💰 SmartSpend - Simplified Expense Tracker

SmartSpend is a full-stack budgeting web application designed to make expense tracking as seamless and intuitive as possible. It automatically categorizes your expenses, reduces manual effort, and presents insightful summaries to help you stay in control of your finances.

🌐 Live Demo

🔗 SmartSpend - Deployed Frontend
🔗 SmartSpend - Deployed Backend

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🚀 Features

• 📊 Smart Expense Categorization: Uses intelligent logic to auto-categorize each expense (e.g., transportation, food, essentials).
• ⏱️ Fast Entry System: Reduces expense entry time by 33% compared to traditional systems.
• 🔍 Expense Filters: Easily filter expenses by category, date, or keyword.
• 📈 Clear Summaries: View a summary of spending habits in a clean, user-friendly format.
• 🔐 Authentication: Secure login and registration using JWT tokens.
• 🌈 Responsive Design: Works smoothly across devices.

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🛠️ Tech Stack

Frontend

• React.js (with Vite)
• Chart.js (for visualizations)

Backend

• Node.js + Express.js
• MongoDB (via Mongoose)
• JWT for authentication
• CORS-enabled API for frontend communication

Deployment

• Frontend: Vercel
• Backend: Vercel

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📦 Installation (Local Development)

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/Dhureen7/Smart-Spend
cd Smart-Spend

2. Setup Backend

cd backend
npm install

Create a .env file in backend/ with:

MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
JWT=your_jwt_secret_key

Run the backend:

node index.js

3. Setup Frontend

cd frontend
npm install
npm run dev

Visit http://localhost:5173 to use the app locally.

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🧠 Future Improvements

• 🔄 Integration with UPI / bank SMS parsing
• 📅 Monthly budgeting goals
• 📤 Export to PDF / Excel
• 🔔 Spending limit alerts

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🤝 Contributing

Pull requests are welcome. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.

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👤 Author

Dhureen Shettigar : Connect with me on LinkedIn or visit my GitHub