🏆 About the Project: GamePlan

🎯 Inspiration

We noticed that budgeting often feels boring and stressful, especially for students and young professionals. But when you frame it like a game—with goals, stats, and progress—it becomes exciting. Inspired by the sports world and the thrill of competition, we built GamePlan to make money management feel like training for a championship.

⚙️ How We Built It

Frontend: Built with React + Tailwind for a sleek, dynamic dashboard.
Backend: Node.js + Express connected to the Capital One Nessie API for real financial simulation data.
AI Insights: Integrated ChatGPT (OpenAI API) to generate coaching-style insights on spending behavior.
Hosting: Frontend deployed via Netlify, backend ready for Render/Heroku.

📚 What We Learned

How to consume APIs securely and normalize messy financial data.
Using JWT authentication for secure logins with Google and local accounts.
Tailwind and React animations for building engaging, gamified UIs.
Best practices for secret management (.env) and GitHub push protection.

🚧 Challenges We Faced

Resolving dependency conflicts with Tailwind and PostCSS.
Fighting through Git/GitHub issues like removing leaked .env secrets.
Designing a clear user flow: start page → tutorial → sign-in → dashboard.
Integrating AI coaching tips in a way that felt natural and fun, not robotic.