Personal Finance Tracker

A web application for tracking personal finances, including income and expenses. Built with a React frontend, Node.js backend, and MongoDB database.

Features

• User authentication (register/login) with JWT-based authorization.
• Add, view, update, and delete income/expense transactions.
• Categorize transactions and view detailed history.
• Dashboard summarizing income, expenses, and net balance.

Tech Stack

Frontend

• React: For building the user interface.
• React Router: For routing between pages.
• Axios: For making HTTP requests.

Backend

• Node.js and Express: For building the RESTful API.
• MongoDB: For storing user data and transactions.
• Mongoose: For interacting with MongoDB.
• JWT (jsonwebtoken): For user authentication.
• bcrypt: For secure password hashing.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js and npm installed.
• MongoDB connection string (local or MongoDB Atlas).

Backend Setup

1. Navigate to the server directory:

   cd server

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Create a .env file in the server directory with the following variables:

   MONGO_URI=<your-mongodb-connection-uri>
   JWT_SECRET=<your-secret-key>

4. Start the backend server:

   npm start

   The server will run on http://localhost:5000.

Frontend Setup

1. Navigate to the client directory:

   cd client

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Start the React development server:

   npm start

   The frontend will run on http://localhost:3000.

Usage

1. Open the application in your browser:

   http://localhost:3000
   

2. Register a new account or log in with existing credentials.
3. Add income or expense transactions via the dashboard.
4. View, edit, or delete transactions.

API Endpoints

Authentication

• POST /api/auth/register: Register a new user.
• POST /api/auth/login: Log in and receive a JWT token.

Transactions

• GET /api/transactions: Get all transactions for the logged-in user.
• POST /api/transactions: Add a new transaction.
• PUT /api/transactions/:id: Update a transaction by ID.
• DELETE /api/transactions/:id: Delete a transaction by ID.

Folder Structure

.
├── client
│   ├── src
│   │   ├── components
│   │   ├── pages
│   │   ├── services
│   │   └── App.js
├── server
│   ├── models
│   │   ├── User.js
│   │   ├── Transaction.js
│   ├── routes
│   │   ├── auth.js
│   │   ├── transactions.js
│   ├── controllers
│   ├── config
│   │   ├── db.js
│   └── index.js
└── README.md

Future Enhancements

• Add graphical reports for visualizing financial data.
• Include budgeting functionality with category limits.
• Add search and filter options for transactions.