ExpenseTracker

A simple command-line tool to track your personal income and expenses in a CSV file and optionally visualize them. The app lets you:

• Add transactions (date, amount, category, description)
• View a filtered list of transactions for a date range
• See totals (income, expense, and net savings)
• Optionally plot income vs expense over time

Requirements

• Python 3.13+ (recommended)
• pip

Python packages:

• pandas
• matplotlib

Installation

It’s recommended to use a virtual environment.

1. Clone or download this repository.
2. Open a terminal in the project folder: C:\Users\steph\PycharmProjects\ExpenseTracker.
3. Create and activate a virtual environment (Windows PowerShell):

python -m venv .venv
.\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1

4. Install dependencies:

pip install pandas matplotlib

Usage

Run the application:

python main.py

You will see a menu with options:

1. Add a new transaction

   • You’ll be prompted for:
     • Date in DD-MM-YYYY format (press Enter to use today’s date when prompted)
     • Amount (positive number)
     • Category (Income or Expense)
     • Description (free text)

2. View transactions

   • Enter a start and end date in DD-MM-YYYY format.
   • The app prints all transactions within that range, along with a summary of total income, total expense, and net savings.
   • You may be prompted to plot the transactions (requires matplotlib). If chosen, a line plot of daily income vs expense is displayed.

3. Exit

Data Storage

Transactions are stored in a CSV file named finance_data.csv in the project root. The columns are:

• Date (DD-MM-YYYY)
• Amount (numeric)
• Category (Income or Expense)
• Description (text)

Example row:

Date,Amount,Category,Description
06-11-2025,1200.00,Income,Salary
06-11-2025,45.50,Expense,Groceries

Notes and Tips

• Date format matters: use DD-MM-YYYY (e.g., 06-11-2025). Rows with invalid dates will be skipped when viewing a range.
• If you get an error when plotting, ensure matplotlib is installed (pip install matplotlib) and a display is available.
• If you manually edit the CSV, keep the header row and column names unchanged.
• Currency symbol in summaries is "£" by default in print output.

Troubleshooting

• Module not found (pandas/matplotlib): Ensure your virtual environment is activated and dependencies installed.
• Unicode or encoding issues when opening the CSV: Save the file in UTF-8 without BOM if edited externally.
• Nothing displays for a date range: Verify the dates are entered as DD-MM-YYYY and that data exists in that range.

Project Structure

ExpenseTracker/
├─ main.py            # App entry point and CLI
├─ data_entry.py      # Input helpers (date, amount, category, description)
├─ finance_data.csv   # Data file (created automatically if missing)
└─ README.md          # This file

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. Please keep changes focused and include clear descriptions.