much, on what, and whether things were actually getting better or worse over time. So I opened up Excel and built a simple file with a budget, a rough cash flow statement, and a basic balance sheet. It was far from fancy, and honestly the first iteration was very messy, but it helped show the full picture. That was 2013.</p>
<h3>The Spreadsheet Years</h3>
<p>That first version was rough. Just numbers in cells with minimal formatting, no charts, and honestly nothing pretty about it. Some of it I had inspired from my finance course. It ultimately worked though. Every month I'd sit down and "close the books," reconciling my accounts and seeing exactly where I stood. That little ritual became something I genuinely looked forward to. It gave me clarity, and more importantly, it gave me control. And it was a fun ritual every month, one I rarely missed.</p>
<p>And then, each year I kept tinkering. Every year I'd look at it and ask myself, "What else would be useful? What's essential? How can I make this better?" To motivate me further, I also shared a blank copy with friends each year to help them with their finances too. Better organization came in 2015. Visual dashboards by 2019. A formal architecture with comprehensive tracking by 2021. By 2023, that simple Excel file had grown into a full personal finance system: budgets, cash flow analysis, balance sheet tracking, projections, the works. Friends and family started using the modified versions and at one point I even made some of those early drafts available online. And I was still recording my numbers at the end of each month, and really enjoyed looking at trends. Though my time became a bit shorter and I was looking for more. I was looking for a way to both make my time recording more efficient, and also add more value.</p>
<h3>Why Not Just Use Existing Software?</h3>
<p>I asked myself how to improve these spreadsheets. I feel like I hit the maximum potential of the spreadsheet. So I looked around and studied many of the alternatives out there, and I really did give them a fair shot. But every personal finance tool I looked at had the same problems:</p>
<p>They wanted me to link my bank accounts or hand over login credentials to a third party. As a data security person, I really did not trust that my financial data is safe with a random company. Whether it ends up sold, analyzed, or leaked somewhere down the line, all were real possibilities.</p>
<p>To provide their value, they of course had to store everything in the cloud. That means years of financial history sitting on someone else's server, subject to their terms, security, and business risk. I already was concerned about security, but what if the company I managed to trust ended up changing hands. Should I trust the new company? Or if there is a leak, again now ALL of the information is out there. This was something I found as a non-negotiable. Aggregator services are a bit risky from my point of view.</p>
<p>And also they all required subscriptions. Each service that I checked that met my standards also would end up imposing a monthly or annual fee just to keep accessing my own data. Since I was tracking my money and ultimately aiming to save, that really just didn't sit right with me.</p>
<p>So altogether, these were pretty much dealbreakers for me. My spreadsheet that grew with me over the years was secure and was pretty powerful all considering. It lived on my computer, cost nothing beyond the price of the software I already had, and allowed me to view my entire financial life in one spot. But still, I wasn't totally satisfied, and wanted to take things to the next level, and was inspired to still try to meet the goal of getting a better handle on tracking my finances, making the process more efficient and data more valuable. </p>
<h3>From Spreadsheet to Software</h3>
<p>SavePoint is what happens when over a decade of spreadsheet tinkering levels up into real software. I built SavePoint for me originally, to meet the needs of all of my spreadsheets, and vision of what I thought was essential in a finance software. It needed to be finished outside of the box and be good for years to come. It combines everything I loved about my spreadsheets (the flexibility, the control, and how it was convenient and reliable). It runs entirely on your device. It never connects to the internet (it is physically incapable, and that's by design). And there is only a one time cost and you own it for life, unlike other software that charges you monthly or annually. And the best part is, with the offline-first software, the data is yours forever, full stop. It lives on your computer, and never enters our hands. </p>
<p>Everything I learned from 12+ years of obsessively tracking my own finances went into this. The FIRE planning with Monte Carlo simulations, the cash flow center that shows budget versus actual by category, the balance sheet that tracks net worth over time. I built these tools because I needed them myself (and I really do use them monthly still, but now I am able to focus on the fun part as opposed to just entering transactions), and I made sure to carry over the functionality and even the familiar naming conventions from my original spreadsheets.</p>
<h3>What I Believe</h3>
<p>Your financial data is personal and important. You shouldn't have to give up your privacy just to track it properly. Professional-grade financial tools shouldn't be locked behind expensive subscriptions or reserved for users paying for a separate service. And the software you rely on should work for you, not find ways to extract more money from you or harvest your information.</p>
<p>That's the whole reason SavePoint exists. Not because the world needed yet another budgeting app (although I know I needed one!). I believe everyone deserves access to powerful financial tools without the tradeoffs. And I built this to last, so once you own it, it is yours forever. I hope you'll give it a try and save your progress with me.</p>
<div class="cta-section">
<h2>Try the Tool I Built for Myself</h2>
<p>SavePoint is the software I wished existed when I first started tracking my finances. If privacy, ownership, and keeping things affordable matter to you, come take a look.</p>
<a href="https://savepointfinance.com/about" class="cta-button">Learn More About SavePoint</a>
</div>

The story behind SavePoint: 12 years of spreadsheet evolution turned into privacy-first personal finance software. Learn why existing tools weren't enough.

Why I Built SavePoint: A 12-Year Journey | SavePoint

SavePoint started as a spreadsheet in 2013. Here's the story of how 12 years of personal finance tracking became privacy-first software.

Why I Built SavePoint: A 12-Year Journey

<p>Every time you connect a finance app to your bank account, your data travels through multiple systems you do not control. Here is why that matters and what you can do about it.</p>

<h3>The 2025 Breach Reality</h3>

<p>Financial services are prime targets for cyberattacks. According to industry analysis, 48% of cyberattacks now target the financial sector. A single vendor breach in 2025 exposed data for over 400,000 bank customers across multiple institutions when attackers exploited an unpatched vulnerability.</p>

<p>The problem is not just direct bank breaches. Third-party vendors who serve hundreds of financial institutions create concentrated risk. One compromised vendor can expose customers across dozens of banks simultaneously.</p>

<h3>How Your Data Travels</h3>

<p>When you use a cloud-based finance app, your data typically flows through multiple layers:</p>

<ol>
<li><strong>Your bank</strong> shares transaction data via API or screen scraping</li>
<li><strong>A data aggregator</strong> (companies like Plaid, Yodlee, or Finicity) collects and normalizes your data</li>
<li><strong>The finance app</strong> receives your data and stores it on their servers.</li>
<li><strong>Cloud infrastructure providers</strong> host the data for storage (AWS, Google Cloud, etc.)</li>
</ol>

<p>Each layer represents a potential opportunity for a data breach and privacy risk. A breach at any level can expose various parts of your financial picture, whether that be your name, social security number, account numbers, balances, spending patterns, income, and more. At best, your data is encrypted and possibly secured. At worst, your entire personal finance information is compromised. This has the potential to be quite troublesome, and a very real reality in 2026.</p>

<h3>The Business Model Problem</h3>

<p>Many finance apps are free. This raises a clear and obvious question, how do they make money?</p>

<p>Some companies monetize by selling anonymized data insights to financial institutions, referral fees when you apply for recommended credit cards or loans, premium features that cost extra, and advertising based on your financial behavior. Free apps are not necessarily free, you are the product.</p>

<p>Some paid apps have a commitment to not sell your data while others hide this in the fine print. Even paid apps face pressure, though. If a finance company gets acquired, the new owner's privacy policy applies and it is very possible that as business models change, your data that was protected under one policy may become monetizable under new ownership.</p>

<h3>What Local Storage and Offline-Only App Offers</h3>

<p>Software that runs entirely on your device changes the equation</p>

<p><strong>No third-party data sharing.</strong> Your financial data never leaves your computer. There is no aggregator, no cloud server, no acquisition risk.</p>

<p><strong>No service disruption.</strong> When a cloud finance app shuts down, you lose access. With local software, your data remains yours regardless of what happens to the company.</p>

<p><strong>Complete control.</strong> You decide when and how to back up your data. You choose what gets exported and what stays private. No terms of service changes affect your access.</p>

<p><strong>Offline access.</strong> Review your finances on a plane, in areas without internet, or simply without depending on external servers being available. You control your data all the time.</p>

<h3>The Trade-offs</h3>

<p>Local software is not perfect:</p>

<ul>
<li>No automatic bank syncing means manual transaction entry or imports.</li>
<li>Backup responsibility falls on you</li>
<li>Multi-device sync requires your own solution</li>
<li>Initial setup may take longer</li>
</ul>

<p>For many people, these trade-offs are worth the privacy and control. Others prefer convenience despite the risks. There is no universally right answer, but at least you have the ability to make your own informed decision.</p>

<p>SavePoint prioritizes offline-first. There will always be an offline-only application for the privacy conscious. On our <a href="https://savepointfinance.com/roadmap" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">roadmap</a>, SavePoint addresses these tradeoffs by creating a companion online-capable program that will allow for more traditional online backups (offline already exist) and direct downloads of financial data. You will always be in control and always have a choice. Users will be able to switch between offline and online software interchangeably. </p>

<div class="highlight-box">
<h4>The Core Question</h4>
<p>Who should have access to your complete financial history? Your answer determines whether cloud convenience is worth the privacy cost.</p>
</div>

<div class="cta-section">
<h2>Keep Your Data Private</h2>
<p>SavePoint runs 100% offline on your computer. No cloud connectivity, no data sharing, no account linking. Your financial data stays on your device.</p>
<a href="https://savepointfinance.com" class="cta-button">Learn More</a>
</div>

Cloud finance apps expose your data to aggregators and breaches. Here is why local software offers better privacy and control.

Why Your Financial Data Should Not Live in the Cloud

Your data travels through multiple servers you do not control.

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Why I Built SavePoint: A 12-Year Journey

Why Your Financial Data Should Not Live in the Cloud

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Why I Built SavePoint: A 12-Year Journey

Why Your Financial Data Should Not Live in the Cloud

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