Budget Buddy Retro

Full-stack AI budgeting app using Gemini API, Chart.js & Netlify Functions. Input your budget, chat with a retro AI, and get personalized money insights in real time.

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💡 Inspiration

I wanted to create something that felt nostalgic but still useful — a tool that made budgeting approachable and personal. The idea for Budget Buddy Retro came from my love for vintage interfaces and the desire to bring that old-school computer feel to a modern AI-powered experience. It’s designed to make managing money feel less intimidating and more interactive — like chatting with your own 80s finance assistant.

🛠️ How I Built It

The project was built completely solo in about 15 hours during HackNC 2025. I used vanilla HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for the front end, with Bootstrap and CSS Grid for layout and responsive styling.

On the backend, I used Node.js through Netlify Functions to securely connect with the Google Gemini API, allowing the chatbot and smart insights to work without exposing my API key.

I also integrated Chart.js to visualize income and expenses as a live pie chart, and implemented local storage so users’ budget data persists between sessions.

The entire app was deployed on Netlify, with CI/CD set up between main and dev branches.

🚧 Challenges

Solo Development: My team decided not to compete a few hours in, so I built everything — design, frontend, backend, and deployment — on my own.

Time Pressure: Managing scope and debugging under 15 hours was tough, especially balancing the Gemini API calls and UI updates.

CORS and API Security: I learned how to handle CORS errors and protect my Gemini API key using Netlify Functions.

🧠 What I Learned

How to securely integrate AI models (like Gemini) into a front-end app using serverless functions.

How to structure and deploy a full-stack project entirely with vanilla code — no frameworks.

Practical use of Chart.js and local storage to make data visual and persistent.

The importance of clean design and theming under tight time limits.

Most importantly, I learned that I can take a project from concept to deployment completely on my own, and actually make it look and feel like a finished product.

🎯 What’s Next

I’d like to expand Budget Buddy Retro into a fully-featured financial companion — with recurring expense tracking, user accounts, and deeper AI analysis through Gemini’s advanced models.

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