What I was trying to do: I am a college student living with four roommates. When we first moved in, things got complicated fast. We were buying big items like a couch, a tv, and a dining table, along with weekly groceries from Walmart and Target. Managing the money was a total mess. We were constantly having arguments and misunderstandings about who paid for what and who owed whom. I wanted a way to make our finances better so we could stay friends without the stress.
What I built or set up: I built a custom excel spreadsheet that handles all our household money. Whenever someone buys something, they log the item, the date, and the price. The good part is the checkbox system, you just check the boxes for the roommates who participated in that expense. The sheet then automatically calculates the cost per person and updates a balances summary. I used color coding so it is very easy to see, green means you are owed money, and red means you need to pay someone back. I even added a reference tab with everyone’s Zelle ids and our shared Walmart+ login so we never have to hunt for information.
Why it mattered to me: It mattered because it completely changed the energy in our apartment. Before the spreadsheet, money talks were awkward and tense. Now, everything is simple and automatic. If there is ever a question, the data is right there for everyone to see. We went from having weekly arguments to being fully settled up with zero confusion. It’s a small tool, but it solved a huge human problem for us.
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One small way I’ve used my tech skills outside of formal work was to solve a very personal study problem during my engineering semesters.
What I was trying to do
I struggled with last-minute exam prep because my notes were scattered across PDFs, WhatsApp images, and random notebooks. Searching for one concept before exams wasted a lot of time and increased stress.
What I built
I created a simple Python-based study helper that:
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Took my handwritten notes (images/PDFs)
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Extracted text using OCR
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Organized topics into folders by subject and unit
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Generated short summaries and keyword lists for quick revision
Later, I added a small script to generate practice questions from the notes so I could test myself before exams.
Why it mattered to me
This wasn’t a “big project,” but it genuinely changed how I studied. Instead of panicking before exams, I had structured, searchable notes and quick revision material. What surprised me most was realizing that even basic scripting skills could reduce stress and improve consistency—not just productivity.
It reminded me that tech skills aren’t only for jobs or assignments; they can quietly improve everyday life too.
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I built a tool for my self which hits every api of all my projects that I have ever built so it helps me monitor all my projects and if anything goes wrong it notifies me
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I noticed that whenever I sat down to study, I would always end up opening youtube or twitter for a minute, and then a lot of time was gone. I kept telling myself to be more disciplined, but it never worked. I realized the problem wasn’t motivation but it was that the apps were always there. So I decided to remove the option instead of relying on willpower.
I built a small command-line tool that blocks distracting websites at the system level using the hosts file. When focus mode is on, sites like youtube and instagram don’t open at all. to unlock them, I have to log solved dsa problems using the tool. If I haven’t solved enough problems, it simply refuses to unlock. It also resets every day, so I can’t cheat using yesterday’s work.
This mattered to me because it actually changed my behavior. Browser extensions and timers never worked for me because I could ignore or disable them. This tool made it uncomfortable to procrastinate, which is why it worked. It’s a small script, but it helped me take my study time seriously and stop wasting my time and life.
1 Like
Submissions are closed.
Thanks for sharing your submissions. We’re reviewing entries now and the winner will be announced tomorrow.
Feel free to 
the ones that stood out to you.
Challenge Winner
Huge congrats to @greencat232 on their submission! It tackles a genuine real-world problem. Conversations about money are often awkward, and this simple tracking tool removes the guesswork, helping to prevent so many unnecessary arguments.
There were so many other submissions that I personally loved, but unfortunately there can only be one winner.
Clear problem, real use, nice execution.
See the winning entry → 🏡 $100 Community Challenge – Skills Outside of Work | 24 Hours Only - #21 by greencat232
New challenge coming next week.
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