Include checking account balance in Spending Plan (3 Merged Votes)

HQ2

Ability to rollover remaining checking account balance to the next month's Spending Plan would provide a true picture of Available funds for spending or saving.

Coach Natalie

Hello @hwalseth2,

Thanks for the suggestion; please be sure to add your vote!

-Coach Natalie

HQ2

Where do I add a vote for this or similar request?

asubbaiyanprof

click the up arrow like the one above

Coach Natalie

Hello @HQ2,

Thanks again for the suggestion!

Would you mind clarifying your request a bit, please? Are you looking to add the balance of your checking account at the end of each month to the next month's Spending Plan, or are you looking to roll over the remaining "available" amount from your Spending Plan at the end of each month to the next month's Spending Plan?

If the latter, we do have an existing request for rollover abilities with the Spending Plan, that I'd be happy to merge this post and votes with -- https://community.simplifimoney.com/discussion/114/add-budget-spending-plan-start-each-new-month-with-the-previous-months-leftover-amount-option

Please let me know, thanks!

-Coach Natalie

chouser10

Be nice if your checking account balance (or any chosen account balance) would add to your next month’s spending plan income.

MoppyForever

I posted a comment and voted already on the link you provided, however, for me, if you just added the option to manually add the remaining balance from checking without overriding any incoming income for that month (which is what the current “custom income” option does), it would work for me. I don’t have income some months and other months have large amounts coming in (which is not set amounts), so, I really need to be able to have both. 

chouser10

How about an option to add your end of month checking or spending balance to your spending plan as income? 

mrzoops

Yeah you just have to do it manually as of now but I agree, it should be automatic

DannyB

I added my vote for this option.  Moving remaining account balances forward month by month will make that money available to the spending plan in each new month.  The way I'm reading this particular request differs from the other request @Coach Natalie links to above but the two may dovetail together in some ways.

In my mind, rolling over amounts, + or-, in the spending plan that has been designated for a specific planned spending category would be different from rolling over unspent and undesignated funds that are left at end of month.

drewgillett

The entire "Spending Plan" tool results in things being completely wrong (and useless) because it fails to provide the ability to include current funds available - actually available - in the bank account and elsewhere (credit cards, etc). Sure, if the money is chosen to be kept from being available, then the result is fine, but if a person wants to spend savings or whatnot, then that's their right, and that means that the "available to spend" amount needs to include those reserves and available credit.

For now, this tool and the results are absolutely meaningless and actually destructive to any value it might have intended to present, because it tells a person that they don't have money when, in fact, they do.

RobWilk

The point of a spending plan is to not spend more than you take in in a month, not to spend every last penny you have or can borrow (perhaps at a high interest rate).

JTubb

Yup, Mint had a Monthly Rollover feature. Would be great to have it here

jonandkiley

Personally, I find the simple solution is to "live update" all preceding months' available funds based on what is happening in the current month. Basically, a specialized cash flow system.

I currently running into this issue because I will be paid at the end of the month, but my rent will be at the 1st of the next month.