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Niroj Dahal
Niroj Dahal

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I Built PocketTracker Because I Was Tired of Guessing Where My Money Went

I Built PocketTracker Because I Was Tired of Guessing Where My Money Went

I never planned to build a finance app.

It started with a simple frustration:

I thought I knew where my money was going — but at the end of every month, the numbers never added up.

So instead of installing yet another expense tracker and abandoning it after a week, I decided to build something myself.

That’s how PocketTracker was born.

Open-source on GitHub:

👉 https://github.com/solo-developer/MeroHisab

(Active development is happening on the react-native branch)


What is PocketTracker?

PocketTracker is a simple mobile app that helps track income and expenses — nothing more, nothing less.

The idea is clarity:

  • What money came in?
  • What money went out?
  • Where do I stand right now?

No complicated onboarding.

No overwhelming dashboards.

Just a clean, focused way to log daily financial activity.

🔗 GitHub repository:

https://github.com/solo-developer/MeroHisab


Why I Didn’t Want Another “Smart” Finance App

Most finance apps today try to do everything:
budget forecasts, AI insights, subscription tracking, investment tips, and more.

That’s impressive — but also exhausting.

I wanted something:

  • Simple enough to use every day
  • Fast to open and log an entry
  • Easy to understand without thinking too much

PocketTracker is intentionally minimal.

It’s designed to build a habit, not overwhelm the user.


Building PocketTracker as a Solo Developer

PocketTracker is built as a React Native mobile app (see the react-native branch in the repo).

More than the tech stack, this project was about:

  • Turning a real personal problem into a product
  • Designing around everyday usage instead of edge cases
  • Actually finishing and sharing a project

Shipping something imperfect beats never shipping at all.

🔗 Source code:

https://github.com/solo-developer/MeroHisab


What I Learned From This Project

Working on PocketTracker reinforced a few important lessons for me:

  • Simple ideas are often the most useful
  • You don’t need a unique idea — just a real problem
  • Small, finished projects teach more than big unfinished ones

Most importantly, it reminded me that personal projects don’t need to impress everyone. They just need to be honest and useful.


What’s Next for PocketTracker?

PocketTracker isn’t “done” — and that’s okay.

Some ideas I’m thinking about:

  • Better spending summaries
  • Simple visual insights
  • Improving the overall user experience

If you’d like to follow the project or contribute, feel free to check it out on GitHub:

PocketTracker on GitHub:

👉 https://github.com/solo-developer/MeroHisab


Why I’m Sharing This on dev.to

dev.to has always felt like a place where:

  • Small projects are welcome
  • Learning in public is encouraged
  • Progress matters more than perfection

If you’re a beginner or solo developer working on something small — ship it, share it, and talk about it.

That’s how we grow.


Final Thoughts

PocketTracker isn’t trying to change how finance works.

It’s just trying to answer one honest question:

“Where did my money go?”

If you’re curious, I’d really appreciate you checking out the repo and leaving a ⭐ if you find it useful:

👉 https://github.com/solo-developer/MeroHisab

Thanks for reading 🙌


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