Redefining Financial Education
Where behavioural psychology meets practical budgeting
We didn't start novariqelum to create another budgeting app. Our journey began when our founder, Dr. Ramona Blackwood, noticed something peculiar during her research at Newcastle University – people weren't failing at budgeting because they lacked tools. They were struggling because traditional approaches ignored how the human brain actually processes financial decisions.
Built on Solid Research
Since 2019, our interdisciplinary team has been developing what we call "contextual categorization" – a method that adapts to how people naturally think about their money, rather than forcing them into rigid financial categories.
- Analysed spending patterns of over 15,000 UK households between 2020-2024
- Collaborated with behavioural economists at three universities
- Developed our proprietary categorization algorithm through machine learning
- Tested our approach with diverse demographic groups across Britain
- Published findings in the Journal of Applied Financial Psychology
What we discovered changed everything. Traditional budgeting fails because it treats all brains the same – but a teacher's relationship with money differs vastly from a freelancer's, and a student's financial priorities shift seasonally in ways that static budgets can't accommodate.
What Makes Us Different
While others focus on tracking expenses, we focus on understanding the person behind those expenses. Here's what sets our approach apart:
Adaptive Intelligence
Our system learns your spending patterns and adjusts categories in real-time. If you're a teacher, it knows September and January are expensive months. If you freelance, it recognizes irregular income patterns and suggests accordingly.
Psychological Anchoring
We use established principles from behavioural economics to help you make better financial decisions. Our categorization suggestions are based on how your brain actually processes financial choices, not theoretical frameworks.
Cultural Context
Developed specifically for UK financial behaviour, our system understands council tax cycles, holiday spending patterns, and other uniquely British financial rhythms that generic budgeting tools miss completely.
Meet the Research Team
Our diverse backgrounds in psychology, economics, and technology create solutions that actually work for real people.