Method and system for predictive bill estimation based on financial data from similar users

A system and method for predictive bill estimation includes a process for predictive bill estimation whereby financial data associated with one or more “contributing consumers” is obtained from one or more sources. The financial data obtained from the one or more contributing consumers is then aggregated, analyzed, and/or categorized, according to one or more criteria/parameters associated with the financial transaction data and/or the contributing consumer. The aggregated and/or categorized financial data is then stored. A user consumer then initiates a request for cost/bill data associated with a given area and/or event. The aggregated and/or categorized financial data obtained from one or more contributing consumers is then searched based on one or more search parameters and results data representing multiple financial transactions and/or purchases associated the specified area and/or event is obtained. The results data obtained is then presented to the user consumer in any one of various data and/or report formats, and the user consumer may be notified/alerted to predicted fluctuations in his or her bills automatically well in advance of the expected fluctuation in order to provide the user consumer the opportunity to budget for the predicted fluctuations.

BACKGROUND

It is often very important for consumers to determine, well in advance, what bills they are likely to be responsible for, and any fluctuations that may occur in recurring bills over a period of time. This is obviously true for budgeting purposes, but it is also true when trying to make life and/or purchase decisions, such as a change of residence or whether a given product and/or service should be purchased and/or what features of a given product and/or service are most important.

A consumer who has lived in a given area for a significant length of time, and/or whose personal and financial situation is relatively static, generally knows what bills to expect, and what fluctuations are likely to occur in their bills. Consequently, these static consumers are less likely to be caught off guard by hidden costs and/or changes in bill amounts. However, the reality for many Americans is that changes of residence and/or financial situation are inevitable, and often beyond the control of the consumer. Consequently, for many Americans, when they do move and/or change their financial status, determining what bills associated with the change are likely to come up, and/or what fluctuations in a given bill are likely, is a relatively difficult task, and is often not recognized as an issue until the change is made and the bill is due.

For instance, a given consumer may have recently moved to a new state, or may be contemplating a move, or may be buying a home for the first time in a given area. In these cases, the consumer can probably accurately determine the cost of housing in the new state/residence, at least the direct cost of the house or rent in the new location. The consumer can probably also fairly accurately determine the cost of food and perhaps clothing in the new location. However, in many cases there are hidden costs/bills associated with the move/change that the consumer may not be able to identify so readily, such as property taxes, seasonal bill fluctuations, services associated with the change, etc.

As an example, a consumer moving, or considering a move, from a mild climate, like Los Angeles, Calif., to the Mid-West, say Chicago, Ill., may not truly appreciate how much it will cost to heat a house in the winter in the Mid-West and the corresponding increase in utility bills during the Fall and Winter months may be a real surprise to the consumer. In addition, the consumer may not even be aware that in colder climates there are additional costs/bills that simply don't occur in L.A., such as driveway snow clearing services, weather related house repair, and emergency supplies such as generators and heating. In addition, there may be significant differences in property tax, sales tax, and other tax structures between the two locations, as well as differences in services used and costs incurred. As another example, in L.A. there is little difference between a winter wardrobe and a summer wardrobe, and often a single multi-seasonal wardrobe will suffice. However, in Chicago, the average person literally needs at least two separate wardrobes; one for Fall/Winter; and one for Spring/Summer, neither of which being of particular use outside its respective season(s) of use. This could be a real surprise to the consumer moving from L.A. who did not anticipate the cost of winter clothing.

As another example, a consumer buying a house for the first time may be unaware of numerous bills/costs associated with home ownership either in general, or associated with a given area such as, but not limited to: trash service; property taxes; sewer service; gardener service; and various utilities and maintenance costs and/or how these cost fluctuate according to season from month-to-month.

In short, a consumer making a move could quite easily be caught off-guard by unexpected bills and/or unexpected fluctuations in recurring bills and, as a result, have their budgets negated and finances put into disarray.

As a result of the situation described above, it is currently quite difficult to determine the actual total cost of living associated with a change of residence and/or change in financial situation, both in terms of identifying all likely bills, and in terms of anticipating fluctuations in recurring/anticipated bills. Consequently, many consumers are faced with unexpected costs/bills, and many carefully prepared budgets are negated by these unexpected costs/bills. This can cause significant consumer stress and have a direct effect on the consumer's satisfaction with the move and/or a purchase of a product and/or service in, and/or for use in, the new location.

SUMMARY

In accordance with one embodiment, a system and method for predictive bill estimation includes a process for predictive bill estimation whereby financial data associated with one or more “contributing consumers” is obtained from one or more sources. In one embodiment, the contributing consumers agree to share the financial data with other “user consumers”. In one embodiment, the financial data includes data associated with specific financial transactions and, in one embodiment, the specific financial transactions are tagged as sharable by the contributing consumers. In one embodiment, the financial data is categorized by the contributing consumers and, in one embodiment, multiple financial transactions are associated with a specific expense category by the contributing consumers. In one embodiment, the financial data obtained from the one or more contributing consumers is then aggregated, analyzed, and/or categorized, according to one or more criteria/parameters associated with the financial transaction data and/or the contributing consumer. In one embodiment, the aggregated and/or categorized financial data is then stored by the process for predictive bill estimation. In one embodiment, a user consumer then initiates a request for cost/bill data associated with a given area and/or event. In one embodiment, the aggregated and/or categorized financial data obtained from one or more contributing consumers is then searched based on one or more search parameters and results data representing multiple financial transactions and/or purchases associated the specified area and/or event and/or time frame is obtained. In one embodiment, the results data obtained is then presented to the user consumer in any one of various data and/or report formats, and, in one embodiment, the user consumer is notified/alerted to predicted fluctuations in his or her bills automatically well in advance of the expected fluctuation in order to provide the user consumer the opportunity to budget for the predicted fluctuations.

In one embodiment, the financial data obtained from one or more contributing consumers is general financial data representing a given contributing consumer's general and/or overall financial status and/or demographics, including, but not limited to: the contributing consumer's area of residence/zip code; the contributing consumer's total assets; details regarding one or more of the contributing consumer's assets, such as the size and location of the contributing consumer's house; the contributing consumer's total liabilities/debt; the contributing consumer's net worth; the contributing consumer's average discretionary spending; details regarding the contributing consumer's spending habits and monthly/recurring expenses; the contributing consumer's age group; various demographic data regarding the contributing consumer and/or the contributing consumer's spending; the contributing consumer's marital status and/or number of dependents; the contributing consumer's commute; and/or any other data regarding the contributing consumer's general and/or overall financial status desired and/or available. In one embodiment, as discussed below, the contributing consumer's general and/or overall financial status and/or demographics data is used to categorize and/or identify contributing consumers, and their financial data, according to various criteria so contributing consumer's most like a given user consumer can be identified and/or a user consumer can narrow search results to results from specific “types” of contributing consumers.

In one embodiment, the financial data for one or more contributing consumers includes data regarding specific financial transactions conducted by the contributing consumer including, but not limited to: dates of specific financial transactions; payees/payers associated with specific financial transactions; categories of specific financial transactions; total expenditures in specific financial transaction categories over designated time frames; specific items purchased through specific financial transactions; and/or any other data regarding specific financial transactions desired and/or available, and designated as sharable by the contributing consumer.

In one embodiment, the financial data for one or more contributing consumers is obtained from one or more computing system implemented financial management systems as defined herein, and/or as known in the art the time of filing, and/or as developed after the time of filing.

In one embodiment, the contributing consumers agree to share the financial data with user consumers on a transaction-by-transaction approval basis. In one embodiment, the contributing consumers agree to share the financial data with user consumers on a transaction category approval basis. In one embodiment, the contributing consumers agree to share the financial data with user consumers without restriction. In other embodiments, the contributing consumers agree to share the financial data with user consumers based on any restrictions/criteria defined by the contributing consumer.

In one embodiment, the financial data to be shared is tagged as sharable by the contributing consumers using a user interface display and a user interface device, such as those defined herein, known in the art, or developed after the time of filing.

In one embodiment, specific financial transaction data is categorized by the contributing consumer and one or more specific financial transactions are associated by the contributing consumer with a specific category, such as utilities, or clothing, or car/gas.

In one embodiment, the financial data obtained from one or more contributing consumers is aggregated according to the category associated with the financial data and one or more parameters associated with the contributing consumer such as, but not limited to: the contributing consumer's area of residence/zip code; the contributing consumer's total assets; details regarding one or more of the contributing consumer's assets, such as the size and location of the contributing consumer's house and/or the type of car the contributing consumer drives; the contributing consumer's total income and/or the percentage of the contributing consumer's income spent in the category of the financial transaction data; the contributing consumer's net worth; the contributing consumer's average discretionary spending and/or the percentage of the contributing consumer's discretionary spending spent in the category of the financial transaction data; the contributing consumer's age group; various demographic data regarding the contributing consumer and/or the contributing consumer's spending; the contributing consumer's marital status and/or number of dependents; the contributing consumer's commute and/or profession; and/or any other data regarding the contributing consumer's general and/or overall financial status desired and/or available.

In one embodiment, the financial data obtained from one or more contributing consumers is aggregated according to categorizations and/or re-categorizations, and/or groupings, of the financial data determined by the process for predictive bill estimation.

In one embodiment the contributing consumer financial data is then stored by, or under the control of, the process for predictive bill estimation in a database, as defined herein, known in the art at the time of filing, or as developed after the time of filing.

In one embodiment, a user consumer initiates a request for cost/bill data associated with a given area and/or event using a user interface display and a user interface device. In one embodiment, the user consumer provides other search parameters and/or criteria, such as a request to see all results from specific categories of contributing consumers or from contributing consumers having specific financial and/or demographic attributes.

In one embodiment, the financial data obtained from one or more contributing consumers is then searched and search results data associated with the given area and/or event, and/or most closely matching any user consumer search parameters and/or criteria, is gathered. In one embodiment, the search results data includes data representing all financial transactions, and therefore all bills and/or bill payments, associated with the given area and/or event of the user consumer initiated search request.

In one embodiment, the search results data associated with given area and/or event, and/or most closely matching any user consumer search parameters and/or criteria, is then presented to the user consumer in any one of various data and/or report formats.

In one embodiment, the user consumer is shown a listing of specific bills paid by the one or more contributor consumers associated with the given area and/or event of the user consumer initiated search request. In one embodiment, the user consumer is shown a listing of costs in specific categories paid by the one or more contributor consumers associated with the given area and/or event of the user consumer initiated search request. In this way, a user consumer can potentially see all bills, including bills associated with potentially hidden costs the user consumer was not aware of.

In one embodiment, the user consumer is shown a listing of specific bills associated with the given area and/or event of the user consumer initiated search request in a month-to-month comparison. In one embodiment, the user consumer is shown a listing of costs in specific categories paid by the one or more contributor consumers in a month-to-month comparison. In this way a user consumer can see all bills, including bills associated with potentially hidden costs the user consumer was not aware of, and potential monthly and/or seasonal fluctuations in those bills.

In one embodiment, the user consumer is shown results and/or alerted to potential upcoming bills and/or bill fluctuations manually in response to a specific user consumer request. In one embodiment, the user consumer is shown results and/or alerted to potential upcoming bills and/or bill fluctuations, semi-automatically or automatically on a periodic basis. In one embodiment, the user consumer is shown results and/or alerted to potential upcoming bills and/or bill fluctuations, automatically on a periodic basis well in advance of the predicted bills and/or bill fluctuations in order to provide the user consumer the opportunity to budget for the predicted fluctuations.

Using the system and method for predictive bill estimation disclosed herein, a user consumer is provided the opportunity to see financial data associated with other consumer's and, in particular, see what bills and bill amounts are being paid by similarly situated consumers. Consequently, using the system and method for predictive bill estimation disclosed herein, a consumer can learn from the experience of similarly situated consumers and thereby more readily determine the actual bills, and amount of those bills, that are associated with a given location and/or event. Therefore, using the system and method for predictive bill estimation disclosed herein, the consumer is far less likely to be faced with unexpected costs associated with a move and/or financial event.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In accordance with one embodiment, a system and method for predictive bill estimation includes a process for predictive bill estimation whereby financial data associated with one or more “contributing consumers” is obtained from one or more sources. In one embodiment, the contributing consumers agree to share the financial data with other “user consumers”. In one embodiment, the financial data includes data associated with specific financial transactions and, in one embodiment, the specific financial transactions are tagged as sharable by the contributing consumers. In one embodiment, the financial data is categorized by the contributing consumers and, in one embodiment, multiple financial transactions are associated with a specific expense category by the contributing consumers. In one embodiment, the financial data obtained from the one or more contributing consumers is then aggregated, analyzed, and/or categorized, according to one or more criteria/parameters associated with the financial transaction data and/or the contributing consumer. In one embodiment, the aggregated and/or categorized financial data is then stored by the process for predictive bill estimation. In one embodiment, a user consumer then initiates a request for cost/bill data associated with a given area and/or event. In one embodiment, the aggregated and/or categorized financial data obtained from one or more contributing consumers is then searched based on one or more search parameters and results data representing multiple financial transactions and/or purchases associated the specified area and/or event and/or time frame is obtained. In one embodiment, the results data obtained is then presented to the user consumer in any one of various data and/or report formats, and, in one embodiment, the user consumer is notified/alerted to predicted fluctuations in his or her bills automatically well in advance of the expected fluctuation in order to provide the user consumer the opportunity to budget for the predicted fluctuations.

Hardware System Architecture

FIG. 1is a block diagram of an exemplary hardware architecture for implementing one embodiment of a system and method for predictive bill estimation, such as exemplary process200(FIG. 2) discussed herein, that, returning toFIG. 1, includes: a computing system100, e.g., a first computing system; a computing system150, e.g., a second computing system; a server system120; and a database170, all operatively coupled by a network130.

As seen inFIG. 1, computing system100typically includes a central processing unit (CPU)101, an input/output (I/O) interface105, and a memory system103, including cache memory103A. In one embodiment, memory system103includes all, or part of, a computing system implemented financial management system180such as any computing system implemented financial management system defined herein, known in the art at the time of filing, and/or as developed thereafter. In one embodiment, computing system implemented financial management system180is stored, in whole, or in part, in memory system103, and is used by, or includes, or is accessed by, a process for predictive bill estimation, such as exemplary process200(FIG. 2) discussed below.

Returning toFIG. 1, computing system100may further include standard user interface devices such as a keyboard107, a mouse111, a printer109, and a display device115, as well as, one or more standard input/output (I/O) devices113, such as a compact disk (CD) or Digital Video Disc (DVD) drive, floppy disk drive, or other digital or waveform port, or other device capable of inputting data to, and outputting data from, computing system100, whether available or known at the time of filing or as later developed. As discussed in more detail below, in one embodiment, a process for predictive bill estimation and/or a computing system implemented financial management system are entered, in whole, or in part, into computing system100via I/O device113, such as from a CD, DVD, floppy disk, portable hard drive, memory stick, download site, or other medium and/or computer program product as defined herein.

In one embodiment, computing system100also includes an Internet browser capability182that, in one embodiment, includes a search engine (not shown) and is stored, in whole, or in part in memory103.

In one embodiment, computing system100is a computing system accessible by one or more contributing consumers and/or user consumers and used, and/or accessible, by another computing system, such as computing system150(discussed below). Computing systems100and150can be any computing system as defined herein and/or as known in the art at the time of filing and/or as developed thereafter, that includes components that can execute all, or part, of a process for predictive bill estimation, and/or a computing system implemented financial management system, in accordance with at least one of the embodiments as described herein.

In one embodiment, computing system100is used, controlled, and/or accessible by, a provider of and/or a system and process for predictive bill estimation and data representing all, or part, of financial data associated with one or more contributing consumers is stored in computing system100, typically in accounts associated with a given contributing consumer. In one embodiment, computing system100is used, controlled, and/or accessible by, a provider of and/or a computing system implemented financial management system and data representing all, or part, of financial data associated with one or more contributing consumers is stored in computing system100, typically in accounts associated with a given contributing consumer.

Similarly, computing system150typically includes a CPU151, an input/output (I/O) interface155, and a memory system153, including cache memory153A. Similar to computing system100, computing system150may further include standard user interface devices such as a keyboard157, a mouse161, a printer159, and a display device165, as well as, one or more standard input/output (I/O) devices163, such as a compact disk (CD) or DVD drive, floppy disk drive, or other digital or waveform port, or other device capable of inputting data to, and outputting data from, computing system150, whether available or known at the time of filing or as later developed.

In one embodiment, computing system150is used, controlled, and/or accessible by one or more user consumers and used, and/or accessible, by another computing system, such as computing system100. In one embodiment, computing system150is used, controlled, and/or accessible by, a provider of and/or a system and process for predictive bill estimation and data representing all, or part, of data associated with one or more user and/or contributing consumers is stored in computing system150, typically in accounts associated with a given consumer. In one embodiment, computing system150is used, controlled, and/or accessible by, a provider of and/or a computing system implemented financial management system and data representing all, or part, of financial data associated with one or more user and/or contributing consumers is stored in computing system150, typically in accounts associated with a given consumer.

As discussed in more detail below, in one embodiment, all, or part of, a process for predictive bill estimation, and/or a computing system implemented financial management system, can also be loaded, in whole, or in part, into computing system150from computing system100for storage in memory system153and/or cache memory153A.

Also shown inFIG. 1is database170. In one embodiment, database170is a data storage device, a designated server system or computing system, or a designated portion of one or more server systems or computing systems, such as computing systems100,150and server system120, or a distributed database, or an external and/or portable hard drive. In one embodiment, database170is a dedicated mass storage device implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of hardware and software. In one embodiment, database170includes a web-based function. As discussed in more detail below, in one embodiment, database170is under the control of a contributing consumer, and/or the contributing consumer's agents, a user consumer, and/or the user consumer's agents, and/or a process for predictive bill estimation, and/or a computing system implemented financial management system.

In one embodiment, database170is used, controlled, and/or accessible by, a provider of and/or a system and process for predictive bill estimation and data representing all, or part, of financial data associated with one or more contributing consumers is stored in database170(FIG. 1). In one embodiment, database170is used, controlled, and/or accessible by, a provider of and/or a computing system implemented financial management system and data representing all, or part, of financial data associated with one or more contributing consumers is stored in database170.

In one embodiment, computing systems100and150, and database170, are coupled to a server system120through network130. In one embodiment, server system120includes a server system display device125, a server system processor121, a server system memory123, and a server system network interface122.

In one embodiment, server system120is used in a station-to-station arrangement, such as a peer-to-peer, or hybrid peer-to peer, arrangement, as an indexing and/or central server used to connect a first computing system, such as computing system100, and a second computing system, such as computing system150.

In one embodiment, server system120is used, controlled, and/or accessible by, a provider of and/or a system and process for predictive bill estimation and data representing all, or part, of financial data associated with one or more contributing consumers is stored in server system120. In one embodiment, server system120is used, controlled, and/or accessible by, a provider of and/or a computing system implemented financial management system and data representing all, or part, of financial data associated with one or more contributing consumers is stored in server system120.

Network130can be any network or network system as defined herein, known in the art at the time of filing, and/or as developed after the time of filing, capable of allowing communication between two or more computing systems.

Those of skill in the art will readily recognize that the components shown inFIG. 1, such as computing systems100and150, database170, server system120, and their respective components, are shown for illustrative purposes only and that architectures with more or fewer components can implement, and benefit from, the invention. Moreover, one or more components of computing system100, computing system150, database170, and server system120may be located remotely from their respective system and accessed via network130. In addition, the particular type of, and configuration of, computing systems100and150, database170, and server system120are not relevant.

As discussed in more detail below, in one embodiment, a process for predictive bill estimation, and/or a computing system implemented financial management system, and/or financial data associated with one or more contributing consumers, are stored, in whole, or in part, in memory system103and/or cache memory103A, of computing system100, and/or memory system153and/or cache memory153A of computing system150, and/or in server memory system123of server system120and/or in database170, and executed on computing system100and/or computing system150. As used herein, a memory refers to a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, or any combination of the two.

Although a process for predictive bill estimation, and/or a computing system implemented financial management system, are sometimes referred to herein, alternatively, as a process, an application, a module, a program, a component of a software system, a component of a software package, a component of a parent system, a plug-in, or a feature of a parent system, this terminology is illustrative only. In some embodiments, a process for predictive bill estimation and/or a computing system implemented financial management system are capable of being called from an application or the operating system. In one embodiment, an application, process, or program is generally defined to be any executable code. Moreover, those of skill in the art will understand that when it is said that an application, process, or an operation takes some action, the action is the result of executing one or more instructions by a processor, such as CPUs101and151, or server system processor121. In one embodiment, execution of a process by CPU101, CPU151, or server system processor121, results in the operations of an agent computer process (not shown) and/or a rule computer process (not shown).

In one embodiment, a process for predictive bill estimation, and/or a computing system implemented financial management system, and/or financial data associated with one or more contributing consumers, are computer applications or processes and/or data implemented and/or run and/or stored, in full, or in part, in, or on, a computer program product. Herein, a computer program product comprises a medium and/or I/O device configured to store or transport computer readable code, whether available or known at the time of filing or as later developed. Some examples of computer program products are CDs, DVDs, ROM cards, floppy discs, magnetic tapes, computer hard drives, portable hard drives, flash memory, volatile and non-volatile memory sticks, servers on a network, such as server system120ofFIG. 1, and signals transmitted over a network, such as network130ofFIG. 1, or other media or process capable of delivering computer readable data representing computer readable code, whether available or known at the time of filing or as later developed. This medium may belong to a computing system, such as computing systems100and150ofFIG. 1, described above. However, in some embodiments, the medium also may be removable and/or remote from the computing system.

Process

Herein, the term “contributing consumer”, denotes any party and/or entity for whom, or from whom, financial data is obtained by a process for predictive bill estimation, and/or a person and/or entity for whom, or from whom, financial data is obtained by a process for predictive bill estimation, and/or a legal guardian of person and/or entity for whom, or from whom, financial data is obtained by a process for predictive bill estimation, and/or an authorized agent of any party and/or person and/or entity for whom, or from whom, financial data is obtained by a process for predictive bill estimation.

Herein, the term “user consumer” and “user” are used interchangeably to denote any party and/or entity that interfaces with, and/or to whom information is provided by, a process for predictive bill estimation, and/or a person and/or entity that interfaces with, and/or to whom information is provided by, a process for predictive bill estimation, and/or a legal guardian of person and/or entity that interfaces with, and/or to whom information is provided by, a process for predictive bill estimation, and/or an authorized agent of any party and/or person and/or entity that interfaces with, and/or to whom information is provided by, a process for predictive bill estimation.

As used herein, the term “product” and “product and/or service” are used interchangeably to denote a product, a service, or both a product and a service, or multiple products and/or services that can be purchased and/or otherwise obtained by a contributing consumer and/or a user consumer.

As used herein, the term “bill”, “cost/bill” and “recurring cost” are used interchangeably to denote a recurring cost to a consumer. Herein a recurring cost is any cost that occurs on a periodic basis whether the period is daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, semiannually, annually, bi-annually, or at an other more or less regular interval.

As used herein, the term computing system, denotes, but is not limited to: a portable computer; a workstation; a two-way pager; a cellular telephone; a smart phone; a digital wireless telephone; a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA); a media player, i.e., an MP3 Player and/or other music and/or video player; a server computer; an Internet appliance; or any other device that includes components that can execute all, or part, of any one of the processes and/or operations as described herein. In addition, as used herein, the term computing system, can denote, but is not limited to, computing systems made up of multiple: computers; wireless devices; cellular telephones; digital telephones; two-way pagers; PDAs; media players; server computers; or any desired combination of these devices, that are coupled to perform the processes and/or operations as described herein.

As used herein, the term computing system implemented financial management system includes, but is not limited to: computing system implemented personal and small business financial management systems, packages, programs, modules, or applications; computing system implemented business systems, packages, programs, modules, or applications; computing system implemented tax preparation systems, packages, programs, modules, or applications; computing system implemented accounting and/or invoicing systems, packages, programs, modules, or applications; and various other electronic transaction driven data management systems, packages, programs, modules, or applications, whether known at the time of filling or as developed later.

As used herein, the term “network” is used to demote any network or network system that is of interest such as, a peer-to-peer network, a hybrid peer-to-peer network, a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a public network, such as the Internet, a private network, a combination of different network types, or other wireless, wired, and/or a wireless and wired combination network capable of allowing communication between two or more computing systems, whether available or known at the time of filing or as later developed.

As used herein, the term “database” is used to define any data storage mechanism known at the time of filing or as developed thereafter, such as, but not limited to: a data storage device; a designated server system or computing system, or a designated portion of one or more server systems or computing systems; a mobile computing system; a server system network; a distributed database; or an external and/or portable hard drive. Herein, the term “database” can refer to a dedicated mass storage device implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of hardware and software. Herein, the term “database” can refer to a web-based function. Herein, the term “database” can refer to a data storage means that is part of, or under the control of, any computing system, as defined, known at the time of filing, or as developed thereafter.

In accordance with one embodiment, a system and method for predictive bill estimation includes a process for predictive bill estimation whereby financial data associated with one or more “contributing consumers” is obtained from one or more sources. In one embodiment, the contributing consumers agree to share the financial data with other “user consumers”. In one embodiment, the financial data includes data associated with specific financial transactions and, in one embodiment, the specific financial transactions are tagged as sharable by the contributing consumers. In one embodiment, the financial data is categorized by the contributing consumers and, in one embodiment, multiple financial transactions are associated with a specific expense category by the contributing consumers. In one embodiment, the financial data obtained from the one or more contributing consumers is then aggregated, analyzed, and/or categorized, according to one or more criteria/parameters associated with the financial transaction data and/or the contributing consumer. In one embodiment, the aggregated and/or categorized financial data is then stored by the process for predictive bill estimation. In one embodiment, a user consumer then initiates a request for cost/bill data associated with a given area and/or event. In one embodiment, the aggregated and/or categorized financial data obtained from one or more contributing consumers is then searched based on one or more search parameters and results data representing multiple financial transactions and/or purchases associated the specified area and/or event and/or time frame is obtained. In one embodiment, the results data obtained is then presented to the user consumer in any one of various data and/or report formats, and, in one embodiment, the user consumer is notified/alerted to predicted fluctuations in his or her bills automatically well in advance of the expected fluctuation in order to provide the user consumer the opportunity to budget for the predicted fluctuations.

FIG. 2is a flow chart depicting a process for predictive bill estimation200in accordance with one embodiment. Process for predictive bill estimation200begins at ENTER OPERATION201ofFIG. 2and process flow proceeds to OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203.

In one embodiment, at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203financial data associated with one or more “contributing consumers” is obtained from one or more sources.

In one embodiment, at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203the contributing consumers agree to share the financial data with other “user consumers” by any one of various means, including, tagging specific financial data as sharable data. In one embodiment, the financial data includes data associated with specific financial transactions and, in one embodiment, the specific financial transactions are tagged as sharable by the contributing consumers. In one embodiment, the specific financial transactions are categorized by the contributing consumers and/or associated with a specific type of expense.

In one embodiment, at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203, the financial data obtained from one or more contributing consumers includes general financial data obtained from the contributing consumer representing a given contributing consumer's general and/or overall financial status and/or demographics, including, but not limited to: the contributing consumer's area of residence/zip code; the contributing consumer's total assets; details regarding one or more of the contributing consumer's assets, such as the size and location of the contributing consumer's house and/or the type of car the contributing consumer drives; the contributing consumer's total income and/or the percentage of the contributing consumer's income spent in a given category of financial data; the contributing consumer's net worth; the contributing consumer's average discretionary spending and/or the percentage of the contributing consumer's discretionary spending spent in a given category of financial data; the contributing consumer's age group; various demographic data regarding the contributing consumer and/or the contributing consumer's spending; the contributing consumer's marital status and/or number of dependents; the contributing consumer's commute; the contributing consumer's yearly mileage; the contributing consumer's commute profession; and/or any other data regarding the contributing consumer's general and/or overall financial status desired and/or available.

In one embodiment, as discussed below, the contributing consumer's general and/or overall financial status and/or demographics data is used to categorize and/or identify contributing consumers, and their shared financial data, according to various criteria/parameters so that, in one embodiment, process for predictive bill estimation200can find financial data from contributing consumer similarly situated with a given user consumer. In one embodiment, as discussed below, the contributing consumer's general and/or overall financial status and/or demographics data is used to categorize and/or identify contributing consumers, and their shared financial data according to various criteria/parameters so that a user consumer can narrow search results to results from specific “types” of contributing consumers.

In one embodiment, at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203the financial data associated with one or more contributing consumers represents various financial transactions conducted by a given contributing consumer. In one embodiment, at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203the financial data representing various financial transactions conducted by the contributing consumer includes, but is not limited to, data representing: dates of specific financial transactions; payees/payers associated with specific financial transactions; categories of specific financial transactions, such as the expense category assigned to a given specific financial transaction; total expenditures in specific financial transaction categories over designated time frames; specific items purchased through specific financial transactions; the geographic location of specific financial transactions; the geographic location where one or more services and/or products associated with specific financial transactions are used/delivered; and/or any other data regarding specific financial transactions desired and/or available.

In one embodiment, at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203at least part of the financial data associated with one or more contributing consumers is obtained by process for predictive bill estimation200using, and/or through, and/or from, a computing system implemented financial management system.

In one embodiment, the financial data associated with one or more contributing consumers obtained at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203includes data associated with financial transactions conducted using multiple payment methods and/or accounts to provide as complete a set of contributing consumer financial data as possible. For instance, in one embodiment, the financial data associated with one or more contributing consumers is obtained at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203from, but not limited to, any one or more of the following sources: banks; debit cards and/or accounts; credit unions; credit cards and/or accounts and/or credit card/account providers; asset accounts and/or asset account providers; a user controlled computing system implemented financial management system; or other financial resources, accounts and/or services used by a contributing consumer to pay for and/or conduct financial transactions.

In addition, in some embodiments, the financial data associated with one or more contributing consumers obtained at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203is obtained from multiple sources of the same type. For instance, in one embodiment, the financial data associated with one or more contributing consumers is obtained at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203from: two or more banks; two or more debit cards and/or accounts; two or more credit unions; two or more credit cards and/or accounts and/or credit card/account providers; two or more asset accounts and/or asset account providers; two or more user controlled computing system implemented financial management systems; and/or two or more other financial resources, accounts and/or services used by a contributing consumer to pay for and/or conduct financial transactions.

As noted above, in one embodiment, all, or part, of the financial data associated with one or more contributing consumers is obtained by process for predictive bill estimation200at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203from, or using, a computing system implemented financial management system, such as computing system implemented financial management system180(FIG. 1), that implements, includes, is accessed by, and/or is otherwise associated with process for predictive bill estimation200(FIG. 2).

Currently, various computing system implemented financial management systems are available as defined herein. Computing system implemented financial management systems typically help users/contributing consumers manage their finances by providing a centralized interface with banks, credit card companies, and other various financial institutions and/or accounts, for identifying, processing, storing, and categorizing user/contributing consumer financial transactions and other contributing consumer financial data. Currently, computing system implemented financial management systems typically obtain financial transaction information, such as payee identification, payee location, payment amount, date of the transaction, time of transaction, items purchased, the type of transaction, etc., via communication with banks, credit card providers, or other financial institutions, using electronic data transfer systems such as the Open Financial Exchange (OFX) specification or various other systems for transferring financial transaction data.

As noted above, using computing system implemented financial management systems, the financial transaction information, user defined category of the financial transaction, payee identification, payee location, payment amount, date of the transaction, and other data is often used by the computing system implemented financial management system to categorize individual financial transactions as a particular type of income or expense. Some currently offered computing system implemented financial management systems then use this financial transaction information to track events, such as purchase events, and to provide various historical data reports or displays including “to date” data reports such as historical spending data reports in one or more particular categories, associated with one or more particular products and/or services, and/or with one or more particular payees, and/or one or more specific events.

In one embodiment, the financial data associated with one or more contributing consumers obtained using one or more computing system implemented financial management systems is transferred, or otherwise made available to, process for predictive bill estimation200at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203.

In one embodiment, all, or part, of the financial data associated with one or more contributing consumers is obtained by process for predictive bill estimation200at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203from invoices/bills and/or receipt data provided to process for predictive bill estimation200, and/or an associated computing system implemented financial management system, by one or more merchants and/or product and/or service providers. In one embodiment, the invoice/bill and/or receipt data includes “level 3” data indicating, among other things, the line item entry and product and/or service identification for each item purchased in the transaction.

As noted above, in one embodiment, process for predictive bill estimation200is associated with a computing system implemented financial management system, such as computing system implemented financial management system180ofFIG. 1, that implements, includes, is accessed by, and/or is otherwise associated with process for predictive bill estimation200(FIG. 2). Some of these computing system implemented financial management systems provide the capability to obtain, receive, and/or process electronic copies of the invoices/receipts from one or more merchants and/or product and/or service providers, often in their specific formats, and then process and/or store the data for use by process for predictive bill estimation200in one of numerous locations by one of numerous methods known to those of skill in the art and/or as discussed herein.

In one embodiment, all, or part, of the financial data associated with one or more contributing consumers is obtained by process for predictive bill estimation200, and/or a computing system implemented financial management system, at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203from one or more of the following, either directly, or by using screen scraping technology, or a similar technology: websites sponsored by, controlled by, or associated with banks, debit cards and/or accounts, credit unions, credit cards and/or accounts, and/or credit card/account providers, asset accounts and/or asset account providers, or other financial resources, accounts and/or services used by a contributing consumer to pay for and/or conduct financial transactions; and/or computing system implemented applications sponsored by, controlled by, or associated with banks, debit cards and/or accounts, credit unions, credit cards and/or accounts, and/or credit card/account providers, asset accounts and/or asset account providers, or other financial resources, accounts and/or services used by a contributing consumer to pay for and/or conduct financial transactions.

In one embodiment, all, or part, of the financial data associated with one or more contributing consumers is obtained by process for predictive bill estimation200at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203from contributing consumer input through a user interface device such as keyboard107,157, mouse111,161ofFIG. 1or a touchpad, voice recognition system, or any other device capable of providing user input to a computing system and/or for translating user actions into computing system operations, whether available or known at the time of filing or as developed later.

Returning toFIG. 2, in one embodiment, all, or part, of the financial data associated with one or more contributing consumers is obtained by process for predictive bill estimation200at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203from any combination of the above sources and/or from any other source of financial data associated with one or more contributing consumers whether known at the time of filing or as developed thereafter.

In one embodiment, at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203the contributing consumers agree to share all or part of their financial data with process for predictive bill estimation200and “user consumers” by any one of various means, including, tagging specific financial data as sharable data.

In one embodiment, at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203the contributing consumers agree to share the financial data with user consumers on a transaction-by-transaction approval basis. In one embodiment, at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203, the contributing consumers agree to share the financial data with user consumers on a financial data category approval basis. In one embodiment, at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203the contributing consumers agree to share the financial data with user consumers without restriction. In other embodiments, at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203the contributing consumers agree to share the financial data with user consumers based on any restrictions/criteria dictated by the contributing consumer.

In one embodiment, at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203, the financial data to be shared is tagged as sharable by the contributing consumers using a user interface display and a user interface device, such as those defined herein, known in the art, or developed after the time of filing.

In one embodiment, at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203, specific financial transaction data is assigned a category/name and/or a description by the contributing consumer and one or more specific financial transactions are associated by the contributing consumer with a specific type of expense, such as utilities, or home maintenance, or transportation. In one embodiment, at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203, specific financial transaction data is assigned a category/name and/or a description by the contributing consumer and one or more given financial transactions are associated by the contributing consumer with a specific purchase or payment.

In one embodiment, at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203, specific financial transaction data is assigned a category/name and/or a description by the contributing consumer and a given financial transaction category, including one or more specific financial transactions, is associated by the contributing consumer with a specific type of expense, such as utilities, or home maintenance, or transportation. In one embodiment, at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203, specific financial transaction data is assigned a category/name and/or a description by the contributing consumer and a given financial transaction category, including one or more specific financial transactions, is associated by the contributing consumer with a specific purchase of a product and/or service.

In one embodiment, once the financial data associated with one or more contributing consumers is obtained at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203, process flow proceeds to AGGREGATE AND/OR CATEGORIZE THE FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION205.

In one embodiment, at AGGREGATE AND/OR CATEGORIZE THE FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION205the financial data obtained from one or more contributing consumers at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203is aggregated, analyzed, and/or categorized, according to one or more criteria/parameters associated with the financial transaction data and/or the contributing consumer.

In one embodiment, at AGGREGATE AND/OR CATEGORIZE THE FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION205the financial data obtained from one or more contributing consumers at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203is categorized, and/or re-categorized as determined by process for predictive bill estimation200.

In one embodiment, at AGGREGATE AND/OR CATEGORIZE THE FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION205the financial data obtained from one or more contributing consumers at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203is aggregated, analyzed, and/or categorized, according to: the contributing consumer assigned category; and/or the process for predictive bill estimation200assigned category; and/or a computing system implemented financial management system assigned category, associated with the financial data.

In one embodiment, at AGGREGATE AND/OR CATEGORIZE THE FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION205the financial data obtained from one or more contributing consumers at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203is aggregated, analyzed, and/or categorized, according to: the contributing consumer assigned category; and/or the process for predictive bill estimation200assigned category; and/or the computing system implemented financial management system category, associated with the financial data and one or more parameters associated with the contributing consumer.

In one embodiment, the one or more parameters associated with the contributing consumer include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: the contributing consumer's area of residence/zip code; the contributing consumer's total assets; details regarding one or more of the contributing consumer's assets, such as the size and location of the contributing consumer's house and/or the type of car the contributing consumer drives; the contributing consumer's total income and/or the percentage of the contributing consumer's income spent in the category of the financial transaction data; the contributing consumer's net worth; the contributing consumer's average discretionary spending and/or the percentage of the contributing consumer's discretionary spending spent in the category of the financial transaction data; the contributing consumer's age group; various demographic data regarding the contributing consumer and/or the contributing consumer's spending; the contributing consumer's marital status and/or number of dependents; the contributing consumer's commute; the contributing consumer's yearly mileage; the contributing consumer's profession; and/or any other data regarding the contributing consumer's general and/or overall financial status desired and/or available and/or obtained at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203.

In one embodiment, at AGGREGATE AND/OR CATEGORIZE THE FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION205the financial data obtained from one or more contributing consumers at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203is aggregated and/or categorized, and/or analyzed according to any criteria desired using any one the numerous methods for analyzing and aggregating data.

Methods, means, processes, procedures and mechanisms for analyzing, aggregating, and categorizing data according to various parameters/criteria as well known in the art. Consequently, a more detailed discussion of any specific methods, means, processes, procedures and mechanisms for analyzing, aggregating, and categorizing data, such as, in one embodiment, is performed at AGGREGATE AND/OR CATEGORIZE THE FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION205, is omitted here to avoid detracting from the invention.

In one embodiment, once the financial data obtained from one or more contributing consumers at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203is aggregated, analyzed, and/or categorized, at AGGREGATE AND/OR CATEGORIZE THE FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION205, process flow proceeds to STORE THE AGGREGATED AND/OR CATEGORIZED FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION207.

In one embodiment, at STORE THE AGGREGATED AND/OR CATEGORIZED FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION207, the aggregated and/or categorized contributing consumer financial data of AGGREGATE AND/OR CATEGORIZE THE FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION205is stored by, or under the control of, process for predictive bill estimation200.

In one embodiment, at STORE THE AGGREGATED AND/OR CATEGORIZED FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION207, the aggregated and/or categorized contributing consumer financial data is stored in whole, or in part, in a database maintained by, accessible by, owned by, or otherwise related to: process for predictive bill estimation200, and/or a provider of process for predictive bill estimation200; a computing system implemented financial management system, and/or a provider of a computing system implemented financial management system; or any other party, by any one of the numerous mechanisms known to those of skill in the art. For instance, in one embodiment, the data, in whole, or in part, is stored in a memory system, such as memory systems103and153or server memory system123, or database170, ofFIG. 1, or in a cache memory, such as cache memories103A/153A ofFIG. 1, or in any main memory or mass memory, associated with a computing system, such as computing systems100or150described above. In one embodiment, the data, in whole, or in part, is stored in any computing system and/or server system, such as computing systems100or150or server system120, or other device, in another location, or on/in a computer readable medium, and/or any other computer program product, as defined herein. In one embodiment, the data, in whole, or in part, is stored on a webpage, in a web-based system or on a public network such as the Internet.

Returning toFIG. 2, in some embodiments, the aggregated and/or categorized contributing consumer financial data stored as described above is maintained, in whole, or in part, by: process for predictive bill estimation200, and/or a provider of process for predictive bill estimation200; a computing system implemented financial management system, and/or a provider of a computing system implemented financial management system; a third party data storage institution; any third party service or institution; or any other parties. In one embodiment, access to the aggregated and/or categorized contributing consumer financial data is then provided to process for predictive bill estimation200, and/or a computing system implemented financial management system, by providing access to the data and/or providing the data on a computer program product.

In one embodiment, once the aggregated and/or categorized contributing consumer financial data of AGGREGATE AND/OR CATEGORIZE THE FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION205is stored by, or under the control of, process for predictive bill estimation200at STORE THE AGGREGATED AND/OR CATEGORIZED FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION207, process flow proceeds to A USER CONSUMER INITIATES A SEARCH FOR COST/BILL DATA ASSOCIATED WITH A GIVEN AREA AND/OR FINANCIAL EVENT OPERATION209.

In one embodiment, at A USER CONSUMER INITIATES A SEARCH FOR COST/BILL DATA ASSOCIATED WITH A GIVEN AREA AND/OR FINANCIAL EVENT OPERATION209a “user consumer” initiates a request for cost/bill data associated with a specified area/location and/or event.

In one embodiment, at A USER CONSUMER INITIATES A SEARCH FOR COST/BILL DATA ASSOCIATED WITH A GIVEN AREA AND/OR FINANCIAL EVENT OPERATION209the user consumer initiates a request for financial data related to costs/bills associated with a specified area and/or event using a user interface display and a user interface device, such as defined herein, known in the art, and/or as developed after the time of filing. In one embodiment, at A USER CONSUMER INITIATES A SEARCH FOR COST/BILL DATA ASSOCIATED WITH A GIVEN AREA AND/OR FINANCIAL EVENT OPERATION209the user consumer initiates a request for financial data related to costs/bills associated with a specified area and/or event using a computing system, such as defined herein, known in the art, and/or as developed after the time of filing. In one embodiment, at A USER CONSUMER INITIATES A SEARCH FOR COST/BILL DATA ASSOCIATED WITH A GIVEN AREA AND/OR FINANCIAL EVENT OPERATION209the user consumer initiates a request for financial data related to costs/bills associated with a specified area and/or event over a network such as defined herein, known in the art, and/or as developed after the time of filing.

In one embodiment, as part of the user consumer initiated request for cost/bill data associated with a specified area and/or event, the user consumer provides the identification data of a location such as a city, town, state, or region of interest. The specific location is identified using various data including, but not limited to: a common name; a postal code; a section of a city and/or town; a specific neighborhood in a city and/or town; nearby landmarks and/or known features; a specific block; a specific address; a GPS coordinate; a longitude and latitude; or any other means for identifying a location, known in the art, and/or as developed after the time of filing.

In one embodiment, as part of the user consumer initiated request for cost/bill data associated with a specified area and/or event, the user consumer identifies the proposed event such as, but not limited to: a move to the identified location; buying a house in the identified location; renting a house in the identified location; renting an apartment in the identified location; purchasing a product and/or service for use in the identified location; or any other specific event associated with the identified location.

In one embodiment, as part of the user consumer initiated request for cost/bill data associated with a specified area and/or event, the user consumer provides general financial data associated with the user consumer such as, but not limited to: the user consumer's total assets; details regarding one or more of the user consumer's assets, such as the size and location of the user consumer's house and/or the type of car the user consumer drives; the user consumer's total income and/or the percentage of the user consumer's income spent in a given category of financial data; the user consumer's net worth; the user consumer's average discretionary spending and/or the percentage of the user consumer's discretionary spending spent in a given category of financial data; the user consumer's age group; various demographic data regarding the user consumer and/or the user consumer's spending; the user consumer's marital status and/or number of dependents; the user consumer's expected commute; the user consumer's yearly mileage; the user consumer's profession; and/or any other data regarding the user consumer's general and/or overall financial status desired.

In one embodiment, the general financial data associated with the user consumer is obtained from one or more computing system implemented financial management systems associated with the user consumer.

In one embodiment, the general financial data associated with the user consumer is used to find contributor consumers, and contributor consumer financial data, most closely related to the user consumer's situation.

In one embodiment, as part of the user consumer initiated request for cost/bill data associated with a specified area and/or event, the user consumer provides search criteria and/or parameters such as a request to see all results from specific categories of contributing consumers, or from contributing consumers having specific financial and/or demographic attributes.

Recall that, in one embodiment, at OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA ASSOCIATED WITH THE PURCHASE OF ONE OR MORE PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203, the contributing consumer's general and/or overall financial status and/or demographics data is obtained. In one embodiment, at AGGREGATE AND/OR CATEGORIZE THE FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION205, the contributing consumer's general and/or overall financial status and/or demographics data is used to categorize and/or identify contributing consumers, and/or their financial data contributed, according to various criteria. In one embodiment, at A USER CONSUMER INITIATES A SEARCH FOR COST/BILL DATA ASSOCIATED WITH A GIVEN AREA AND/OR FINANCIAL EVENT OPERATION209a user consumer can then narrow search results to results from specific “types” of contributing consumers with the specific types of contributing consumers being identified based on the contributing consumer's general and/or overall financial status and/or demographics data of OBTAIN FINANCIAL DATA FROM ONE OR MORE CONTRIBUTING CONSUMERS OPERATION203and the contributing consumer categorizations of AGGREGATE AND/OR CATEGORIZE THE FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION205.

In one embodiment, once a user consumer initiates a request for financial data related to costs/bills associated with a specified area and/or event at A USER CONSUMER INITIATES A SEARCH FOR COST/BILL DATA ASSOCIATED WITH A GIVEN AREA AND/OR FINANCIAL EVENT OPERATION209, process flow proceeds to SEARCH THE AGGREGATED AND/OR CATEGORIZED FINANCIAL DATA FOR DATA ASSOCIATED WITH THE GIVEN AREA AND/OR FINANCIAL EVENT OF THE USER CONSUMER INITIATED SEARCH OPERATION211.

In one embodiment, at SEARCH THE AGGREGATED AND/OR CATEGORIZED FINANCIAL DATA FOR DATA ASSOCIATED WITH THE GIVEN AREA AND/OR FINANCIAL EVENT OF THE USER CONSUMER INITIATED SEARCH OPERATION211the aggregated and/or categorized contributing consumer financial data stored at STORE THE AGGREGATED AND/OR CATEGORIZED FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION207is searched and results data regarding cost/bills associated with the specified area and/or event of A USER CONSUMER INITIATES A SEARCH FOR COST/BILL DATA ASSOCIATED WITH A GIVEN AREA AND/OR. FINANCIAL EVENT OPERATION209is obtained.

In one embodiment, at SEARCH THE AGGREGATED AND/OR CATEGORIZED FINANCIAL DATA FOR DATA ASSOCIATED WITH THE GIVEN AREA AND/OR FINANCIAL EVENT OF THE USER CONSUMER INITIATED SEARCH OPERATION211the aggregated and/or categorized contributing consumer financial data is searched and search results data regarding cost/bills associated with the specified area and/or event, and/or most closely matching any user consumer search parameters and/or criteria of A USER CONSUMER INITIATES A SEARCH FOR COST/BILL DATA ASSOCIATED WITH A GIVEN AREA AND/OR FINANCIAL EVENT OPERATION209, is obtained using any search method and/or search engine known in the art at the time of filing, or as developed after the time of filing.

In one embodiment, the search results data regarding cost/bills associated with the specified area and/or event includes data indicating all financial transactions, and therefore all bills and/or bill payments, associated with the specified area and/or event of the user consumer initiated search request.

Numerous, methods, means, mechanisms, processes and/or procedures for analyzing and/or searching data in response to various search criteria/parameters, are well known to those of skill in the art. Consequently, a more detailed discussion of methods, means, mechanisms, processes and/or procedures for analyzing and/or searching data in response to various search criteria/parameters, such as the analysis/search performed, in one embodiment, at SEARCH THE AGGREGATED AND/OR CATEGORIZED FINANCIAL DATA FOR DATA ASSOCIATED WITH THE GIVEN AREA AND/OR FINANCIAL EVENT OF THE USER CONSUMER INITIATED SEARCH OPERATION211, is omitted here to avoid detracting from the invention.

In one embodiment, once the aggregated and/or categorized contributing consumer financial data stored at STORE THE AGGREGATED AND/OR CATEGORIZED FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION207is searched and results data regarding cost/bills associated with the specified area and/or event of A USER CONSUMER INITIATES A SEARCH FOR COST/BILL DATA ASSOCIATED WITH A GIVEN AREA AND/OR FINANCIAL EVENT OPERATION209is obtained at SEARCH THE AGGREGATED AND/OR CATEGORIZED FINANCIAL DATA FOR DATA ASSOCIATED WITH THE GIVEN AREA AND/OR FINANCIAL EVENT OF THE USER CONSUMER INITIATED SEARCH OPERATION211, process flow proceeds to PROVIDE THE USER CONSUMER WITH RESULTS DATA FROM THE SEARCH OF THE AGGREGATED AND/OR CATEGORIZED FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION213.

In one embodiment, at PROVIDE THE USER CONSUMER WITH RESULTS DATA FROM THE SEARCH OF THE AGGREGATED AND/OR CATEGORIZED FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION213, the results data obtained at SEARCH THE AGGREGATED AND/OR CATEGORIZED FINANCIAL DATA FOR DATA ASSOCIATED WITH THE GIVEN AREA AND/OR FINANCIAL EVENT OF THE USER CONSUMER INITIATED SEARCH OPERATION211is presented to the user consumer in any one of various data and/or report formats.

In one embodiment, at PROVIDE THE USER CONSUMER WITH RESULTS DATA FROM THE SEARCH OF THE AGGREGATED AND/OR CATEGORIZED FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION213the search results data regarding cost/bills associated with the specified area and/or event, and/or most closely matching any user consumer search parameters and/or criteria of A USER CONSUMER INITIATES A SEARCH FOR COST/BILL DATA ASSOCIATED WITH A GIVEN AREA AND/OR FINANCIAL EVENT OPERATION209, is presented to the user consumer as a listing of specific bills paid by the one or more contributor consumers associated with the specified area and/or event of the user consumer initiated search request.

In one embodiment, at PROVIDE THE USER CONSUMER WITH RESULTS DATA FROM THE SEARCH OF THE AGGREGATED AND/OR CATEGORIZED FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION213the search results data regarding cost/bills associated with the specified area and/or event, and/or most closely matching any user consumer search parameters and/or criteria of A USER CONSUMER INITIATES A SEARCH FOR COST/BILL DATA ASSOCIATED WITH A GIVEN AREA AND/OR FINANCIAL EVENT OPERATION209, is presented to the user consumer as a listing of costs in specific categories paid by the one or more contributor consumers associated with the given area and/or event of the user consumer initiated search request. In this way, a user consumer can potentially see all bills, including bills associated with potentially hidden costs of which the user consumer may not have been aware absent process for predictive bill estimation200.

In one embodiment, at PROVIDE THE USER CONSUMER WITH RESULTS DATA FROM THE SEARCH OF THE AGGREGATED AND/OR CATEGORIZED FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION213, the search results data regarding cost/bills associated with the specified area and/or event, and/or most closely matching any user consumer search parameters and/or criteria of A USER CONSUMER INITIATES A SEARCH FOR COST/BILL DATA ASSOCIATED WITH A GIVEN AREA AND/OR FINANCIAL EVENT OPERATION209, is presented to the user consumer as a listing of specific bills associated with the specified area and/or event of the user consumer initiated search request in a month-to-month comparison. In this way a user consumer can see all bills, including bills associated with potentially hidden costs the user consumer was not aware of, and potential monthly and/or seasonal fluctuations in those bills of which the user consumer may not have been aware absent process for predictive bill estimation200.

In one embodiment, at PROVIDE THE USER CONSUMER WITH RESULTS DATA FROM THE SEARCH OF THE AGGREGATED AND/OR CATEGORIZED FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION213, the user consumer is alerted to potential upcoming bills and/or bill fluctuations manually in response to a specific user consumer request. In one embodiment, at PROVIDE THE USER CONSUMER WITH RESULTS DATA FROM THE SEARCH OF THE AGGREGATED AND/OR CATEGORIZED FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION213, the user consumer is shown results and/or alerted to potential upcoming bills and/or bill fluctuations, semi-automatically, or automatically, on a periodic basis. In one embodiment, at PROVIDE THE USER CONSUMER WITH RESULTS DATA FROM THE SEARCH OF THE AGGREGATED AND/OR CATEGORIZED FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION213, the user consumer is shown results and/or alerted to potential upcoming bills and/or bill fluctuations, automatically on a periodic basis and well in advance of the predicted bills and/or bill fluctuations in order to provide the user consumer the opportunity to budget for the predicted fluctuations.

In one embodiment, at PROVIDE THE USER CONSUMER WITH RESULTS DATA FROM THE SEARCH OF THE AGGREGATED AND/OR CATEGORIZED FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION213, the results data obtained at SEARCH THE AGGREGATED AND/OR CATEGORIZED FINANCIAL DATA FOR DATA ASSOCIATED WITH THE GIVEN AREA AND/OR FINANCIAL EVENT OF THE USER CONSUMER INITIATED SEARCH OPERATION211is presented to the user consumer in any one of various data and/or report formats using any of the means for data and/or information transfer discussed herein, known in the art, and/or as developed after the time of filing.

In one embodiment, once the results data obtained at SEARCH THE AGGREGATED AND/OR CATEGORIZED FINANCIAL DATA FOR DATA ASSOCIATED WITH THE GIVEN AREA AND/OR FINANCIAL EVENT OF THE USER CONSUMER INITIATED SEARCH OPERATION211is presented to the user consumer in any one of various data and/or report formats at PROVIDE THE USER CONSUMER WITH RESULTS DATA FROM THE SEARCH OF THE AGGREGATED AND/OR CATEGORIZED FINANCIAL DATA OPERATION213, process flow proceeds to EXIT OPERATION230. In one embodiment, at EXIT OPERATION230, process for predictive bill estimation200is exited to await new data.

Using process for predictive bill estimation200, a user consumer is provided the opportunity to see financial data associated with other consumer's and, in particular, see what bills and bill amounts are being paid by similarly situated consumers in a specific area/location. Consequently, using process for predictive bill estimation200, a consumer can learn from the experience of other similar consumers and thereby more readily determine the actual bills, and fluctuations in the amount of those bills, that are associated with a given location and/or event. Therefore, using process for predictive bill estimation200, the consumer is far less likely to be faced with unexpected costs associated with a move or other event.

Some portions of the above description present the features of the present invention in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations, or algorithm-like representations, of operations on information/data. These algorithmic and/or algorithm-like descriptions and representations are the means used by those of skill in the art to most effectively and efficiently convey the substance of their work to others of skill in the art. These operations, while described functionally or logically, are understood to be implemented by computer programs and/or computing systems. Furthermore, it has also proven convenient at times to refer to these arrangements of operations as steps or modules or by functional names, without loss of generality.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, as would be apparent from the above discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the above description, discussions utilizing terms such as “accessing”, “analyzing”, “obtaining”, “determining”, “aggregating”; “initiating”; “collecting”, “creating”, “transferring”, “storing”, “searching”, “comparing”, “providing”, etc., refer to the action and processes of a computing system or similar electronic device that manipulates and operates on data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computing system memories, resisters, caches or other information storage, transmission or display devices.

Certain aspects of the present invention include process steps or operations and instructions described herein in an algorithmic and/or algorithmic-like form. It should be noted that the process steps and/or operations and instructions of the present invention can be embodied in software, firmware, and/or hardware, and when embodied in software, can be downloaded to reside on and be operated from different platforms used by real time network operating systems.

The present invention also relates to an apparatus or system for performing the operations described herein. This apparatus or system may be specifically constructed for the required purposes, or the apparatus or system can comprise a general purpose system selectively activated or configured/reconfigured by a computer program stored via a computer program product as defined herein that can be accessed by a computing system or other device.

The present invention is well suited to a wide variety of computer network systems operating over numerous topologies. Within this field, the configuration and management of large networks comprise storage devices and computers that are communicatively coupled to similar and/or dissimilar computers and storage devices over a private network, a LAN, a WAN, a private network, or a public network, such as the Internet.

In addition, the operations shown in the FIG. s are identified using a particular nomenclature for ease of description and understanding, but other nomenclature is often used in the art to identify equivalent operations.