This application is designed to help you track and visualize your recurring monthly expenses to better understand your spending patterns and plan for financial decisions. This is not a typical expense tracking app where you log individual purchases or transactions.
- Mortgage/Rent payments
- Utility bills (electric, gas, water, internet)
- Insurance premiums (health, auto, home, life)
- Subscription services (Netflix, Spotify, gym memberships)
- Loan payments
- Other recurring financial obligations
- See your expense-to-income ratio
- Understand where your money goes by category
- Identify your largest recurring expenses
- Track spending habits over time
- Affordability Calculator: Determine if you can afford new recurring expenses
- Savings Potential: See how much you have available for savings each month
- Budget Analysis: Understand if your spending ratio is healthy
- Decision Support: Make informed choices about new subscriptions or financial commitments
- Monthly income vs. recurring expenses comparison
- Available amount for savings and new expenses
- Expense ratio with health indicators
- Category-based spending breakdown
- Quick affordability assessments
- Add/edit/remove recurring monthly expenses
- Categorize expenses for better visualization
- Track payment amounts and descriptions
- Monitor total monthly financial obligations
- Record all sources of regular monthly income
- Track salary, side income, investments, etc.
- Calculate total available monthly funds
- Expense ratio analysis (recommended: keep under 80% of income)
- Savings recommendations (suggest 20% of available funds)
- Spending pattern identification
- Financial health indicators
❌ Individual Transaction Tracking: This is not for logging every coffee purchase or grocery trip
❌ Variable Expense Monitoring: Don't add expenses that change significantly month-to-month
❌ Daily Spending Diary: This focuses on fixed, predictable monthly obligations
❌ Investment Portfolio Tracker: This is for recurring expenses, not investment management
✅ Budget Planners: People who want to understand their fixed monthly commitments
✅ Subscription Managers: Those tracking multiple recurring services and memberships
✅ Financial Decision Makers: Anyone considering new recurring expenses or financial commitments
✅ Savings Goals Planners: People who want to maximize their monthly savings potential
✅ Debt Management: Those tracking loan payments and working toward financial freedom
"I want to sign up for a $15/month streaming service. Can I afford it?"
- Check your dashboard's "Available for Savings" amount
- See if you have room after recommended savings
- Make an informed decision based on your current commitments
"How much should I be saving each month?"
- View your total recurring expenses vs. income
- See the recommended 20% savings amount
- Identify areas where you might reduce recurring costs
"Am I spending too much on fixed expenses?"
- Review your expense ratio percentage
- Compare against the recommended 80% threshold
- Analyze spending by category to find optimization opportunities
- Add Your Income Sources: Start by recording all regular monthly income
- Add Recurring Expenses: Include all fixed monthly payments and subscriptions
- Categorize Expenses: Group similar expenses for better visualization
- Review Dashboard: Analyze your spending patterns and available savings
- Make Informed Decisions: Use the insights to guide financial choices
- Backend: ASP.NET Core MVC
- Database: Entity Framework Core
- Frontend: Bootstrap 5, HTML5, CSS3
- Authentication: ASP.NET Core Identity
- Icons: Font Awesome
BudgetTracker/
├── BudgetTracker.Data/ # Database context and repositories
├── BudgetTracker.Models/ # Domain models and view models
├── BudgetTracker.Services/ # Business logic services
├── BudgetTracker.Web/ # MVC web application
└── scripts/ # Development and deployment scripts
The application includes a comprehensive demo mode for showcasing the features:
- Live Demo: Visit
/demoto access the demo information page - Auto-Login: Automatically logs in with a demo user account
- Sample Data: Includes realistic income sources, expenses, and categories
- Full Functionality: Add, edit, and delete data to test all features
- Auto-Reset: Demo data automatically resets every 30 minutes
- Manual Reset: Use
/demo/resetto manually reset demo data or click the Reset Demo button on Dashboard
This application focuses specifically on recurring expense tracking. When contributing, please maintain this focus and avoid features that would turn it into a general expense tracking or accounting application.
Remember: This tool is about understanding your recurring financial commitments, not tracking every dollar you spend. Use it to make informed decisions about new subscriptions, set realistic savings goals, and maintain a healthy expense-to-income ratio.