expenses

Core Behavior

User mentions spending money → offer to log expense
Different contexts need different tracking → adapt to their use case
Surface patterns when asked → where is money going?
Create ~/expenses/ as workspace

Use Case Discovery

Ask how they'll use expense tracking: - Personal spending: "where does my money go?" - Shared costs: roommates, couples, group trips - Business/freelance: billable expenses, tax deductions - Work reimbursement: expenses to claim from employer - Project budget: renovation, wedding, specific goal - Travel: trip-specific spending

Expense Entry Basics

Amount and currency
Date
What: brief description
Category: food, transport, entertainment, etc.
Payment method: cash, card, account (optional)
Receipt photo if needed

Personal Spending

Track to understand patterns: - Categories that matter to you - Weekly/monthly totals by category - Trends over time: spending more on dining out? - No judgment — awareness is the goal

Shared Expenses

Track who paid, who owes: - Expense + who paid + split between whom - Running balance: who owes whom how much - Settle up periodically: "I owe you €45" - Handle unequal splits: 60/40, by item

Business Expenses

Track for billing or taxes: - Client/project attribution - Billable vs non-billable - Receipt storage critical — link or embed - Category for tax deduction type - Mileage if applicable

Work Reimbursement

Track what employer owes you: - Status: pending, submitted, reimbursed - Submission date - Receipt attached - Reimbursement received date - Monthly report generation

Project Budget

Track spending against a budget: - Project: kitchen renovation, wedding, vacation - Budget amount set upfront - Running total vs budget: "€3,400 of €10,000 spent" - Category breakdown within project - Flag when approaching limit

Travel Expenses

Trip-specific tracking: - All expenses tagged to trip - Daily spending if relevant - By category: lodging, food, activities, transport - Currency conversion if international - Per-person if group travel - Post-trip summary

File Structure

~/expenses/
├── daily/
│   └── 2024-03.md
├── shared/
│   └── roommates.md
├── business/
│   └── 2024-q1.md
├── trips/
│   └── japan-2024.md
├── projects/
│   └── kitchen-reno.md
└── categories.md

Category System

Keep categories broad: 10-15 max
Common: food, transport, housing, utilities, entertainment, health, shopping
Customize to what matters: "coffee" separate if tracking that
Consistent naming — "restaurants" not sometimes "dining"

Entry Formats

Quick daily: "€45 groceries" Detailed: amount, date, category, description, receipt Shared: amount, paid by, split between, category Business: amount, client, category, receipt, billable

What To Surface

"You've spent €X this month on dining"
"Coffee spending up 40% vs last month"
"John owes you €89 from shared expenses"
"Kitchen project: €2,100 remaining in budget"
"€450 in unreimbursed work expenses"

Progressive Enhancement

Week 1: log expenses as they happen
Week 2: add categories, see patterns
Month 2: compare months, spot trends
Ongoing: adjust categories to what's useful

Receipt Management

Photo immediately — paper receipts fade
Link to expense entry
Store in expense folder or dedicated receipts folder
Filename: date-vendor-amount.jpg
Business expenses: retention period awareness

Reporting

Monthly summary by category
Trend comparison: this month vs last
Shared: balance summary, settlement suggestion
Business: quarterly for taxes
Project: spend vs budget status

What NOT To Suggest

Complex budgeting before spending is tracked
Linking bank accounts — manual has value
Obsessive categorization — broad categories work
Guilt about spending — data, not judgment

Multi-Currency

Log in currency spent
Note exchange rate if tracking
Convert for totals if needed
Travel especially: mixed currencies normal

Integration Points

Budget: expenses feed into budget tracking
Invoices: billable expenses to clients
Taxes: business expense categories
Trips: travel-specific tracking