💰 Centi - Your Friendly Finance Companion

Simple, beautiful, and insightful financial tracking that actually makes sense.

🎯 What is Centi?

Centi is a personal finance tracking application designed with one simple goal: to show you where your money is going without overwhelming you with complex interfaces.

After the closure of Mint, I realized how much I missed having a simple, friendly way to track my finances. Most financial apps today focus on complex data formatting and take a brutalist approach to user experience. Centi is different - it's built around the idea that financial insights should be welcoming, not intimidating.

✨ What Makes Centi Special?

🎨 User Experience First

• Progressive Complexity: The dashboard starts with a general overview and gets more specific as you scroll down
• Friendly Interface: Clean, modern design that doesn't overwhelm users with data
• Immediate Insights: When you log in, you should immediately see "Oh, that's where my money is going"

🧠 Smart Financial Intelligence

• Centi Score: A personalized financial health metric unique to your situation
• Personalized Insights: Financial advice based on your unique financial background
• Growth Tracking: Monitor your financial progress over time

🔗 Multiple Connection Options

• Plaid Integration: Connect your bank accounts securely
• Manual Entry: Add transactions manually for full control
• File Upload: Import CSV files from your bank statements
• Flexible Setup: Choose the method that works best for you

🏗️ How It's Built

Frontend (React + Styled Components)

• Modern React: Built with React 18 and modern hooks
• Beautiful Styling: Custom CSS with CSS variables for consistent theming
• Responsive Design: Works seamlessly on desktop and mobile
• Particle Effects: Engaging visual elements that make the experience feel premium

Backend (FastAPI + SQLite)

• FastAPI: Modern, fast Python web framework
• SQLite Database: Simple, reliable data storage
• JWT Authentication: Secure user sessions
• Plaid Integration: Professional-grade financial data connectivity

Key Technologies

• Frontend: React, Vite, Styled Components
• Backend: Python, FastAPI, SQLAlchemy
• Database: SQLite
• Authentication: JWT, Google OAuth
• Financial Data: Plaid API

🎨 Design Philosophy

The Centi Approach

Centi's design philosophy centers around progressive disclosure and user comfort:

1. Start Simple: Begin with high-level insights that are easy to understand
2. Build Complexity: Gradually introduce more detailed information as users scroll
3. Maintain Clarity: Never overwhelm users with too much data at once
4. Visual Hierarchy: Use color, spacing, and typography to guide attention

Color Scheme & Styling

• Primary Colors: Blues and greens that feel trustworthy and financial
• Accent Colors: Warm tones for positive financial indicators
• Typography: Clean, readable fonts that don't strain the eyes
• Spacing: Generous whitespace to prevent cognitive overload

🔮 Future Vision

This is just the beginning! Centi is designed to grow into a comprehensive financial companion that truly puts user experience first. Future plans include:

• Enhanced Analytics: More sophisticated financial insights
• Goal Setting: Track financial goals and milestones
• Budget Planning: Intelligent budget recommendations
• Mobile App: Native mobile experience
• Community Features: Share insights with trusted friends/family

📋 Future To-Dos

• After connection of Plaid Modal in PlaidConnect/PlaidLink, refresh Accounts/Transactions to show new data
• Update "Success" design with Plaid Link - remove "Attempts" and show data pulled from connected accounts
• Better styled emails with new fonts and improved graphics
• Handle different accounts properly in backend (currently messy with frontend options grouped together)
• Handle growth data with Plaid API per account
• Clear error messages in ForgotPasswordPage.jsx
• Handle transaction details with different bank accounts
• Proper footer integration into WelcomeScreen.jsx
• Personalized feedback file for centi score
• Different scale for Centi Score (not 1-100) - more representative value
• More robust file handling system (currently very strict)
• Merge user-created and Plaid-imported accounts
• Better loading animation for Centi Score Modal
• Sorting by UploadedFiles in TransactionTable or new component
• Exporting selected transactions to .csv
• More personalized navbar with user details, settings, etc.
• Set up website .env vars for easy swap between dev to prod
• LOTS OF OTHER THINGS

🤝 Contributing

I'm always open to feedback, collaboration, or just connecting with fellow developers and finance enthusiasts!

• GitHub: @KirbysGit
• LinkedIn: Colin Kirby

📝 Development Notes

AI-Assisted Development

This project was developed with the help of Cursor AI, primarily for:

• Inline commenting and documentation
• Styling similar components
• Code organization and structure

Every single line of code has been personally overseen and refined to ensure quality and functionality.

Project Structure

financeOrganizer/
├── frontend/          # React application
├── backend/           # FastAPI server
├── sample_data/       # Example CSV files
└── docs/             # Documentation

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