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Building a Personal Finance Tracker with React and Firebase

Leon
January 06, 2025 0 Comments

In an increasingly digital world, managing personal finances effectively is more important than ever. With the rise of various financial applications, individuals are seeking tools that not only help them track their expenses but also provide insights into their spending habits. A personal finance tracker can serve as a powerful tool for budgeting, expense tracking, and financial planning. In this comprehensive guide, we will walk through the process of building a personal finance tracker using React and Firebase. This project will cover everything from setting up your development environment to implementing essential features such as user authentication, data storage, and visualizing financial data. By the end of this article, you will have a fully functional finance tracker application that you can customize and expand upon.

Introduction

Personal finance management is crucial for individuals aiming to achieve financial stability and make informed decisions about their spending. Traditional methods of tracking expenses—such as pen and paper or simple spreadsheets—often fall short in providing real-time insights and user-friendly experiences. With the advent of web technologies, creating a dedicated application for personal finance tracking has become more accessible than ever.

React is a popular JavaScript library for building user interfaces, particularly single-page applications where responsiveness and interactivity are key. Coupled with Firebase, a Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform that offers real-time database capabilities, user authentication, and hosting services, developers can create robust applications without the need for extensive backend infrastructure.

In this guide, we will explore how to leverage React and Firebase to build a personal finance tracker that allows users to register, log in, add transactions, view their financial data, and gain insights into their spending habits. We will break down each step of the development process, providing clear explanations and examples to ensure that even beginners can follow along.

Setting Up Your Development Environment

Before diving into the code, it’s essential to set up your development environment properly. This includes installing the necessary tools and libraries that will enable you to build your application efficiently.

Step 1: Install Node.js

Node.js is a JavaScript runtime that allows you to run JavaScript on the server side. It is essential for managing packages with npm (Node Package Manager), which we will use to install React and Firebase.

  1. Download Node.js: Visit the Node.js official website and download the latest version suitable for your operating system.
  2. Install Node.js: Follow the installation instructions provided on the website.

Step 2: Create a New React Application

Once Node.js is installed, you can create a new React application using Create React App—a command-line tool that sets up a new React project with all necessary configurations.

  1. Open your terminal (Command Prompt or PowerShell on Windows) and run:
   npx create-react-app personal-finance-tracker
  1. Navigate into your project directory:
   cd personal-finance-tracker

Step 3: Install Firebase

With your React application set up, the next step is to install Firebase:

  1. Install Firebase:
   npm install firebase

This command adds Firebase as a dependency in your project, allowing you to utilize its services throughout your application.

Setting Up Firebase

To use Firebase in our personal finance tracker, we need to create a new project in the Firebase Console and configure it for our application.

Step 1: Create a Firebase Project

  1. Go to the Firebase Console: Visit Firebase Console.
  2. Create a New Project: Click on “Add project” and follow the prompts to set up your project.
  3. Enable Google Analytics (optional): You can choose whether or not to enable Google Analytics for your project during setup.

Step 2: Obtain Your Firebase Configuration

After creating your project:

  1. Access Project Settings: Click on the gear icon next to “Project Overview” in the left sidebar.
  2. Add Web App: Click on “Add app” under “Your apps” section and select “Web.”
  3. Register Your App: Enter an app nickname (e.g., Personal Finance Tracker) and click “Register app.”
  4. Copy Configuration Code: You will see your Firebase configuration code snippet; copy it as you will need it later.

Step 3: Initialize Firebase in Your Application

Now that you have your configuration details, create a new file named firebase.js in the src directory of your React application:

// src/firebase.js
import { initializeApp } from 'firebase/app';
import { getAuth } from 'firebase/auth';
import { getFirestore } from 'firebase/firestore';

const firebaseConfig = {
    apiKey: "YOUR_API_KEY",
    authDomain: "YOUR_PROJECT_ID.firebaseapp.com",
    projectId: "YOUR_PROJECT_ID",
    storageBucket: "YOUR_PROJECT_ID.appspot.com",
    messagingSenderId: "YOUR_SENDER_ID",
    appId: "YOUR_APP_ID"
};

// Initialize Firebase
const app = initializeApp(firebaseConfig);

// Initialize services
const auth = getAuth(app);
const db = getFirestore(app);

export { auth, db };

Replace "YOUR_API_KEY", "YOUR_PROJECT_ID", etc., with the actual values from your Firebase configuration snippet.

Implementing User Authentication

A personal finance tracker requires user authentication so that individuals can securely access their financial data. We will implement user registration and login functionality using Firebase Authentication.

Step 1: Creating Registration Component

Create a new file named Register.js in the src directory:

// src/Register.js
import React, { useState } from 'react';
import { auth } from './firebase';
import { createUserWithEmailAndPassword } from 'firebase/auth';

const Register = () => {
    const [email, setEmail] = useState('');
    const [password, setPassword] = useState('');
    const [errorMessage, setErrorMessage] = useState('');

    const handleSubmit = async (e) => {
        e.preventDefault();
        try {
            await createUserWithEmailAndPassword(auth, email, password);
            alert('User registered successfully!');
        } catch (error) {
            setErrorMessage(error.message);
        }
    };

    return (
        <div>
            <h2>Register</h2>
            <form onSubmit={handleSubmit}>
                <input 
                    type="email" 
                    placeholder="Email" 
                    value={email} 
                    onChange={(e) => setEmail(e.target.value)} 
                    required 
                />
                <input 
                    type="password" 
                    placeholder="Password" 
                    value={password} 
                    onChange={(e) => setPassword(e.target.value)} 
                    required 
                />
                <button type="submit">Register</button>
            </form>
            {errorMessage && <p>{errorMessage}</p>}
        </div>
    );
};

export default Register;

Explanation of Registration Component

  • The component uses useState hooks to manage email and password inputs.
  • The handleSubmit function attempts to register the user using createUserWithEmailAndPassword from Firebase Authentication.
  • If registration is successful, an alert is shown; otherwise, an error message is displayed.

Step 2: Creating Login Component

Next, create a login component named Login.js:

// src/Login.js
import React, { useState } from 'react';
import { auth } from './firebase';
import { signInWithEmailAndPassword } from 'firebase/auth';

const Login = () => {
    const [email, setEmail] = useState('');
    const [password, setPassword] = useState('');
    const [errorMessage, setErrorMessage] = useState('');

    const handleSubmit = async (e) => {
        e.preventDefault();
        try {
            await signInWithEmailAndPassword(auth, email, password);
            alert('Logged in successfully!');
        } catch (error) {
            setErrorMessage(error.message);
        }
    };

    return (
        <div>
            <h2>Login</h2>
            <form onSubmit={handleSubmit}>
                <input 
                    type="email" 
                    placeholder="Email" 
                    value={email} 
                    onChange={(e) => setEmail(e.target.value)} 
                    required 
                />
                <input 
                    type="password" 
                    placeholder="Password" 
                    value={password} 
                    onChange={(e) => setPassword(e.target.value)} 
                    required 
                />
                <button type="submit">Login</button>
            </form>
            {errorMessage && <p>{errorMessage}</p>}
        </div>
    );
};

export default Login;

Explanation of Login Component

  • Similar to Register, this component handles user login.
  • It uses signInWithEmailAndPassword from Firebase Authentication to authenticate users based on their credentials.
  • On successful login or error handling scenarios—appropriate messages are displayed.

Step 3: Setting Up Routing

To navigate between different components (registration and login), we’ll use React Router:

  1. Install React Router:
   npm install react-router-dom
  1. Update src/App.js:
// src/App.js
import React from 'react';
import { BrowserRouter as Router, Route, Routes } from 'react-router-dom';
import Register from './Register';
import Login from './Login';

const App = () => {
    return (
        <Router>
            <div>
                <h1>Personal Finance Tracker</h1>
                <Routes>
                    <Route path="/register" element={<Register />} />
                    <Route path="/login" element={<Login />} />
                </Routes>
            </div>
        </Router>
    );
};

export default App;

Explanation of Routing Setup

  • We import necessary components from react-router-dom.
  • The Router component wraps our application allowing us to define routes.
  • Each route (/register and /login) points to its respective component.

Implementing Financial Data Management

With user authentication in place, we can now implement features for managing financial transactions such as adding expenses or income entries.

Step 1: Creating Transaction Component

Create a new file named TransactionForm.js:

// src/TransactionForm.js
import React, { useState } from 'react';
import { db } from './firebase';
import { collection, addDoc } from 'firebase/firestore';

const TransactionForm = () => {
    const [description, setDescription] = useState('');
    const [amount, setAmount] = useState('');
    const [type, setType] = useState('expense'); // Default type is expense

    const handleSubmit = async (e) => {
        e.preventDefault();
        try {
            await addDoc(collection(db, 'transactions'), {
                description,
                amount,
                type,
                createdAt: new Date(),
            });
            alert('Transaction added successfully!');
            // Clear form fields after submission
            setDescription('');
            setAmount('');
        } catch (error) {
            console.error("Error adding document: ", error);
        }
    };

    return (
        <form onSubmit={handleSubmit}>
            <input 
                type="text" 
                placeholder="Description" 
                value={description} 
                onChange={(e) => setDescription(e.target.value)} 
                required 
            />
            <input 
                type="number" 
                placeholder="Amount" 
                value={amount} 
                onChange={(e) => setAmount(e.target.value)} 
                required 
            />
            <select value={type} onChange={(e) => setType(e.target.value)}>
                <option value="expense">Expense</option>
                <option value="income">Income</option>
            </select>
            <button type="submit">Add Transaction</button>
        </form>
    );
};

export default TransactionForm;

Explanation of Transaction Form Code

  • This component allows users to input transaction details such as description and amount.
  • The selected transaction type can be either an expense or income.
  • Upon form submission (handleSubmit), it adds a new document to the Firestore database under the transactions collection.

Step 2: Displaying Transactions

To visualize transactions added by users:

  1. Create another file named TransactionList.js:
// src/TransactionList.js
import React, { useEffect, useState } from 'react';
import { db } from './firebase';
import { collection, query, orderBy, onSnapshot } from 'firebase/firestore';

const TransactionList = () => {
    const [transactions, setTransactions] = useState([]);

    useEffect(() => {
        const q = query(collection(db, 'transactions'), orderBy('createdAt', 'desc'));
        const unsubscribe = onSnapshot(q, (querySnapshot) => {
            let transactionsArray = [];
            querySnapshot.forEach((doc) => {
                transactionsArray.push({ id: doc.id, ...doc.data() });
            });
            setTransactions(transactionsArray);
        });

        return () => unsubscribe(); // Cleanup subscription on unmount
    }, []);

    return (
        <div>
            <h2>Your Transactions</h2>
            {transactions.length === 0 ? (
                <p>No transactions found.</p>
            ) : (
                <ul>
                    {transactions.map((transaction) => (
                        <li key={transaction.id}>
                            {transaction.description}: ${transaction.amount} ({transaction.type})
                        </li>
                    ))}
                </ul>
            )}
        </div>
    );
};

export default TransactionList;

Explanation of Transaction List Code

  • The component retrieves transactions stored in Firestore using real-time listeners with onSnapshot.
  • It orders transactions by creation date so that newer entries appear first.
  • The list displays each transaction’s description along with its amount and type.

Step 3: Integrating Components into App

Now we need to integrate our transaction components into our main application structure by updating src/App.js:

// src/App.js
import React from 'react';
import { BrowserRouter as Router, Route, Routes } from 'react-router-dom';
import Register from './Register';
import Login from './Login';
import TransactionForm from './TransactionForm';
import TransactionList from './TransactionList';

const App = () => {
    return (
        <Router>
            <div>
                <h1>Personal Finance Tracker</h1>
                <Routes>
                    <Route path="/register" element={<Register />} />
                    <Route path="/login" element={<Login />} />
                    {/* Add routes for transaction management */}
                    <Route path="/transactions" element={<TransactionForm />} />
                    <Route path="/transactions/list" element={<TransactionList />} />
                </Routes>
            </div>
        </Router>
    );
};

export default App;

Explanation of Updated App Structure

  • We added routes for displaying transaction forms and lists within our main application structure.
  • Users can now navigate between registration/login pages and access transaction management functionalities seamlessly.

Visualizing Financial Data

To enhance user experience further by providing insights into spending habits—let’s implement data visualization using charts!

Step 1: Install Charting Library

We’ll utilize Chart.js—a popular library for rendering charts—to visualize financial data effectively:

npm install chart.js react-chartjs-2

Step 2: Creating Chart Component

Create a new file named TransactionChart.js:

// src/TransactionChart.js
import React from 'react';
import { Bar } from 'react-chartjs-2';

const TransactionChart = ({ transactions }) => {
    const data = {
        labels: ['Income', 'Expense'],
        datasets: [
            {
                label: 'Total Amount',
                data: [
                  transactions.filter(t => t.type === 'income').reduce((accumulatedValue,t)=> accumulatedValue + parseFloat(t.amount),0),
                  transactions.filter(t => t.type === 'expense').reduce((accumulatedValue,t)=> accumulatedValue + parseFloat(t.amount),0)
              ],
              backgroundColor: ['rgba(75,192,192)', 'rgba(255,99,132)'],
              borderColor: ['rgba(75 ,192 ,192 ,1)', 'rgba(255 ,99 ,132 ,1)'],
              borderWidth: 1,
          },
      ],
  };

  return (
      <>
          <h2>Financial Overview</h2>
          <Bar data={data} options={{ maintainAspectRatio: false }} />
      </>
  );
};

export default TransactionChart;

Explanation of Chart Code

  • This component receives an array of transactions as props.
  • It calculates total amounts for income vs expenses using array filtering & reducing methods before rendering them onto a bar chart via Chart.js integration.

Step 3: Integrating Chart into Application

Finally—update our main app structure again by integrating charts alongside transaction lists!

// src/App.js
...
import TransactionChart from './TransactionChart';

const App = () => {

...

return (
<Router>

...

<Route path="/transactions/list" element={
<>
<TransactionList />
<TransactionChart transactions={transactions} /> {/* Pass down fetched transactions */}
</>}
/>

...

</Router>

);
};

export default App;

Conclusion

Building a personal finance tracker using React & Firebase offers not only practical benefits but also serves as an excellent learning opportunity! Throughout this guide we’ve covered everything—from setting up development environments & configuring databases through implementing core functionalities like user registration/login systems along with managing financial records—all while emphasizing best practices ensuring optimal performance throughout development cycles!

As you continue exploring these technologies remember there are endless possibilities available when leveraging powerful tools like React alongside robust backends like Firebase! Whether you’re looking into adding advanced features or refining existing ones—embracing these concepts will undoubtedly enhance both user experiences & overall application effectiveness! Happy coding!