💰 Personal Expense Tracker

A feature-rich C++ console application for tracking personal expenses with a beautiful CLI interface and secure, persistent data storage.

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🌟 Features

• 🔐 Secure Access: Password-protected entry to ensure privacy
• 💾 Data Persistence: Automatically saves your expenses to local files
• 📊 Visual Analytics: CLI bar graph summary of category-wise expenses
• 🗓️ Date Filtering: Filter expenses by month (YYYY-MM format)
• 💡 Budget Alerts: Get warnings when monthly budget is exceeded
• 🎨 Colorful Interface: Beautiful, emoji-enhanced CLI with color highlights
• 🔧 Expense Management: View, reset, and manage your full history

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🚀 Quick Start

🔧 Prerequisites

• C++ compiler (e.g. g++, clang++)
• make utility (for easy build)

🛠️ Installation & Running

git clone https://github.com/your-username/ExpenseTracker.git
cd ExpenseTracker
make -s
./main

💰 Personal Expense Tracker

A feature-rich C++ console application for tracking personal expenses with a beautiful CLI interface and secure, persistent data storage.

---

🌟 Features

• 🔐 Secure Access: Password-protected entry to ensure privacy
• 💾 Data Persistence: Automatically saves your expenses to local files
• 📊 Visual Analytics: CLI bar graph summary of category-wise expenses
• 🗓️ Date Filtering: Filter expenses by month (YYYY-MM format)
• 💡 Budget Alerts: Get warnings when monthly budget is exceeded
• 🎨 Colorful Interface: Beautiful, emoji-enhanced CLI with color highlights
• 🔧 Expense Management: View, reset, and manage your full history

---

🚀 Quick Start

🔧 Prerequisites

• C++ compiler (e.g. g++, clang++)
• make utility (for easy build)

🛠️ Installation & Running

git clone https://github.com/your-username/ExpenseTracker.git
cd ExpenseTracker
make -s
./main

🆕 First Time Setup
Run the application

Set your secure password

Define your monthly budget

Start tracking your expenses!

## 📱 How to Use

### Main Menu Options:
| Option                         | Description                                               |
| ------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------- |
| 1. Add Expense                 | Record new expense with category, amount, date, and notes |
| 2. Show All Expenses           | Display all saved expense entries                         |
| 3. Filter by Month             | View only the expenses for a specific month               |
| 4. Show Graph Summary          | CLI bar graph showing category-wise spending              |
| 5. Show Total                  | Displays total spending till date                         |
| 6. Set Monthly Budget          | Update your budget anytime                                |
| 7. Check Monthly Budget Status | Check your current usage vs budget                        |
| 8. Reset Password              | Change your secure access password                        |
| 9. Clear All Expenses          | Delete all saved records permanently                      |
| 0. Exit                        | Save and close the application                            |

### Sample Usage:

Category: Food Amount: 250.50 Date (YYYY-MM-DD): 2024-01-15 Note: Lunch at restaurant

## 📁 File Structure

├── main.cpp # Main application code ├── expenses.txt # Auto-generated expense data ├── password.txt # Password storage ├── budget.txt # Monthly budget configuration ├── Makefile # Build configuration └── README.md # Project documentation

## 🎯 Use Cases

-Personal Finance Management
-Daily Expense Logging
-Budget Monitoring & Alerts
-Category-wise Spending Reports
-Monthly Financial Summary

## 🛠️ Technical Details

-Language: C++17
-Libraries: Standard C++ libraries (iostream, fstream, vector, map)
-Platform: Cross-platform (Linux, Windows, macOS)
-Storage: Plain text file-based local storage

## 🔒 Security Features

-Password-protected access
-Password reset option
-Local file storage (no internet/cloud dependency)
-Persistent data across sessions

## 🎨 Interface Preview

💰 Welcome to Personal Expense Tracker! 📝 Your financial companion for tracking daily expenses.

📋 Expense Tracker Menu

1. Add Expense
2. Show All Expenses
3. Filter by Month
4. Show Graph Summary
5. Show Total
6. Set Monthly Budget
7. Check Monthly Budget Status
8. Reset Password
9. Clear All Expenses
10. Exit

## 📈 Future Enhancements

- 📤 **Export to CSV/Excel** – For easy sharing and reporting
- 📆 **Calendar-based Filtering** – Visual selection of dates/months
- 📉 **Advanced Data Visualizations** – Pie charts, trend graphs (CLI or GUI)
- 📌 **Expense Category Editing** – Add, delete, or rename categories
- 📑 **Downloadable Monthly Reports** – Summarized printable formats
- ☁️ **Cloud Backup (Optional)** – Secure your data online

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## 🤝 Contributing

Have ideas or improvements?  
Feel free to **fork** the repository, **open issues**, or **submit pull requests**.  
Your contributions are welcome and appreciated!

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## 📄 License

This project is **open-source** — free to use and modify for **personal**, **educational**, or **non-commercial** purposes.

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🔧 Built with ❤️ in C++ to help you take control of your finances.