Expense Tracker application

Students often struggle to keep track of daily expenses and understand where their money is being spent. Existing solutions can feel complex for quick personal use. The goal was to build a lightweight expense tracking system that allows students to record expenses, view spending history, calculate total expenses, identify top spending categories, and stay aware of monthly budget limits. Process I designed and developed a Python command-line application using an object-oriented approach. I started by identifying the core requirements and modeling expense data using a list of dictionaries. Then I implemented features step by step: adding expenses, displaying stored records, calculating total spending, and analyzing spending categories. As an enhancement, I added monthly budget tracking with automatic warnings when spending exceeds the limit. Finally, I improved usability with a cleaner CLI interface and included sample data for instant demonstration. Results Successfully delivered a fully functional Python CLI Expense Tracker that meets all required objectives. The application allows users to add expenses, review records, calculate total spending, identify the highest spending category, and receive budget alerts. The final solution runs without external dependencies and includes sample data for immediate testing Reflection With more time, I would improve the application by adding persistent storage using CSV or JSON, introducing graphical spending reports, implementing user authentication, and expanding the project into a full-stack application with a web interface and cloud-based data storage.