Clearr

Overview

Clearr is a personal finance platform I built to get a proper handle on my own finances. Most budgeting tools are either too simple to be useful or too complex to actually use. I wanted something in between: a clean interface that shows income, spending, and savings progress without getting in the way.

The problem

I was tracking finances across a spreadsheet and a handful of banking apps and none of them gave me a consolidated view. I wanted to see all accounts in one place, understand my spending patterns over time, and track progress toward specific financial goals. Nothing off the shelf quite fit, so I built it myself.

What I built

A full-stack web application with a React frontend and a .NET API backed by PostgreSQL. The architecture was deliberately straightforward: a well-structured REST API, a relational database for reliable financial data, and a React frontend focused on clarity over flashiness.

• ·Transaction tracking with manual entry and category tagging
• ·Dashboard showing a rolling summary of income and spending by category
• ·Goals feature to set savings targets and visualise progress over time
• ·Month-over-month comparison views to spot patterns and trends
• ·Secure authentication with JWT and per-user data isolation at the database level

Technical decisions

I chose .NET for the API because of its strong typing, mature ecosystem, and performance at the data layer. PostgreSQL handles the relational structure well, particularly for queries that span transactions across time periods and categories. React on the frontend kept the UI fast and componentised without the overhead of a larger framework for a project of this scope.

Where it is now

Clearr is in beta and in active use. It has replaced my spreadsheet entirely. Future additions include bank feed integration and recurring transaction detection, but the core loop works well as it stands.