BUBU
Rotating Savings Tracker for Paluwagan Groups
BUBU digitizes the traditional Filipino paluwagan, a rotating savings system where a group pools money and one member receives the pot each round. No complex fintech, just a tracker built on trust.
What is Paluwagan?
Paluwagan is a Filipino rotating savings tradition. A group of people contributes a fixed amount per cycle (weekly, biweekly, or monthly), and one member receives the entire pot each round until everyone has received their payout.
It's built on trust and personal relationships, typically tracked via paper ledgers or group chats. BUBU makes it transparent and organized.
What You Can Do
Create Your Group
Set contribution amount, frequency (weekly/biweekly/monthly), and total payout slots
Invite via Link
Share a unique invite link. Members join instantly, no app download needed
Schedule Payouts
Drag-and-drop to order who gets paid first, or randomize for fairness
Upload Receipts
Submit proof of payment. The receiver verifies, and the cycle advances
Payment Reminders
Automated emails remind members when contributions are due
Who It's For
Families & Friends
Pooling savings for emergencies or planned purchases
Office Colleagues
Running informal savings groups at work
Barangay Communities
Existing trust networks with established relationships
How We Built This
A vibe coding project with Claude Opus + Antigravity. No formal PRD, just rapid iteration from idea to production.
~$0 Build Cost
All free tiers except Antigravity base plan
Internal PRD
Defining the problem
Started with a rough product doc: What's the problem? Who's the user? What's MVP scope?
- •Trust-based tracker, not fintech
- •No payment processing or KYC
- •Simple enough to ship in weeks
Planning in Antigravity
Claude Opus as co-pilot
Before writing code, used Claude to create a full implementation plan.
- •Broke down: auth flow, database schema, UI components
- •Prioritized: what to build first
- •Identified edge cases early
UI First with shadcn
Interface before backend
Built the entire interface with mock data before touching the database.
- •Next.js 16 + Tailwind CSS 4
- •shadcn/ui for components
- •dnd-kit for drag-drop scheduling
Backend with Next.js + Supabase
Wiring up the data layer
Server Actions handle business logic. Supabase stores data and handles auth.
- •Server Actions for all mutations
- •Supabase PostgreSQL (7 tables)
- •Row-Level Security for access control
Email & Automation
Notifications that just work
Added payment reminders with Resend email and Supabase cron jobs.
- •Resend for transactional email
- •Supabase cron runs daily at 4PM PHT
- •Emails sent to members with pending payments
The Iteration Loop
Prompt → Generate → Run → Observe → Fix → Repeat. Here are some real examples:
"Need receipt upload for payment proof"
→ Added PaymentVerificationDialog with image preview
"RLS is blocking status updates"
→ Created admin client bypass pattern
"Mobile nav feels off"
→ Switched to bottom tab bar, feels native
"Cycle should auto-advance when done"
→ Added checkAndAdvanceCycle logic
The Stack
Built almost entirely on free tiers. Total recurring cost: $0/month (excluding AI assistant).
Key Takeaways
AI handles boilerplate, humans handle domain nuance
Start with architecture before code. Saves refactor time
UI first with mock data = faster iteration
Deploy often, fix fast, ship incrementally
The Balance
AI scaffolding + human domain expertise + tight scope = shipped product. Claude handles the boilerplate, you handle the decisions.