Budget Lock Mode: Reinforcing Boundaries in YNAB
A behavioral design feature for YNAB that helps users stick to their budget by locking categories and preventing impulsive edits.
A behavioral design feature for YNAB that helps users stick to their budget by locking categories and preventing impulsive edits.
Click here to see the full case study in Notion!
Click here to see the full case study in Notion!
Challenge
YNAB users often struggled with the temptation to reallocate money from one budget category to another, especially in moments of impulsive decision-making. This behavior led to difficulty sticking to financial goals and reduced accountability. The app also lacked a built-in way to reinforce discipline or set intentional limits, particularly for users looking to build better spending habits over time.
Results
The proposed Budget Lock Mode feature introduced optional category-level locks to prevent spontaneous changes, encouraging intentional budgeting. User feedback during early-stage testing indicated strong interest in the feature for improving control and reducing overspending. The design prototype demonstrated clear potential to increase long-term financial consistency and user satisfaction, especially among users with budgeting challenges.
Low-Fidelity Wireframe
The low-fidelity wireframe below outlines the user experience for the Budget Lock Mode feature. It begins with how users can opt in and assign specific budget categories to Lock Mode, visually marked by a lock icon. When a user attempts to move money from a locked category, a confirmation prompt appears, introducing a small but intentional pause to encourage reflection. The wireframe also includes a preview of the Budget Lock Streak feature, which uses monthly money sack icons to visually track consistency. These sacks are clickable and reveal helpful metrics such as the number of reallocations, days protected, total allocated, and percentage of funds preserved.
Additionally, users can customize a daily affirmation reminder system, choosing the time and frequency of prompts that gently encourage them to reflect or log their thoughts. Together, these elements support habit-building through positive reinforcement, while preserving the flexibility that makes YNAB appealing.
Challenge
YNAB users often struggled with the temptation to reallocate money from one budget category to another, especially in moments of impulsive decision-making. This behavior led to difficulty sticking to financial goals and reduced accountability. The app also lacked a built-in way to reinforce discipline or set intentional limits, particularly for users looking to build better spending habits over time.
Results
The proposed Budget Lock Mode feature introduced optional category-level locks to prevent spontaneous changes, encouraging intentional budgeting. User feedback during early-stage testing indicated strong interest in the feature for improving control and reducing overspending. The design prototype demonstrated clear potential to increase long-term financial consistency and user satisfaction, especially among users with budgeting challenges.
Low-Fidelity Wireframe
The low-fidelity wireframe below outlines the user experience for the Budget Lock Mode feature. It begins with how users can opt in and assign specific budget categories to Lock Mode, visually marked by a lock icon. When a user attempts to move money from a locked category, a confirmation prompt appears, introducing a small but intentional pause to encourage reflection. The wireframe also includes a preview of the Budget Lock Streak feature, which uses monthly money sack icons to visually track consistency. These sacks are clickable and reveal helpful metrics such as the number of reallocations, days protected, total allocated, and percentage of funds preserved.
Additionally, users can customize a daily affirmation reminder system, choosing the time and frequency of prompts that gently encourage them to reflect or log their thoughts. Together, these elements support habit-building through positive reinforcement, while preserving the flexibility that makes YNAB appealing.
Challenge
YNAB users often struggled with the temptation to reallocate money from one budget category to another, especially in moments of impulsive decision-making. This behavior led to difficulty sticking to financial goals and reduced accountability. The app also lacked a built-in way to reinforce discipline or set intentional limits, particularly for users looking to build better spending habits over time.
Results
The proposed Budget Lock Mode feature introduced optional category-level locks to prevent spontaneous changes, encouraging intentional budgeting. User feedback during early-stage testing indicated strong interest in the feature for improving control and reducing overspending. The design prototype demonstrated clear potential to increase long-term financial consistency and user satisfaction, especially among users with budgeting challenges.
Low-Fidelity Wireframe
The low-fidelity wireframe below outlines the user experience for the Budget Lock Mode feature. It begins with how users can opt in and assign specific budget categories to Lock Mode, visually marked by a lock icon. When a user attempts to move money from a locked category, a confirmation prompt appears, introducing a small but intentional pause to encourage reflection. The wireframe also includes a preview of the Budget Lock Streak feature, which uses monthly money sack icons to visually track consistency. These sacks are clickable and reveal helpful metrics such as the number of reallocations, days protected, total allocated, and percentage of funds preserved.
Additionally, users can customize a daily affirmation reminder system, choosing the time and frequency of prompts that gently encourage them to reflect or log their thoughts. Together, these elements support habit-building through positive reinforcement, while preserving the flexibility that makes YNAB appealing.