Framing the Problem

Buying a home is one of the most confusing and intimidating financial milestones. For first-time buyers in particular, the process is riddled with complexity: unfamiliar terminology, hidden costs, and no clear roadmap for what to save or when. At the same time, lenders wanted better ways to engage qualified borrowers earlier in their journey.

The opportunity: Could we create a product that not only educated first-time buyers, but also guided and incentivized them to actually save and reach key homeownership milestones?

Approach

1. Start with Education

• Conducted interviews and surveys with aspiring homebuyers to understand their biggest points of confusion (closing costs, title insurance, appraisals, and down payments consistently surfaced).

• Launched an education-only MVP that broke down the buying journey into plain language modules.

• Early adoption confirmed there was real demand for clarity: users reported they “finally understood what went into buying a home.”

2. Add Rewards through Lender Partnerships

• Partnered with major lenders (Rocket Mortgage, Guaranteed Rate, Loan Depot, and others) to offer closing cost credits as rewards.

• Designed flows that connected educational milestones with lender incentives, giving users both knowledge and tangible financial benefit.

3. Integrate with Banking to Enable Real Saving

• Partnered with a banking provider to launch FDIC-insured savings accounts, allowing users to deposit real money toward their goals.

• Designed secure onboarding flows, account linking, and clear progress dashboards.

• Tracked metrics like average savings per user and percent of users connecting external accounts to validate behavior.

4. Gamify with Milestone-Based Saving

• Broke savings into specific homeownership milestones: title insurance, home appraisal, inspection, and finally the down payment.

• Users could set aside money toward each milestone and see their progress visually.

• Introduced lender credit matching tied to these milestones, further incentivizing completion and reducing the perceived barrier of the “huge” down payment.

5. Ongoing User Research

• Ran usability testing sessions to refine onboarding, savings flows, and milestone visualizations.

• Regularly spoke with users who were actively saving to learn what motivated them, what discouraged them, and how lender incentives influenced behavior.

• Used insights to refine copy, reduce cognitive load, and create moments of celebration when milestones were reached.

Product Evolution

The product grew from a simple educational tool into a full-stack financial platform:

• Education as the foundation: clear, step-by-step content

• Rewards layered in: lender credits at key points in the journey

• Banking integration: secure, real savings with FDIC insurance

• Gamification: milestone-based progress with lender matching

This staged evolution let us validate value at each step while building toward a differentiated, defensible platform.

Outcomes

The results of Digs Saver showed that even the most intimidating financial goal could be broken into achievable steps. By combining education, rewards, and real savings tools, we proved that first-time buyers were not only willing to engage but also able to make measurable progress toward homeownership.

• 20,000+ users actively saving for their first home

• Millions of dollars saved through the platform

• Users successfully used their funds to purchase homes with lenders in our network

• Average savings balance and bank account connection rates provided quantitative proof of traction

• Lenders saw higher engagement with early-stage buyers, making Digs a valuable partner in their funnel

Reflection

Digs Saver demonstrated how design can transform a daunting, opaque process into one that feels achievable, motivating, and even rewarding. By starting lean with education, layering in incentives, and ultimately building a true financial product, we created a tool that empowered first-time homebuyers while aligning incentives for lenders.

For me, this case study highlights the value of deep user empathy, smart product sequencing, and end-to-end design execution. As both Co-Founder and Designer, I had to balance big-picture strategy with hands-on craft — and the results proved that thoughtful design can directly influence life-changing outcomes like homeownership.