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Aholake Expense Tracker

Track daily expenses in structured markdown files organized by month.

Rating: 4.6 (284 reviews)
Downloads: 3,682 downloads
Version: 1.0.0

Overview

Track daily expenses in structured markdown files organized by month.

Complete Documentation

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Expense Tracker

Log and track daily expenses in markdown files organized by month.

Quick Start

Log an expense

bash

python3 scripts/log_expense.py log <amount> <category> [--description "text"] [--tags "tag1,tag2"] [--date YYYY-MM-DD]

Examples:

bash

# Simple expense
python3 scripts/log_expense.py log 45000 Coffee

# With description
python3 scripts/log_expense.py log 250000 Dining --description "Lunch with team"

# With tags
python3 scripts/log_expense.py log 500000 Shopping --tags "clothes,sale" --description "New shirt"

# Specify date (for backdating)
python3 scripts/log_expense.py log 1200000 Vehicle --description "Gas" --date 2026-02-15

View monthly summary

bash

# Current month
python3 scripts/log_expense.py summary

# Specific month
python3 scripts/log_expense.py summary 2026-02

# JSON output (for parsing)
python3 scripts/log_expense.py summary 2026-02 --json

File Organization

Expenses are stored in expenses/ directory at workspace root:

text

expenses/
├── 2026-01.md
├── 2026-02.md
└── 2026-03.md

Each file contains a markdown table:

markdown

# Expenses - 2026-02

| Date | Category | Amount (VND) | Description | Tags |
|------|----------|-------------|-------------|------|
| 2026-02-17 | Coffee | 45,000 | | |
| 2026-02-17 | Dining | 250,000 | Lunch with team | |
| 2026-02-17 | Shopping | 500,000 | New shirt | clothes,sale |

Workflow Examples

Log daily expenses from conversation

When the user mentions spending money:

bash

# User: "Just paid 35k for coffee"
python3 scripts/log_expense.py log 35000 Coffee

# User: "Grabbed lunch for 120k at Phở 24"
python3 scripts/log_expense.py log 120000 Dining --description "Phở 24"

# User: "Filled up gas, 400k"
python3 scripts/log_expense.py log 400000 Vehicle --description "Gas"

Monthly review

bash

# Get summary
python3 scripts/log_expense.py summary 2026-02

# Read the expense file to see details
cat expenses/2026-02.md

Analyze spending patterns

bash

# Get JSON for analysis
python3 scripts/log_expense.py summary 2026-02 --json

# Compare multiple months
python3 scripts/log_expense.py summary 2026-01 --json > jan.json
python3 scripts/log_expense.py summary 2026-02 --json > feb.json

Tips

Batch logging: User can tell you multiple expenses at once, log them all
Category consistency: Use the same category names to enable accurate summaries
Tags for filtering: Use tags for subcategories (e.g., "work", "weekend", "urgent")
Descriptions: Add context that helps identify the expense later
Regular reviews: Suggest monthly summaries to track spending patterns

Integration with Financial Goals

When tracking expenses, consider:

Budget tracking: Compare monthly totals to target budget
Spending patterns: Identify high-spend categories
Emergency fund: Track savings progress
Debt reduction: Monitor debt payment progress
Financial ratios: Calculate expenses as % of income

Script Reference

log_expense.py

Commands:

log - Add an expense entry
summary - View monthly summary

Arguments (log):

amount - Amount in VND (required)
category - Category name (required)
--description/-d - Optional description
--tags/-t - Optional comma-separated tags
--date - Optional date (YYYY-MM-DD, defaults to today)
--workspace - Optional workspace path (defaults to ~/.openclaw/workspace)

Arguments (summary):

year_month - Optional YYYY-MM (defaults to current month)
--json - Output as JSON
--workspace - Optional workspace path

Output:

Creates/updates markdown files in expenses/ directory
Prints confirmation with file location
Summary shows total, count, and breakdown by category

Installation

Terminal bash


openclaw install aholake-expense-tracker

Copied!

💻Code Examples

python3 scripts/log_expense.py summary 2026-02 --json

python3-scriptslogexpensepy-summary-2026-02---json.txt

## File Organization

Expenses are stored in `expenses/` directory at workspace root:

| 2026-02-17 | Shopping | 500,000 | New shirt | clothes,sale |

-2026-02-17--shopping--500000--new-shirt--clothessale-.txt

## Categories

See `references/categories.md` for common expense categories. Use existing categories or create custom ones as needed.

Common categories:
- **Housing** - Rent, utilities, home expenses
- **Vehicle** - Gas, maintenance, parking
- **Dining** - Restaurants, food delivery
- **Coffee** - Cafes, coffee shops
- **Shopping** - Clothes, electronics, general purchases
- **Entertainment** - Movies, games, hobbies
- **Healthcare** - Medicine, doctor visits
- **Subscriptions** - Netflix, Spotify, gym, apps
- **Savings** - Investments, emergency fund
- **Debt Payment** - Loans, credit cards
- **Miscellaneous** - Other expenses

## Workflow Examples

### Log daily expenses from conversation

When the user mentions spending money:

example.sh

# Simple expense
python3 scripts/log_expense.py log 45000 Coffee

# With description
python3 scripts/log_expense.py log 250000 Dining --description "Lunch with team"

# With tags
python3 scripts/log_expense.py log 500000 Shopping --tags "clothes,sale" --description "New shirt"

# Specify date (for backdating)
python3 scripts/log_expense.py log 1200000 Vehicle --description "Gas" --date 2026-02-15

example.sh

# Current month
python3 scripts/log_expense.py summary

# Specific month
python3 scripts/log_expense.py summary 2026-02

# JSON output (for parsing)
python3 scripts/log_expense.py summary 2026-02 --json

example.txt

expenses/
├── 2026-01.md
├── 2026-02.md
└── 2026-03.md

example.md

# Expenses - 2026-02

| Date | Category | Amount (VND) | Description | Tags |
|------|----------|-------------|-------------|------|
| 2026-02-17 | Coffee | 45,000 | | |
| 2026-02-17 | Dining | 250,000 | Lunch with team | |
| 2026-02-17 | Shopping | 500,000 | New shirt | clothes,sale |

example.sh

# User: "Just paid 35k for coffee"
python3 scripts/log_expense.py log 35000 Coffee

# User: "Grabbed lunch for 120k at Phở 24"
python3 scripts/log_expense.py log 120000 Dining --description "Phở 24"

# User: "Filled up gas, 400k"
python3 scripts/log_expense.py log 400000 Vehicle --description "Gas"

example.sh

# Get summary
python3 scripts/log_expense.py summary 2026-02

# Read the expense file to see details
cat expenses/2026-02.md

example.sh

# Get JSON for analysis
python3 scripts/log_expense.py summary 2026-02 --json

# Compare multiple months
python3 scripts/log_expense.py summary 2026-01 --json > jan.json
python3 scripts/log_expense.py summary 2026-02 --json > feb.json