Personal Finance Tracker

A comprehensive C# console application for tracking personal expenses, income, and budgets with data persistence and reporting features. Now fully optimized for cross-platform development with SQLite support!

🚀 Key Features

1. User Authentication

• User registration and login system
• JWT-based authentication
• Secure password hashing with BCrypt

2. Expense Categorization

• Pre-defined expense and income categories
• Category-based transaction organization
• Colorful category visualization

3. Budget Planning

• Create and manage budgets for different categories
• Real-time budget tracking and spending alerts
• Budget performance analysis
• Over-budget notifications

4. Financial Reports

• Comprehensive financial reporting
• Category breakdown analysis
• Monthly spending trends
• Budget performance reports
• LINQ-powered data analysis

🛠️ Technologies Used

• C# (.NET 9)
• Entity Framework Core - Data persistence
• SQLite - Cross-platform database (Windows, macOS, Linux)
• LINQ - Data querying
• JWT - Authentication
• BCrypt - Password hashing
• Clean Architecture - Project structure

📁 Project Structure

PersonalFinanceTracker/
├── src/
│   ├── Domain/                 # Core business entities
│   │   └── Entities/
│   │       ├── User.cs
│   │       ├── Transaction.cs
│   │       ├── Category.cs
│   │       └── Budget.cs
│   ├── Application/            # Business logic layer
│   │   ├── DTOs/              # Data Transfer Objects
│   │   └── Services/          # Application services
│   ├── Infrastructure/         # Data access layer
│   │   └── Data/
│   │       └── ApplicationDbContext.cs
│   ├── WebApi/                # REST API layer
│   │   ├── Controllers/
│   │   └── Services/
│   └── ConsoleClient/         # Console application
│       ├── Services/
│       └── Models/

🗄️ Database Schema

Core Entities

• Users: User accounts with authentication
• Categories: Expense/Income categories with colors
• Transactions: Financial transactions linked to users and categories
• Budgets: Budget planning with spending tracking

Key Relationships

• Users have many Transactions and Budgets
• Categories can have many Transactions and Budgets
• Budgets track spending within date ranges

🎯 Features Overview

Transaction Management

• ✅ Add income and expense transactions
• ✅ Categorize all transactions
• ✅ View transaction history
• ✅ Transaction summaries with totals
• ✅ Date-range filtering

Budget Planning

• ✅ Create budgets for expense categories
• ✅ Set budget periods (start/end dates)
• ✅ Real-time spending tracking
• ✅ Budget progress visualization
• ✅ Over-budget alerts

Reporting & Analytics

• ✅ Comprehensive financial reports
• ✅ Category breakdown analysis
• ✅ Monthly trend analysis
• ✅ Budget performance reports
• ✅ Visual progress bars in console

User Experience

• ✅ Intuitive console interface
• ✅ Color-coded displays
• ✅ Secure authentication
• ✅ Error handling and validation

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• .NET 9 SDK
• Cross-platform support (Windows, macOS, Linux)
• Visual Studio, VS Code, or any .NET IDE

Setup Instructions

1. Clone the repository

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd PersonalFinanceTracker

2. Build the solution

   dotnet build

3. Start the API server

   cd src/WebApi
   dotnet run --profile http

   The API will be available at http://localhost:5269

4. Run the console client

   cd src/ConsoleClient
   dotnet run

First Run

1. The SQLite database will be created automatically on first run
2. Pre-defined categories will be seeded
3. Register a new user account
4. Start tracking your finances!

💡 Usage Guide

Console Application Flow

1. Authentication

   • Register new account or login
   • Secure JWT-based session management

2. Main Menu Options

   • 💰 Transaction Management
   • 📊 Budget Planning
   • 📈 Financial Reports
   • 🏷️ Category Management
   • 📋 Quick Summary

3. Transaction Management

   • Add income/expense transactions
   • Select from available categories
   • View transaction history
   • Get spending summaries

4. Budget Planning

   • Create budgets for expense categories
   • Monitor spending against budgets
   • View budget performance
   • Get over-budget alerts

5. Financial Reports

   • Generate comprehensive reports
   • Analyze spending by category
   • View monthly trends
   • Track budget performance

🔧 API Endpoints

Authentication

• POST /api/auth/register - User registration
• POST /api/auth/login - User login

Transactions

• GET /api/transactions - Get user transactions
• POST /api/transactions - Create transaction
• GET /api/transactions/summary - Get transaction summary
• DELETE /api/transactions/{id} - Delete transaction

Budgets

• GET /api/budgets - Get user budgets
• POST /api/budgets - Create budget
• GET /api/budgets/active - Get active budgets
• GET /api/budgets/summary - Get budget summary

Categories

• GET /api/categories - Get categories
• GET /api/categories/with-stats - Get categories with statistics

Reports

• POST /api/reports/financial - Generate financial report
• GET /api/reports/category-breakdown - Get category breakdown
• GET /api/reports/monthly-trends - Get monthly trends

📊 Pre-defined Categories

Expense Categories

• 🍽️ Food & Dining
• 🚗 Transportation
• 🛍️ Shopping
• 🎬 Entertainment
• 💡 Bills & Utilities
• 🏥 Health & Fitness

Income Categories

• 💼 Salary
• 📈 Investment
• 💻 Freelance
• 💰 Other Income

🔒 Security Features

• JWT authentication with configurable expiry
• Password hashing using BCrypt
• User data isolation
• Input validation and sanitization

🎨 Console UI Features

• Color-coded transaction displays (green for income, red for expenses)
• Progress bars for budget tracking
• Tabular data presentation
• Interactive menu system
• Error handling with user-friendly messages

🏗️ Architecture Highlights

Clean Architecture

• Domain Layer: Core business entities
• Application Layer: Business logic and services
• Infrastructure Layer: Data access and external services
• Presentation Layer: Web API and Console UI

Design Patterns

• Repository pattern via Entity Framework
• Dependency Injection
• DTO pattern for data transfer
• Service layer pattern

Data Persistence

• Entity Framework Core with SQLite
• Cross-platform database support
• Code-first approach with automatic database creation
• Seed data for categories
• Relationship management

🐛 Recent Fixes & Improvements

✅ All Issues Resolved!

• Database Compatibility: Migrated from SQL Server to SQLite for cross-platform support
• Math Function Issues: Replaced Math.Abs() and Math.Max() with SQLite-compatible alternatives
• Enum Serialization: Fixed all CategoryType and BudgetStatus serialization issues
• Type Conversion: Resolved JSON deserialization errors in console client
• Dependency Injection: Fixed service registration and resolution issues
• HTTPS Redirect: Disabled HTTPS redirect for development environment

🔧 Technical Improvements

• SQLite Database: Lightweight, file-based database that works on all platforms
• LINQ Translation: All queries now properly translate to SQLite
• JSON Serialization: Proper enum-to-string conversion for API responses
• Error Handling: Comprehensive error handling and user-friendly messages
• Build System: Clean builds across all projects

🚀 Current Status

🎉 PROJECT IS FULLY FUNCTIONAL!

• ✅ API Server: Running on HTTP port 5269
• ✅ Database: SQLite with automatic creation and seeding
• ✅ Authentication: JWT-based user registration and login
• ✅ All Features: Transactions, budgets, categories, and reports working
• ✅ Console Client: Interactive interface with all functionality
• ✅ Cross-Platform: Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux

🚀 Future Enhancements

• Web-based UI
• Mobile app integration
• Data export/import features
• Advanced reporting with charts
• Multi-currency support
• Recurring transaction support
• Investment tracking
• Bill reminders

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests if applicable
5. Submit a pull request

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Built with .NET 9 and Entity Framework Core
• Optimized for cross-platform development
• SQLite database for universal compatibility
• Inspired by modern personal finance management needs
• Designed for extensibility and maintainability

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Happy Financial Tracking! 💰📊

Last Updated: August 2025 - Now with full cross-platform support and all issues resolved!