Financial Time Machine

IITGCS-2406-Team-66-67f7f220

Financial Time Machine is an interactive personal finance simulator built to explore hypothetical financial futures based on a user's financial input. It generates personalized insights using AI, simulates “What-If” scenarios, and presents dynamic visualizations to support smarter decision-making.

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🔍 Features

• Archetype classification based on user financial behavior
• Tailored financial guidance using OpenAI GPT-4
• Simulation of financial futures and projections
• Dynamic charts and visualizations (income, expenses, savings)
• Downloadable summaries as PDF
• Fast, responsive UI built with modern tooling
• Local storage support for continuity

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🧰 Technologies Used

Frontend

• Next.js 15 (App Router)
• React + TypeScript
• TailwindCSS
• Chart.js
• HTML2PDF.js
• Browser LocalStorage

Backend

• FastAPI (Python 3.11+)
• SQLite
• OpenAI API (GPT-4)
• Fallback logic for offline simulation

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📁 Project Structure

Click here to expand

financial_time_machine/
├── backend/
│   ├── main.py               # FastAPI entry point
│   ├── projection.py         # Future simulation logic
│   ├── fallback.py           # GPT-free fallback engine
│   ├── session.py            # Session handling
│   ├── models.py             # SQLite schema
│   └── dataviz/              # Backend-side visualization utilities
│
├── UI/
│   ├── app/                  # App Router pages
│   ├── components/           # Reusable UI components
│   ├── styles/               # Global styles (Tailwind)
│   ├── tsconfig.json         # TypeScript config
│   └── package.json
│
├── datavis/
│   └── financial-time-machine/
│       ├── public/
│       ├── src/
│       ├── package.json
│       └── package-lock.json
│
├── README.md
└── LICENSE

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⚙️ Local Setup

To run the project locally, you'll need to launch both the backend (FastAPI) and the frontend (Next.js) environments separately.
Make sure you have Python 3.11+ installed for the backend, and Node.js (v18 or higher) for the frontend.

Each part must be started from its respective directory.
Follow the steps below to get both running on your local machine.

Backend (FastAPI)

cd backend
pip install -r requirements.txt
uvicorn main:app --reload

Frontend (Next.js)

cd UI
npm install
npm run dev

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🌐 Deployment

Frontend: Hosted on Vercel

Backend: Hosted on Render

Deployment may vary depending on the branch and configuration. For local testing, follow the setup instructions above.

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🧪 Known Issues

• GPT-based advice depends on OpenAI API key functionality

• PDF download only works in a browser context

• Backend must be running locally for full functionality if not deployed

• Some layout features may be optimized for desktop

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📝 Authors

• Aman – Lead, Frontend, UI/UX, Integration
• Prateek – Backend, FastAPI, AI integration
• Kiran – Financial modeling, data visualisation

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License

• This is an academic project developed for learning and presentation purposes.

• This is a Next.js project bootstrapped with create-next-app.

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