Global Net Worth Tracker - DA219B Fullstack Lab

A multi-currency finance tracker built for international students to aggregate checking, savings, and investment accounts from different countries into a single USD net worth dashboard.

Tech Stack

• Frontend: React, Vite
• Backend: Express.js, Node.js
• Database: MongoDB (Atlas), Mongoose
• Styling: Vanilla CSS

Project Architecture

This project follows a strict Router -> Controller -> Model pattern.

1. backend/models/: Defines the Mongoose schemas (User, Account, Snapshot) with robust input validation.
2. backend/controllers/: Contains the core business logic and custom aggregation pipelines.
3. backend/routes/: Maps Express endpoints to the controller functions.

Features Implemented

• Custom React Dashboard: Renders a dynamic NetWorthSummary component fetching aggregated metrics.
• RESTful API Integration: Complete CRUD functionality (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) with the backend via a centralized frontend/src/api.js.
• Advanced State Management: Implemented controlled forms (AccountForm) with edit/populate states.
• Auto-Refresh (Polling): Uses setInterval in useEffect to fetch live data every 30 seconds, including the required clearInterval cleanup function to prevent memory leaks.
• Interactive UI Filter/Sort: The AccountList allows users to dynamically search by country/type and click table headers to sort columns.
• Robust Error Handling: Explicit Loading and Error states are conditionally rendered across all fetching components.

API Endpoints

POST /api/accounts

Creates a new financial account. Body: { name, type, country, currency, balance, institution } Response: { _id, userId, name, type, country, currency, balance, institution, createdAt }

GET /api/stats/networth

Returns total net worth in USD with breakdowns. Response: { totalUSD: 28420, byCountry: { Sweden: 15640, Ecuador: 9900 }, byType: { savings: 11100, investment: 14800 } }

How to Run Locally

1. Installation

Install dependencies in the root directory (which runs concurrently for frontend and backend):

npm install

2. Environment Variables

Create a .env file inside the /backend folder with the following:

PORT=8000
MONGODB_URI=mongodb+srv://<your_user>:<your_password>@<your_cluster>.mongodb.net/FinanceTracker

3. Database Seeding

To populate realistic mock data for your dashboard, run the seeder script from the root:

node backend/seed.js

4. Run the Servers

npm run dev

• Frontend starts at: http://localhost:5173
• Backend API starts at: http://localhost:8000/api