The Changelog: Software Development, Open Source

Actual(ly) opening up (Interview)

16 snips

Jul 1, 2022

James Long, the creator of Actual and Prettier, returns to share his journey in open-source software. He discusses the evolution of Actual from a paid service to a 100% free personal finance tool and reflects on balancing entrepreneurship with family life. The conversation dives into the challenges of solo building in tech, the need for collaboration, and community engagement in open-source projects. James also explores the complexities of maintaining a cross-platform app and the innovation in budgeting solutions that empower users.

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ANECDOTE

Actual's Origin and Launch

James Long built Actual, a personal finance app, starting in 2016.
It launched on Product Hunt in 2019 and slowly grew to a few hundred paying users.

INSIGHT

Budgeting Complexity

Budgeting is surprisingly complex, especially with mortgages, kids, or recurring bills.
Small financial discrepancies add up, creating a mismatch between expected and actual funds.

ANECDOTE

Frustration with Existing Apps

James was frustrated with existing personal finance apps like Mint and YNAB.
He wanted an elegant, powerful tool that allowed custom queries and detailed insights.

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Adam and Jerod are joined once again by James Long. He was on the podcast five years ago discussing the surprise success of Prettier, an opinionated code formatter that’s still in use to this day. This time around we’re going deep on Actual, his personal finance system James built as a business for over 4 years before recently opening it up and making it 100% free.

Has James given up on the business? Or will this move Actual(ly) breathe new life into a piece of software that’s used and beloved by many? Tune in to find out.

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Featuring:

James Long – Website, GitHub, X
Adam Stacoviak – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, X
Jerod Santo – GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, X

Show Notes:

Something missing or broken? PRs welcome!