The Quiet Finance Letter

Essays on local-first software, privacy-first money, and the indie maker behind Penno.

The blog is opinionated and a bit slow. One post every 3-4 weeks, ~1500-2500 words each. The three rotating themes:

Investigation · 2026-05
How budget apps quietly resell your transaction data

Plaid, Yodlee, MX, and the multi-billion-dollar industry sitting between you and your "free" budget app.

Founder essay · 2026-05
Why I'm not adding bank linking to Penno (ever)

The case against the most-requested feature, from the developer who refuses to ship it.

Analysis · 2026-05
A short history of money apps that died

Mint, Wave, Level Money, Penny — pattern-matching across a decade of finance-app shutdowns.

Trend piece · 2026-05
The one-time purchase is back. Indie apps are leading.

Why the subscription-everything era is ending in some software categories.

Migration · 2026-05
How to switch from YNAB to Penno (and what you'll miss)

Honest migration guide, including the YNAB features Penno doesn't replace.

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