Expense Tracker with PDF Reports

A simple Python-based personal expense tracker that lets you log your daily expenses, visualize spending trends, and generate PDF reports for any month. Perfect as a first-semester project with practical functionality.

Features:

    Add, view, and categorize daily expenses

    Track spending by category (Food, Rent, Travel, etc.)

    Visualize monthly spending trends with bar charts

    Generate PDF reports for any month

    Total spending

    Spending per category (table)

    Bar chart for visual representation

    Easy to extend (GUI, web app, or yearly reports)


Skills & Libraries Used:

    Python (Intermediate) – core programming and file handling

    pandas – data storage, filtering, and aggregation

    matplotlib – plotting charts for visual insights

    reportlab – generating PDF reports

    Linux basics – running scripts on terminal


Project Structure:
expense_tracker/
├── main.py             # Main application logic (CLI)
├── report_generator.py # PDF report generation
├── expenses.csv        # CSV file to store expense data
├── category_chart.png  # Temporary chart for PDF report
└── README.md           # Project documentation

Getting Started:

Prerequisites:

    Make sure you have Python installed (version 3.8+ recommended) and pip for installing packages.

    Install required packages:

    pip install pandas matplotlib reportlab

How to Run:

    Clone or download the project.

    Open terminal and navigate to the project folder.

    Run the main application:

        python main.py


Follow the menu options:

    Add a new expense

    View all expenses

    Generate a monthly PDF report

    To generate a report for a specific month/year, the program will ask:

        Enter year (e.g., 2025):
        Enter month number (1–12):


A PDF file will be generated in the project folder, e.g., Expense_Report_November_2025.pdf.


Future Enhancements

    Add custom date range reports

    Create yearly summary reports

    Build a Tkinter GUI for easier interaction

    Convert it into a Flask web app for online access

    Add expense reminders and notifications