# Student Expense AI: Helping My Friend Spend Smarter

> Source: <https://dev.to/aman_umrao_5a04cbcce20174/student-expense-ai-helping-my-friend-spend-smarter-20ij>
> Published: 2026-10-04 18:33:25+00:00

*This is a submission for the [Hacktoberfest Weekend Challenge: Build for a Friend](https://dev.to/challenges/hacktoberfest-weekend-2026-10-01)*

I built **Student Expense AI** for a college friend who struggles to track daily expenses.

Instead of manually adding every expense, they can simply type:

"I spent ₹180 on lunch today."

The AI understands the expense, categorizes it, and helps track budgets and spending.

[https://expanse-checker-diqw360kj-amanumrao28-1097s-projects.vercel.app/](https://expanse-checker-diqw360kj-amanumrao28-1097s-projects.vercel.app/)

[https://github.com/amanumrao28-png/Expanse_Checker/tree/main](https://github.com/amanumrao28-png/Expanse_Checker/tree/main)

Built with **React, FastAPI, PostgreSQL, and Gemma**.

Gemma is used for:

Using open-weight **Gemma** gives the project more flexibility and allows the core AI functionality to run without depending entirely on a closed AI API.

[Add DevRelay session if available]