PocketPal : Your Personal Budget Companion

PocketPal is a personal budget management application designed to help users track their income and expenses, offering a clear view of their financial habits. To be honest, I created this mobile app for my grandpa who faced difficulties in managing his expenses manually :) - he used to write down the expenses and used a calculator.

🎯 What It Does & Why It's Useful

Many people struggle to keep track of their daily spending, understand where their money goes, and stick to a budget. PocketPal solves this by providing:

• Effortless Tracking: Quickly log your spending and earnings.
• Organized Finances: Use dynamic categories (e.g., "Food", "Transport") and subjects (e.g., "Groceries", "Train Ticket") to see detailed breakdowns.
• Clear Overview: The main entries list acts as your financial dashboard, showing all transactions at a glance.

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🎬 App Demo

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📸 Screenshots

Here's a glimpse of PocketPal in action:

Entries List	Add New Entry	Summary View	Spending Graph

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✨ Core Features

• Entries Dashboard: View all your financial entries (date, category, subject, debit/credit) in one place.
• Quick Entry: Seamlessly add new transactions.
• Dynamic Categories & Subjects: Create custom categories, and then add specific subjects under them. Add new ones on-the-fly directly from the entry form!
• Real-time Updates: Your entries list refreshes instantly after any additions.
• Persistent Storage: Your financial data is saved in a MongoDB database.
• Tech: Built with React Native (Frontend) & Node.js/Express/MongoDB (Backend).

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🚀 Getting Started & Setup

To get the app running locally:

1. Backend Setup:

# Clone the repository (if you haven't already)
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/YOUR_PROJECT_REPO.git
cd YOUR_PROJECT_REPO/backend

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Create .env file (copy from .env.example) and add your MongoDB URI & Port
# Example .env:
# PORT=5001
# MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string

# Start the backend server
npm run dev

2. Frontend Setup:

cd ../frontend # Navigate from backend to frontend directory

# Install dependencies
npm install

# IMPORTANT: Configure API URL
# Open frontend/services/api.js
# Ensure baseURL points to your backend:
# - Android Emulator: 'http://10.0.2.2:5001/api' (or your backend PORT)
# - Physical Device/Other: 'http://YOUR_COMPUTER_LOCAL_IP:5001/api'

# Start the Expo development server
npx expo start

Scan the QR code with the Expo Go app on your mobile device.

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🛠️ Tech Stack Highlights

• Frontend: React Native, Expo, Axios, React Context API
• Backend: Node.js, Express.js, MongoDB, Mongoose
• Key Libraries: @react-native-community/datetimepicker, @react-native-picker/picker

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💡 Suggested Future Enhancements

• User Authentication: Secure individual user accounts.
• Data Visualization: Charts to illustrate spending trends.
• Advanced Filtering & Search: For easier entry retrieval.
• Enhanced Error Handling & Input Validation: For a more robust user experience.

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