Household budget management device and program

Abstract

To provide a household budget management technique capable of supporting expense plans of users.SOLUTION: A household budget management device includes: a recurring expense item acquisition unit 1 that acquires a unit price and a frequency of each recurring expense item; a first period expense item acquisition unit 2 that acquires a unit price of each first period expense item, where, when a period of a prescribed first period length is a first period, and expense items incurred by a user during each first period, the expense items other than recurring expense items, are first period expense items, the first period expense items include a first period expense budget amount, the budget amount relating to a total unit price of the first period expense items, defined therein; and a savings amount information display unit 5 that displays savings amount information, the information regarding the user's savings amount for one year calculated from the user's income information, the unit price and frequency of each acquired recurring expense item, and the unit price or first period expense budget amount of each acquired first period expense item, where the first period length is a period shorter than one year, and the first period includes a future period.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The disclosed technology relates to a technology for managing household finances. [Background technology]

[0002] Managing household finances is essential for people to lead social lives. Various technologies have been developed in the past for managing household finances. For example, household account books are known that record income and expenditures by setting a monthly budget for each expense item, such as food expenses. In recent years, household account books have also been increasingly digitized (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0003] [Non-Patent Document 1] Kufu AI Studio, Inc., "Zaim: A household accounting app that helps you save money!" [online] [Retrieved February 29, 2024], Internet<URL:https: / / zaim.net / > Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Conventional household account books have focused on recording past consumption behavior, and not on supporting users in planning their spending.

[0005] The disclosed technology aims to provide a household management device and program that can assist users in planning their spending. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A household management device that is one aspect of the disclosed technology includes: a regular expenditure item acquisition unit that acquires the unit price and frequency of each regular expenditure item, defining expenditure items that occur periodically at time intervals shorter than one year as regular expenditure items; a first period that is a period of a predetermined first period length; first period expenditure items that are expenditure items incurred by the user during each first period but are not regular expenditure items, and a first period expenditure item acquisition unit that acquires the unit price of each first period expenditure item, for which a first period expenditure budget amount that is a budget amount related to the total unit price of the first period expenditure items is set; and a savings amount information display unit that displays savings amount information that is information about the user's savings for one year calculated from the user's income information, the acquired unit price and frequency of each regular expenditure item, and the acquired unit price or first period expenditure budget amount of each first period expenditure item, wherein the first period length is a period shorter than one year, and the first period includes a future period. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] The disclosed technology can assist users in planning their spending. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a household management device. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a processing procedure of the household management method. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the display. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the display. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the display. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the display. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the display. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the display. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the display. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the display. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the display. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the display. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the display. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a computer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the disclosed technology will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that components having the same functions in the drawings are given the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

[0010] [Household management device and method] As shown in Fig. 1, the household management device includes, for example, a regular expenditure item acquisition unit 1, a first period expenditure item acquisition unit 2, a second period expenditure item acquisition unit 3, a calculation unit 4, and a savings amount information display unit 5. The household management device may also include a display device 100 shown by a dashed line in Fig. 1. In this case, the regular expenditure item acquisition unit 1, the first period expenditure item acquisition unit 2, the second period expenditure item acquisition unit 3, and the savings amount information display unit 5 may be realized by display on the display device 100. The display device 100 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an LED display, a plasma (PDP) display, or electronic paper.

[0011] The household management method is realized, for example, by each component of the household management device performing the processes from step S1 to step S5 shown in FIG.

[0012] <Regular expenditure item acquisition part 1> The regular expenditure item acquisition unit 1 acquires the unit price and frequency of each regular expenditure item (step S1). The acquired unit price and frequency of each regular expenditure item are output to the calculation unit 4.

[0013] Recurring expenses are expenses that occur at intervals shorter than one year. Examples of recurring expenses include water bills, electricity bills, hospital bills, hair salon bills, and smartphone bills.

[0014] For example, the regular expenditure item acquisition unit 1 is a regular expenditure item input area R1 displayed on the display device 100. The regular expenditure item input area R1 is displayed by, for example, clicking the house icon in the upper left corner of any of Figs. 3 to 13.

[0015] The user can input the unit price and frequency of each periodic expenditure item using input means such as a touch panel, keyboard, mouse, tablet, etc. The periodic expenditure item acquisition unit 1 acquires the unit price and frequency of each periodic expenditure item input by the user. Hereinafter, input means such as a touch panel, keyboard, mouse, tablet, etc. will be referred to simply as "input means." User operations such as input, selection, clicking, and checking checkboxes described below are assumed to be performed using, for example, this input means.

[0016] FIG. 3 shows an example of the periodic expenditure item input area R1 displayed on the display device 100. In this example, the periodic expenditure item input area R1 includes periodic expenditure items R11, unit price R12, frequency R13, and annual amount R14. When the user inputs periodic expenditure items R11, unit price R12, and frequency R13, annual amount R14, which is the amount of periodic expenditure item R11 for one year, is displayed. For example, the annual amount is displayed by rounding up, down, or up the value entered in unit price R12 * (365 / value entered in frequency R13). This calculation is performed, for example, by the periodic expenditure item acquisition unit 1 or the calculation unit 4.

[0017] By clicking the calendar icon to the right of the recurring expense item input field R1, the user may be able to record and display the past expenditure dates for the recurring expense items. This allows the user to easily check the frequency of the recurring expense items. In the example of Figure 3, the last expenditure date for the second recurring expense item is displayed to the right of the calendar icon.

[0018] When multiple dates on which expenditures were made in the past for a periodic expense item are entered, the frequency may be automatically entered. For example, the average value of the intervals between the entered multiple days may be rounded up, down, or rounded up and entered as the frequency.

[0019] In Figure 3, two regular expenditure items are displayed in the regular expenditure item input area R1 in descending order of annual amount. By displaying regular expenditure items in descending order of annual amount, it becomes easier for users to understand which regular expenditure items to review to have an impact on improving their household finances.

[0020] In Figure 3, there is a field labeled "Search" at the top center of the recurring expenditure item input area R1. By entering any character string in this field and clicking the magnifying glass icon, only recurring expenditure items that contain the character string may be displayed in the recurring expenditure item input area R1. This makes it easier for users to find the desired recurring expenditure item.

[0021] Clicking the plus icon at the bottom right of the recurring expense item input area R1 allows you to add a new recurring expense item. Clicking the "Delete" area below a recurring expense item allows you to delete that recurring expense item.

[0022] By clicking on the text area "View common expenditure items" at the bottom left of the recurring expenditure item input area R1, common recurring expenditure items are displayed, and the user may be able to select the recurring expenditure item they desire from among the common recurring expenditure items. When the user selects the desired recurring expenditure item, the selected recurring expenditure item is displayed in the recurring expenditure item input area R1. In this way, by having common expenditure items available, the user can identify expenditure items themselves, reducing the burden of inputting them.

[0023] For example, when the user clicks on the text area "View common expenditure items," a pop-up display of common recurring expenditure items is displayed, as shown in FIG. 4. In this example, the unit price, frequency, and annual amount of the common recurring expenditure items are also displayed. When the user clicks on the text area "Add to plan" corresponding to the desired recurring expenditure item, the pop-up display of common recurring expenditure items disappears, and the desired recurring expenditure item is added to the recurring expenditure item input area R1. At this time, the unit price, frequency, and annual amount of the recurring expenditure item corresponding to the clicked text area may be automatically entered into the recurring expenditure item input area R1. This allows the user to easily enter recurring expenditure items.

[0024] <First period expenditure item acquisition part 2> The first period expenditure item acquisition unit 2 acquires the unit price of each first period expenditure item (step S2). The acquired unit price of each first period expenditure item is output to the calculation unit 4.

[0025] First period expenditure items are expenditure items other than regular expenditure items that are incurred by a user during each first period, with the first period being a period of a predetermined first period length. The first period includes future periods. The first period length is a period shorter than one year. For example, the first period length is one month, two months, three months, four months, or six months. The following explanation uses an example where the first period length is one month.

[0026] For example, the first period expenditure item acquisition unit 2 is a first period expenditure item input area R2 displayed on the display device 100. The first period expenditure item input area R2 accepts user input of first period expenditure items and unit prices. The first period expenditure item input area R2 is displayed, for example, by clicking the \ icon in the upper left corner of Figures 3 to 13.

[0027] 5 shows an example of the first period expenditure item input area R2 displayed on the display device 100. In this example, the first period expenditure item input area R2 includes a first period expenditure item R21, a date R22, and a unit price R23.

[0028] In FIG. 5, each first period expenditure item (in this example, three first period expenditure items) for one month from "2024 / 01 / 21" written in the date field written at the top center of the first period expenditure item input area R2 is displayed in the first period expenditure item input area R2. The user can change the date in this date field using the input means. When the date is changed, each first period expenditure item for one month from the changed date is displayed in the first period expenditure item input area R2.

[0029] When the user enters the first period expenditure item R21, date R22, and unit price R23, the total amount of the unit prices of the first period expenditure items for the first period length corresponding to this month (one month in this example) is displayed to the left of "Total for this month" in the lower left corner of the first period expenditure item input area R2.

[0030] For first period expenditure items, a first period expenditure budget is set, which is the budget amount related to the total unit price of the first period expenditure items. In this example, the first period expenditure budget is 5,000 yen, which is written to the right of "Monthly Budget" at the top center of Figure 5. If the first period length is one month, the first period expenditure budget is, for example, the amount of monthly discretionary expenses or monthly pocket money. Examples of first period expenditure items are lunch with friends and going to a cafe.

[0031] In this example, the first period expenditure budget is 5,000 yen, and the total of the three first period expenditure items is 4,000 yen, so the remaining budget for this month is 1,000 yen = 5,000 yen - 4,000 yen. As in the example of Figure 5, the remaining budget may be presented to the user, which is the first period expenditure budget minus the total unit price of each of the entered first period expenditure items. This calculation is performed, for example, by the first period expenditure item acquisition unit 2 or the calculation unit 4.

[0032] You can add a new first-period expenditure item by clicking the plus icon in the lower right corner of the first-period expenditure item input area R2. For example, when you click the plus icon, an input field R24 for the first-period expenditure item, unit price, and date pops up, as shown in Figure 6. Note that in Figure 6, the expenditure item corresponds to the first-period expenditure item, and the expenditure amount corresponds to the unit price. If you enter the first-period expenditure item, unit price, and date in input field R24 and then click the additional text area in the lower right corner of input field R24, the pop-up display of input field R24 will disappear, and the entered first-period expenditure item, unit price, and date will be added to the first-period expenditure item input area R2.

[0033] If the user checks the "Add Next" checkbox below input field R24 and clicks the add text area at the bottom right of input field R24, the entered first period expenditure item, unit price, and date are added to first period expenditure item input area R2, and the pop-up display of input field R24 may be displayed again. This allows the user to add first period expenditure items consecutively.

[0034] In addition, by clicking on the "Delete" character area in the first period expenditure item input area R2, the first period expenditure item can be deleted.

[0035] "Planned" to the right of the first period expenditure item input area R2 means that the date of the corresponding first period expenditure item (the date entered in date R22) is in the future than the current date. "Actual" to the right of the first period expenditure item input area R2 means that the date of the corresponding first period expenditure item (the date entered in date R22) is in the past than the current date. In this way, by displaying "Planned" or "Actual," the user can easily understand whether the first period expenditure item is a future expenditure or a past expenditure.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 7, each first period expenditure item after the display period of FIG. 5 may be displayed in the first period expenditure item input area R2. In other words, future first period expenditure items that are after a predetermined time may be displayed in the first period expenditure item input area R2. This allows the user to easily grasp future first period expenditure items. This display is performed by clicking the heart icon at the top of FIGS. 3 to 13.

[0037] For example, if the display period in FIG. 5 is one month from 2024 / 01 / 21, in FIG. 7, each first period expenditure item from 2024 / 02 / 21 onwards is displayed in the first period expenditure item input area R2.

[0038] As explained using FIG. 5, by clicking the plus icon at the bottom right of the first period expenditure item input area R2, a new first period expenditure item can be added.

[0039] If you enter only the first period expense item and unit price in the input field R24 that pops up when you click the plus icon at the bottom right of the first period expense item input field R2, but do not enter a date, the entered first period expense item and unit price may be displayed in the "Things I want someday" field at the bottom of the first period expense item input field R2. In this case, the date field is left blank.

[0040] In this way, by allowing input and display of first period expenditure items for which a date has not been determined, the user's expenditure planning becomes easier.

[0041] <Second period expenditure item acquisition part 3> The second period expenditure item acquisition unit 3 acquires the unit price of each second period expenditure item (step S3). The acquired unit price of each second period expenditure item is output to the calculation unit 4.

[0042] The second-period expenditure items are expenditure items other than regular expenditure items and first-period expenditure items that are incurred by the user during a second period, the second period being a predetermined second period length that is longer than the first period length. The second period includes a future period. The second period length is, for example, one year.

[0043] For example, the second period expenditure item acquisition unit 3 is a second period expenditure item input area R3 displayed on the display device 100. The second period expenditure item input area R3 accepts user input of second period expenditure items and unit prices. The second period expenditure item input area R3 is displayed, for example, by clicking the flag icon in the upper right corner of any of Figures 3 to 13.

[0044] An example of the second period expenditure item input area R3 displayed on the display device 100 is shown in FIG.

[0045] Each second period expenditure item belongs to a category. In this example, the two categories, Travel and Christmas, are displayed in descending order of category budget. Category budgets will be explained later. By displaying the categories in descending order of annual amount in this way, it becomes easier for users to understand which category to review to have an impact on improving their household finances.

[0046] The "Detailed display" checkbox in the travel category display column is checked, so the second period expenditure items R31, date R32, and unit price R33 that belong to the travel category are displayed. If you uncheck the "Detailed display" checkbox, you can hide the second period expenditure items that belong to that category, as shown in Figure 9.

[0047] A budget is set for each category. For example, suppose the budget for the travel category is 50,000 yen. In the example of FIG. 8, the only second-period expenditure item belonging to the travel category is 3,000 yen, which corresponds to train fare, so the total of the second-period expenditure items belonging to the travel category is 300 yen. Furthermore, the remaining budget amount for the travel category is 47,000 yen = 50,000 yen - 3,000 yen. As in the example of FIG. 8, the remaining budget amount may be presented to the user, which is the amount obtained by subtracting the total unit price of each second-period expenditure item belonging to that category from the category budget. This calculation is performed, for example, by the second-period expenditure item acquisition unit 3 or the calculation unit 4.

[0048] A new category can be added by clicking the plus icon at the bottom right of the second period expenditure item input area R3. For example, when the plus icon is clicked, a category name and budget input field R34 pops up, as shown in Figure 10. If you enter the category name and budget in input field R34 and then click the additional text area at the bottom right of input field R34, the pop-up display of input field R34 disappears, and the entered category name is added to the second period expenditure item input area R3. The entered budget is considered the budget for that category.

[0049] If the user checks the "Add Next" checkbox below input field R34 and clicks the add text area at the bottom right of input field R34, the entered category name is added to the second period expenditure item input area R3, the entered budget is set as the budget for that category, and the pop-up display of input field R34 may be displayed again. This allows the user to add categories continuously.

[0050] If you check the "Subtract from annual savings" checkbox in input field R34 and click the additional text area at the bottom right of input field R34, the total of the second period expenditure items belonging to that category will be subtracted from the annual savings. In this case, the text "(From savings)" will be displayed in the upper left corner of the category display field. In the examples of Figures 8 and 9, the text "(From savings)" is displayed in the upper left corner of the Christmas category display field.

[0051] On the other hand, if you do not check the "Subtract from annual savings" checkbox in input field R34 and click on the additional text area at the bottom right of input field R34, the total of the second period expenditure items belonging to that category will not be subtracted from the annual savings amount.

[0052] Clicking the pencil icon in the top right corner of the category display area will bring up a pop-up that allows you to change the category name, category budget, and whether to deduct from the annual savings amount.

[0053] You can delete a category by clicking on the "Delete Category" text area at the bottom left of the category display field.

[0054] By clicking the "Add Item" text area to the right of the category display field, you can add a new second-period expenditure item belonging to that category. For example, if you click the "Add Item" text area in Figure 8, an input field R35 for the second-period expenditure item, unit price, and date will pop up, as shown in Figure 11. Note that in Figure 11, the expenditure item corresponds to the second-period expenditure item, the expenditure amount corresponds to the unit price, and the expenditure date corresponds to the date. If you enter the first-period expenditure item, unit price, and date in input field R35 and then click the add text area at the bottom right of input field R35, the pop-up display of input field R35 will disappear, and the entered second-period expenditure item, unit price, and date will be added to the second-period expenditure item input field R3.

[0055] If the user checks the "Add Next" checkbox below input field R35 and clicks the add text area at the bottom right of input field R35, the entered second period expenditure item, unit price, and date are added to the second period expenditure item input area R3, and the pop-up display of input field R35 may be displayed again. This allows the user to add second period expenditure items consecutively.

[0056] In addition, by clicking on the "Delete" character area in the category display column of the second period expenditure item input area R3, the second period expenditure item can be deleted.

[0057] In this way, each second period expenditure item belongs to a category, each category has a set budget, and the user may be able to input second period expenditure items for each category. This allows the user to make expenditure plans by category, making it easier for the user to plan relatively large expenditures (for example, travel expenses, clothing expenses).

[0058] <Calculation section 4> The calculation unit 4 receives as input the user's income information, the unit price and frequency of each periodic expenditure item acquired by the periodic expenditure item acquisition unit 1, the unit price or first period expenditure budget amount of each first period expenditure item input by the first period expenditure item acquisition unit 2, and the unit price of each second period expenditure item input by the second period expenditure item acquisition unit 3.

[0059] The calculation unit 4 calculates the amount of savings from the input information (step S4). The amount of savings is the amount of savings the user has made in a year. The calculated amount of savings is output to the savings amount information display unit 5.

[0060] For example, assume that information on monthly income (take-home pay) and annual bonus (take-home pay) is obtained as the user's income information. In this case, the calculation unit 4 calculates (monthly income (take-home pay) × 12 + annual bonus (take-home pay)) - (total annual amount calculated from the unit price and frequency of regular expenditure items) - (first period expenditure budget × 12) - (total unit price of each second period expenditure item), and determines the calculation result as the user's annual savings amount.

[0061] In addition, the calculation unit 4 may use the unit price of each first period expenditure item instead of the first period expenditure budget amount to calculate (monthly income (take-home pay) x 12 + annual bonus (take-home pay)) - (total annual amount calculated from the unit price and frequency of regular expenditure items) - (total unit price of each first period expenditure item) - (total unit price of each second period expenditure item), and use the calculation result as the user's annual savings amount.

[0062] <Savings amount information display section 5> The savings amount calculated by the calculation unit 4 is input to the savings amount information display unit 5.

[0063] The savings amount information display unit 5 displays the savings amount information, which is information about the savings amount (step S5).

[0064] By displaying the amount of savings, users can understand how much they can save if they live the life they want to lead in the future. For example, the savings amount information display section 5 is the savings amount display area R4 displayed on the display device 100.

[0065] In the examples of Figures 3 and 4, a savings amount display area R4 is provided to the lower right of the regular expenditure item input area R1. In the examples of Figures 8 to 11, a savings amount display area R4 is provided to the lower left of the second period expenditure item input area R3. In these savings amount display areas R4, the savings amount is displayed below "Annual savings amount (plan)."

[0066] As in these examples, the display of the first period expenditure item acquisition unit 2 and the second period expenditure item acquisition unit 3 may be performed on the same screen as the display of the savings amount information display unit 5. Furthermore, the savings amount information display unit 5 may display a new savings amount calculated from the input values ​​each time the user inputs the first period expenditure items and the second period expenditure items. This allows the user to easily grasp the new savings amount after changing the first period expenditure items and the second period expenditure items. Furthermore, the user can revise the plan based on how much money can be saved under this plan. Furthermore, it becomes clear to the user that in order to change the savings amount, it is necessary to change the unit price or frequency or stop purchasing.

[0067] [Variations] The specific configurations of the embodiments of the disclosed technology are not limited to those described above, and the specific configurations of the embodiments of the disclosed technology can be appropriately modified in design, etc., within the scope of the spirit of the embodiments of the disclosed technology.

[0068] For example, the household management device may include a basic information acquisition unit 6 indicated by a dashed line in FIG. 1. The basic information acquisition unit 6 acquires basic information. Examples of the basic information include income information such as monthly income (take-home pay) and annual bonus (take-home pay), and the first period expenditure budget amount. The basic information may include information other than these. Values ​​acquired by the basic information acquisition unit 6 are output to the calculation unit 4. The first period expenditure budget amount included in the basic information may be output to the first period expenditure item acquisition unit 2. An example of the basic information acquisition unit 6 is the basic information input unit R5 displayed on the display device 100. The basic information input unit R5 accepts user input regarding the basic information. The basic information input unit R5 can be displayed, for example, by clicking the person icon in the upper right corner of FIGS. 3 to 13.

[0069] 12 shows an example of the basic information input section R5 displayed on the display device 100. In this example, the basic information input section R5 includes monthly income (take-home pay) R51, annual bonus (take-home pay) R52, and monthly discretionary expenses R53. The value entered in monthly income (take-home pay) R51 is set as the monthly income (take-home pay), the value entered in annual bonus (take-home pay) R52 is set as the annual bonus (take-home pay), and the value entered in monthly discretionary expenses R53 is set as the first period expenditure budget.

[0070] The regular expenditure item acquisition unit 1 may acquire at least one of the regular expenditure items, unit price, and frequency based on data recorded on an external server. The regular expenditure item acquisition unit 1 can acquire this data by using an API (Application Programming Interface). For example, the regular expenditure item acquisition unit 1 acquires at least one of the regular expenditure items, unit price, and frequency from the acquired data and displays it in the regular expenditure item input area R1.

[0071] Similarly, the first period expenditure item acquisition unit 2 may acquire at least one of the first period expenditure items and unit prices based on data recorded in an external server. The first period expenditure item acquisition unit 2 can acquire this data by using an API.

[0072] Similarly, the second period expenditure item acquisition unit 3 may acquire at least one of the second period expenditure items and unit prices based on data recorded in an external server. The second period expenditure item acquisition unit 3 can acquire this data by using an API.

[0073] The periodic expenditure item acquisition unit 1 may acquire the unit price and frequency corresponding to the periodic expenditure item input by the user from an external server. Similarly, the first period expenditure item acquisition unit 2 may acquire the unit price corresponding to the first period expenditure item input by the user from an external server. Similarly, the second period expenditure item acquisition unit 3 may acquire the unit price corresponding to the second period expenditure item input by the user from an external server.

[0074] Examples of data recorded on the external server include a credit card usage history of a user of the household management device, a bank account statement of deposits and withdrawals, etc. The data recorded on the external server may also include the unit price and frequency of each periodic expenditure item, the unit price of each first period expenditure item, and the unit price of each second period expenditure item of each user who has attributes similar to those of the user of the household management device.

[0075] For example, the average unit price of a periodic expenditure item can be used as the unit price of that periodic expenditure item. Also, for example, the average interval between periodic expenditure items can be used as the frequency of that periodic expenditure item. Also, the average unit price of a first-period expenditure item can be used as the unit price corresponding to that first-period expenditure item. Also, the average unit price of a second-period expenditure item can be used as the unit price corresponding to that second-period expenditure item.

[0076] The basic information acquisition unit 6 may acquire the basic information from data stored in an external server. In this case, the external server stores basic information about each user having attributes similar to those of the user of the household management device. In this case, the average value of each piece of basic information can be used as the basic information of the user. For example, the average value of the first period expenditure budget amounts of each user having attributes similar to those of the user of the household management device can be used as the first period expenditure budget amount of the user.

[0077] The household management device may include a notification unit 7 that notifies the user of an advertisement related to a future expenditure item that is at least one of a periodic expenditure item, a first period expenditure item, and a second period expenditure item.

[0078] The notification unit 7 is, for example, a notification area R6 displayed together with any one of the periodic expenditure item acquisition unit 1, the first period expenditure item acquisition unit 2, and the second period expenditure item acquisition unit 3. An example of the notification area R6 displayed on the display device 100 is shown in FIG. 13. In this example, the notification area R6 is provided in the first period expenditure item input area R2. Note that clicking on the notification area R6 may open a web page related to the advertisement.

[0079] The notification unit 7 may notify the user by sending an advertisement to the user via email, message, or the like.

[0080] The savings amount information display unit 5 may display, along with the savings amount, at least one of the following in a graph: the user's income information, the unit price of each regular expenditure item, the annual amount, the unit price of each first period expenditure item, the first period expenditure budget amount, the unit price of each second period expenditure item, and the total unit price for each category of each second period expenditure item.

[0081] The periodic expenditure item acquisition unit 1, first period expenditure item acquisition unit 2, second period expenditure item acquisition unit 3, calculation unit 4, savings amount information display unit 5, basic information acquisition unit 6, notification unit 7, and display device 100, which may be included in the household management device, may be implemented in different devices. For example, the periodic expenditure item acquisition unit 1, first period expenditure item acquisition unit 2, second period expenditure item acquisition unit 3, savings amount information display unit 5, basic information acquisition unit 6, and notification unit 7, which may be included in the display device 100, may be implemented on the screen of a client terminal such as a PC, smartphone, or tablet owned by a user, and the calculation unit 4, which is another component, may be implemented on a server. Examples of the client terminal screen include the screen of a web browser on the client terminal and the screen of an app on the client terminal. In this case, communication between the client terminal and the server is performed via a communication network such as the Internet.

[0082] The various processes described in the embodiments of the disclosed technology may not only be performed chronologically in the order described, but may also be performed in parallel or individually depending on the processing capacity of the device performing the processes or as needed.

[0083] For example, data may be exchanged directly between the components of the household management device, or may be exchanged via a storage unit (not shown).

[0084] Furthermore, a device (terminal) for using the device, system, or method of the present invention via a network (telecommunications line) may also be provided. The "device (terminal) for use" may be provided with functions (e.g., control function, decoding function, restoration function, input / output function, etc.) necessary to obtain the effects of implementing the device, system, or method of the present invention.

[0085] It goes without saying that other modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0086] All publications, patent applications, and technical standards mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication, patent application, or technical standard was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

[0087] [Programs, recording media] The functions performed by the components described herein may be implemented in circuitry or processing circuitry, including general-purpose processors, application-specific processors, integrated circuits, ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), a CPU (a Central Processing Unit), conventional circuits, and / or combinations thereof, programmed to perform the described functions. A processor includes transistors and other circuits and is considered to be circuitry or processing circuitry. A processor may also be a programmed processor that executes programs stored in memory.

[0088] In this specification, a circuitry, unit, or means is hardware that is programmed to realize or performs the described functions, which may be any hardware disclosed herein or any hardware known to be programmed to realize or perform the described functions.

[0089] If the hardware is a processor considered to be a type of circuitry, the circuitry, means, or unit is a combination of the hardware and software used to configure the hardware and / or processor.

[0090] The various processes described above can be implemented by loading a program that executes each step of the above method into the recording unit 2020 of the computer 2000 shown in Figure 14, and operating the control unit 2010, input unit 2030, output unit 2040, display unit 2050, etc.

[0091] The program describing the processing contents can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, which may be, for example, a magnetic recording device, an optical disk, a magneto-optical recording medium, a semiconductor memory, or any other suitable recording medium.

[0092] The program may be distributed, for example, by selling, transferring, lending, etc. a portable recording medium such as a DVD or CD-ROM on which the program is recorded. Furthermore, the program may be stored in a storage device of a server computer, and then transferred from the server computer to another computer via a network, thereby distributing the program.

[0093] A computer that executes such a program may first temporarily store the program recorded on a portable recording medium or transferred from a server computer in its own storage device. Then, when executing a process, the computer reads the program stored on its own recording medium and executes the process in accordance with the read program. Alternatively, the computer may read the program directly from a portable recording medium and execute the process in accordance with the program. Furthermore, the computer may execute the process in accordance with the program each time a program is transferred from a server computer to the computer. The server computer may not transfer the program to the computer, but may instead execute the process through a so-called ASP (Application Service Provider) service, which realizes the processing function by issuing an execution instruction and obtaining the results. Furthermore, the server computer may execute the process on a terminal using a so-called SaaS (Software as a Service) service, which allows users to use part of the server computer along with the program. In this embodiment, the program includes information used for computer processing that is equivalent to a program (such as data that is not a direct instruction to the computer but has properties that define computer processing).

[0094] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the device is configured by executing a predetermined program on a computer, but at least a part of the processing contents may be realized by hardware.

Claims

1. a periodic expenditure item acquisition unit that defines expenditure items that occur periodically at intervals shorter than one year as periodic expenditure items and acquires the unit price and frequency of each periodic expenditure item; a first period expenditure item acquisition unit that acquires the unit price of each first period expenditure item, wherein a period of a predetermined first period length is defined as a first period, expenditure items incurred by the user during each first period other than the periodic expenditure items are defined as first period expenditure items, and a first period expenditure budget amount is set for each first period expenditure item, which is a budget amount related to the total unit price of the first period expenditure items; a savings amount information display unit that displays savings amount information, which is information about the amount of savings of the user for one year, calculated from the user's income information, the unit price and frequency of each of the acquired periodic expenditure items, and the unit price of each of the acquired first period expenditure items or the first period expenditure budget amount; the first period of time is less than one year, and the first period of time includes a future period; Household management device.

2. 2. The household management device of claim 1, The method further includes a second period expenditure item acquisition unit that acquires a unit price of each second period expenditure item by defining a second period as a predetermined second period length that is longer than the first period length, and defining expenditure items incurred by the user during the second period as second period expenditure items other than the regular expenditure items and the first period expenditure items, the savings amount information display unit displays savings amount information, which is information about the user's annual savings amount calculated from the user's income information, the unit price and frequency of each of the acquired periodic expenditure items, the unit price of each of the acquired first period expenditure items or the first period expenditure budget amount, and the unit price of each of the acquired second period expenditure items; the second period length is one year, and the second period includes a future period; Household management device.

3. 2. The household management device of claim 1, the first period expenditure item acquisition unit presents to the user a remaining budget amount, which is the amount obtained by subtracting the total of the unit prices of the acquired first period expenditure items from the first period expenditure budget amount; Household management device.

4. 4. The household management device according to claim 1, a notification unit that notifies the user of an advertisement related to a future expenditure item, which is at least one of a periodic expenditure item, a first period expenditure item, and a second period expenditure item; Household management device.

5. A program for causing a computer to function as each unit of the household management device of claim 1.

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