Subscription-Tracker

our subscriptions, under control. Never lose track of a renewal again. One dashboard for every subscription you own. Track renewals, cut waste, stay in control Your subscriptions, under control.

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Inspiration

During the COVID-19 lockdown, a friend introduced me to the world of technology. With time on my hands and curiosity driving me, I taught myself full stack development from scratch.

Managing personal finances during that period made me realize how easy it is to lose track of recurring subscriptions. Services quietly renew, costs pile up, and before long you are paying for things you forgot you had. Subscription-Tracker was born from that frustration — a simple, honest tool to keep you in control of what you are spending.

What it does

Subscription-Tracker lets you monitor all your recurring subscriptions in one place. You can:

  • Add subscriptions with their name, cost, billing cycle, and category
  • See your total monthly and annual spend at a glance
  • Get renewal alerts for subscriptions due within 7 days
  • Filter subscriptions by category (Streaming, Productivity, Cloud, etc.)
  • View an upcoming renewals timeline sorted by nearest due date
  • Delete subscriptions you have cancelled

How we built it

  • Node.js — server-side logic and REST API routing
  • MongoDB — storing and managing subscription records per user
  • REST API — clean endpoints for creating, reading, updating, and deleting subscriptions (CRUD)
  • A responsive frontend interface built to surface renewal data clearly and quickly

Challenges we ran into

  • Handling different billing cycles accurately — converting annual plans to a monthly equivalent for fair cost comparison
  • Computing renewal countdowns reliably across different calendar months
  • Designing an interface that feels simple despite surfacing several data points per subscription
  • Learning to think like both a developer and a user at the same time — especially as a self-taught developer still building experience

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Going from zero programming knowledge to shipping a full stack application
  • Building a tool that solves a real, everyday financial problem
  • Delivering a clean dashboard with live metrics, filtering, and renewal alerts — all working together seamlessly
  • Growing through real-world experience, including frontend work at Sterling Bank in Nigeria — debugging interfaces and consuming production APIs

What we learned

  • Full stack development end-to-end — frontend, backend, and database
  • Designing and consuming REST APIs
  • Working with Node.js and MongoDB in a real project
  • How to turn a personal frustration into a product others can use
  • The discipline it takes to learn consistently, especially under difficult circumstances like a global pandemic

What's next for Subscription-Tracker

  • User authentication — personal accounts so each user sees only their own subscriptions
  • Email and push notifications — automatic renewal reminders days before a charge hits
  • Spending analytics — charts showing spend trends over time by category
  • Multi-currency support — for users outside the US
  • Browser extension — detect and auto-add subscriptions as you sign up for them online
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