WealthWise

Inspiration

Managing money is one of the biggest challenges for students and young professionals. Existing finance apps are often too complicated or overwhelming. We wanted to build something lightweight, intuitive, and visually engaging that encourages financial literacy. Our goal was to simplify personal finance while still providing powerful insights.

What it does

Track income and expenses by category

Monitor investments in real time using live stock data

Set and follow financial goals

View interactive charts for spending habits, cash flow, and portfolio performance

How we built it

Frontend: React + TailwindCSS for a clean and responsive UI

Backend/Data: React state management with live API calls to Finnhub for real-time stock prices

Charts: Recharts for data visualization (line, bar, and pie charts)

Challenges we ran into

Setting up real-time stock data via Finnhub while staying within API limits

Designing a UI that is both feature-rich and simple to use

Balancing hackathon time constraints with building multiple features (transactions, investments, goals)

Debugging React state synchronization when updating charts and balances live

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Built a fully working prototype in under 48 hours

Integrated live financial data for investments

Designed a modern, intuitive dashboard that feels like a real product

Learned to collaborate effectively under hackathon pressure

What we learned

How to integrate third-party financial APIs into a React project

Best practices for designing dashboards with clear, intuitive data visualization

The importance of code readability and documentation when building quickly

How to scope features realistically in a hackathon environment

What's next for WealthWise

Add user authentication with secure accounts and cloud database storage

Introduce AI-driven financial tips (e.g., “Cut dining out by 10% to save $200/month”)

Build multi-currency support for international students

Deploy as a progressive web app (PWA) so users can access it from anywhere

Expand investment tracking to include crypto, ETFs, and bonds

Built With

• react
• tailwind