Expense Tracker and Budget

Description

A budget application that allows users to edit and add expenses. The application also provides users to see their expenses in a linear graph over the selected month. The graphs represent data for up to five months, plus the current month. The app also provides the list of expenses and a budget interface that displays monthly expense data against budgeted amounts in each category.

Installation Instructions

Required runtime environment:

• If Node.js is not already installed: Download

Setup

1. Clone the repository
   git clone [https://github.com/Abigail-Diaz/Budget-Tracker.git]

2. Navigate to the project cd Budget-Tracker

3. Install dependencies npm install

Server setup

Start the Vite development server: npm run dev This will provide a local URL. (usually http://localhost:5173/)

Connecting to Airtable

This project uses Airtable as its backend database to store transaction data and budget categories.

1. Airtable Setup

1. Create an Airtable base
   Go to https://airtable.com and create a new base (or use an existing one).

2. Create Two Tables
   Your base should have two tables:

   • transactions: for storing individual transaction records
   • Budget_Categories: for storing budget categories and limits

3. Add Fields

   • transactions table should include:
     • Date (Date)
     • Amount (Number)
     • Category (Long Text)
     • Description (Long text)
   • Budget_Categories table should include:
     • name (Single Line Text)
     • amount (Number)

2. Import Data from CSV

You can import data using Airtable’s CSV Import feature:

• In each table, click the dropdown → "Import Data" → "CSV file"
• The CSV files are in the /data folder at the project root.
• Upload the appropriate CSV file on each corresponding table in the Airtable:
  • transactions.csv (For testing and data visualization)
  • Budget_Categories.csv (Required since budget categories are not added by users)

3. Configure Environment Variables

Create a .env.local file in the root of your project based on the provided example:

VITE_PAT=your_airtable_personal_access_token
VITE_BASE_ID=your_airtable_base_id
VITE_TABLE_TRANSACTIONS=transactions
VITE_TABLE_CATEGORIES=Budget_Categories

• VITE_PAT: Create a personal access token at https://airtable.com/account under Developer Hub > Tokens
• VITE_BASE_ID: Find this in your Airtable base’s URL (airtable.com/appXXXXXXXXXXXXXX/...)