Bank of Gaga: Tracking Family Loans Safely

What I Built

Bank of Gaga is a full-scale family loan management application. The product functions as a highly polished, secure, and user-friendly alternative to a standard Excel sheet. Lenders ("Gagas") and borrowers can model custom loan arrangements, generate structured repayment timelines, track modifications, and process automated payment email alerts via Resend.

The system implements custom rate-limiting endpoints, NextAuth security guards, and deep Stripe billing integrations supporting monthly ($7.99/mo) and annual ($59.99/yr) user subscription profiles with a 14-day trial flow.

Why I Built It & The Dual-Audience Solution

Intra-family lending accounts for billions of dollars annually, yet these transactions are plagued by poor tracking, forgotten deadlines, and social friction.

Designing Bank of Gaga required solving a unique dual-audience UX challenge:

• The Lenders ("Gagas"): Often older family members who value high legibility, clean visual signals, and structured printouts (such as PDF agreements) to avoid feeling confused.
• The Borrowers (Grandkids/Kids): Mobile-first users who require quick status trackers, automated payment reminders, and text message alerts.
• Financial Literacy Feature: An optional component allowing kids and younger borrowers to practice investing with simulated cash, turning a debt tracker into a positive learning game.

Core Technical Features