Post

Financial Assets Management Web Application Project

Posted Updated
By Justin Choi
3 min read

1. Executive Summary

Asset-Dash is a finance web application designed to replace a Google Spreadsheet-based financial management system. The application will provide comprehensive financial tracking, including asset management, investment portfolio monitoring, credit card tracking, cashflow management, budget/spending management, and long-term financial planning.

It requires a robust, secure, and user-friendly platform that maintains all existing functionality while providing enhanced automation, real-time data updates, and improved visualization.

Key Value Propositions:

  • Centralized financial dashboard with real-time net worth tracking
  • Automated investment portfolio updates with current market prices
  • Credit card management with due date reminders and benefit tracking
  • Budget tracking with category-based expense allocation
  • Long-term financial planning with age-based asset allocation glide paths
  • Multi-currency support (USD and KRW)
  • Multi-language support (English and Korean)
  • Enhanced data security over spreadsheets

Vision Statement

To empower individuals to take complete control of their financial future through an intuitive, comprehensive, and secure personal finance platform that transforms complex financial data into actionable insights.

2. Technology Stack

2.1 Backend (.NET)

Framework:

  • ASP.NET Core 8.0: Latest LTS version for web API
  • C# 12: the version of C# that was released alongside .NET 8.

Data Access:

  • Entity Framework Core 8: ORM for database operations
  • Dapper: For complex queries requiring optimization
  • PostgreSQL: Primary database (recommend PostgreSQL for cost)

Authentication & Security:

  • ASP.NET Core Identity: User authentication and authorization
  • JWT Tokens: For API authentication
  • IdentityServer / Auth0: For OAuth 2.0 / OIDC (future)

API Documentation:

  • Swashbuckle (Swagger): OpenAPI documentation

Background Jobs:

  • Hangfire: For scheduled tasks (price updates, reminders)
  • Quartz.NET: Alternative for complex scheduling

Caching:

  • Redis / In-Memory Cache: For session management and performance

Logging & Monitoring:

  • Serilog: Structured logging
  • Application Insights / Seq: Log aggregation and monitoring

Testing:

  • xUnit: Unit testing framework
  • Moq: Mocking framework
  • FluentAssertions: Assertion library

2.2 Frontend

Framework:

  • React 18+ with TypeScript: Modern UI library with type safety
  • Next.js: For SSR and better SEO if needed

State Management:

  • React Query / TanStack Query: Server state management
  • Zustand / Redux Toolkit: Client state management

UI Components:

  • Tailwind CSS: Utility-first CSS framework
  • shadcn/ui or Radix UI: Accessible component primitives
  • Chart.js / Recharts: Data visualization
  • date-fns: Date manipulation

Forms:

  • React Hook Form: Form state management
  • Zod: Schema validation

HTTP Client:

  • Axios: HTTP requests with interceptors

Build Tools:

  • Vite: Fast development server and build tool
  • pnpm / npm: Package management

9.3 External APIs

Market Data:

  • Alpha Vantage: Stock and crypto prices (free tier available)
  • IEX Cloud: Real-time stock data
  • Yahoo Finance API: Alternative for price data
  • CoinGecko: Cryptocurrency prices

Financial Aggregation (Future):

  • Plaid: Bank account aggregation
  • Yodlee: Alternative aggregation service

Currency Exchange:

  • exchangerate-api.com: USD/KRW conversion rates
  • Open Exchange Rates: Alternative

Real Estate Valuation:

  • Zillow API (Zestimate): Property valuation, rent estimates, and market data
    • Endpoint: Zillow GetSearchResults, GetZestimate, GetRentZestimate APIs
    • Rate Limits: 1,000 calls per day (free tier)
    • Data: Current home value (Zestimate), rent value (Rent Zestimate), property details, market trends
    • Update Frequency: Daily for property values
  • Redfin: Alternative real estate data and property valuations
    • Public data scraping or potential partnership for API access
    • Data: Current market value, estimated rent, days on market, property characteristics
    • Note: Redfin does not offer a public API; may require web scraping or third-party aggregators
  • Attom Data Solutions: Comprehensive property data API (commercial alternative)
    • Property valuations, rental estimates, tax assessments, foreclosure data
    • Rate Limits: Based on subscription tier

Notifications:

  • SendGrid / Amazon SES: Email delivery
  • Twilio: SMS notifications (future)

2.4 DevOps & Infrastructure

Version Control:

  • Git / GitHub: Source control and collaboration

CI/CD:

  • GitHub Actions: Automated build and deployment
  • Azure DevOps: Alternative

Hosting:

  • Azure App Service: Managed web hosting
  • AWS Elastic Beanstalk: Alternative
  • Docker: Containerization

Database Hosting:

  • Azure SQL Database / PostgreSQL on Azure
  • AWS RDS: Alternative
  • Supabase: PostgreSQL with built-in features

Storage:

  • Azure Blob Storage: For file storage and backups
  • AWS S3: Alternative

Monitoring:

  • Application Insights: Performance monitoring
  • Sentry: Error tracking
Projects, ASP.NET, React
dotnet aspnet-core react typescript postgresql finance personal-finance portfolio
This post is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by the author.