Ability to see a Total for all Planned Spending Items (Original & Current) [edited]

Ahenry412

It would be very helpful to be able to see how much of my planned spending I have left for the month, in preparation of releasing the funds.

RobWilk

If you're allocating funds in your planned spending that you don't intend to spend, you're likely using it incorrectly. The name is "planned spending" and any other use is not really as designed. IF you'd like an alternate traditional budget (which some people try to use it for) I suggest requesting (or voting on an existing) idea post for that. Messing up the spending plan because some people don't like or aren't used to the concerpt of a spending plan, is not necessarily the right way to do that.

-Rob

BenB

@RobWilk - I don’t think everyone lives in a perfect world. Plans are rarely executed as planned. I think what the person is asking is a simple way to measure progress against the plan. The absolute worst thing to say to someone is what you said - which I interpreted is ‘tough luck because you should have planned better’. How on earth can anyone plan their groceries, gas, and other items down to the penny. It may be called a Spending Plan but it’s effectively a budget by definition and functionality. Some companies are moving away from the word budget as a concept to help people understand how to budget.

Simplifi does a ton of things right. But any financial software should tell someone how they are spending relative to their plan/budget. It’s unbelievable why that information isn’t being provided. If you don’t want to know and would rather wait for an emergency and not see it coming then just don’t look and your progress.

I don’t mean to be harsh but I just don’t understand why it’s so hard to ask for a number that states - here’s what’s remaining from your plan.

RobWilk

What I'm saying is spending that changes, like groceries or gas, isn't "planned spending". That would fall under "other spending" in my book. I doubt anyone buys exactly the same amount of groceries and gas every month.

DryHeat

@RobWilk "What I'm saying is spending that changes, like groceries or gas, isn't "planned spending"."

That's almost the opposite of my view. I used Planned Spending for expenses that I expect to fall into a certain range every month — like dining out, auto expenses, groceries, shopping, etc. — but that are not specifically known ahead of time.

For me, it's a way for me to group certain types of expenses and set an amount that — in my circumstances — I consider reasonable to spend on those things. Then, as I go through the month, I can check the Spending Plan to see how I'm doing and, if need be, moderate my behavior.

EL1234

https://community.simplifimoney.com/discussion/comment/52827#Comment_52827

Same here. Other spending is usually surprise expenses that I haven't budgeted for. If I know that I usually spend around $X on groceries, give or take, then I want to account for that (and same story with gas etc) when looking at how much I can spend this month on other things that might be considered "extras".

RobWilk

For that, I would use Watchlists, not planned spending, and follow the spending on the spending plan in the 'other spending' bubbles. But I guess if you want to hold some minimum amount aside from the planned spending amount available, like you know you're going to spend "at least" $40 on gas no matter what, then that amount might fall under planned spending.

EL1234

I don't use watchlists because they don't fit in with the rest of my spending and income that's shown in Planned Spending.

BenB

https://community.simplifimoney.com/discussion/comment/52824#Comment_52824

It’s still healthy to have a target amount or goal amount to spend from.

RobWilk

A watchlist would let you set that target and monitor it and be alerted when you're over it. You don't necessarily want to hold the entire potential amount aside from your spending plan. But, I guess, to each his own as they say.

EL1234

But you'd need to manually figure out the amount you can spend on Other Spending by subtracting the amount of each watchlist from your available funds.

RobWilk

That's why I suggested putting the absolute minimum you want to hold aside knowing you'll spend at least that much (or need at least that much) for that. That's how i'd do it, I guess I really can't tell other people how to use it — because if what you're doing works for you, it works.

EL1234

I think it would be confusing to track categories like that in 2 places

RobWilk

Setting it up would take about a minute longer.. And then you could ignore the watchlist section if you have watchlist notificaitons on it will tell you as you approach or go over a limit, meanwhile holding aside the amount in the planned spending section you know you need "on average" maybe.

EL1234

And then increase the amount in the planned spending category every time it goes over the minimum…

RobWilk

No, the spending plan will automatically account for overages. If you hold aside $100 in the spending plan but have spent $125, you'll see the whole $125 withheld from the planned spending section. It's automatic. If you find over time, you need to hold more aside, adjust it then. You don't need to pre-hold-aside your whole paycheck. It will say you went over, but that doesn't break anything.

Edit: Just because i'm sharing how I do it, doesn't mean you should do it that way. I'm explaining how I use these features, which i believe is similar to how they were intended.

DryHeat

@RobWilk "I'm explaining how I use these features, which i believe is similar to how they were intended."

The support article linked below explains using Planned Spending pretty much like @EL1234 described.

• "With the Planned spending section, you can budget for your fluctuating month-to-month expenses, such as gas and groceries."
• "Once you think you have spent all you're going to spend for the month in each area, you can release the funds for that expense back to your Available funds."

Planned Spending is perfect for expenses where you have only a general idea of what you will spend in an area.

And @Ahenry412 (the OP) wanting better info on how much is left to be released at any given time seems right in line with both the design and the Help docs. I think it would be a useful improvement.

https://support.simplifi.quicken.com/en/articles/4212702-understanding-your-spending-plan

RobWilk

I believe that article changes frequently, it says it was only updated over a month ago, when I joined around 2021 for example, there was no rollover. Mint closed, and suddenly many new users wanted a traditional budget with rollover. They wound up making use of that.

when I said as intended, I meant by the language of the section, planned spending specifically does not say budget. Repurposed to meet demand, maybe. I guess the customer is always right.

DannyB

This feature actually was incorporated into Planned Spending for a short time in early 2024. But, for some reason, this feature was incompatible with the Planned Spending rollover feature that was released a little over a year ago and was discontinued upon the release of rollover. I'm hoping that the incompatibility issue will be resolved and the planned spending total and month-to-date comparison will be rereleased.

DryHeat

@RobWilk "when I said as intended, I meant by the language of the section, planned spending specifically does not say budget."

I understand that you think Planned Spending isn't appropriate for things like groceries or gas because you "doubt anyone buys exactly the same amount of groceries and gas every month." And you think that people who use it for variable expenses are doing so "incorrectly" and "messing up the spending plan."

But I don't see anything in the language or design of Planned Spending that supports that idea. What I do see is the help docs saying to use PS for "fluctuating month-to-month expenses such as gas and groceries."

So I think folks should feel free to use Planned Spending as recommended — basically to set rough targets for what they think they should be spending in different areas and to monitor how they are doing as the month goes on. For me, that is one of QS's best features.

And a display showing how we are doing on those targets overall (as suggested by the OP) would be helpful.

EL1234

https://community.simplifimoney.com/discussion/comment/52860#Comment_52860

I agree

EL1234

https://community.simplifimoney.com/discussion/comment/52852#Comment_52852

I hope so too; as an aside, rollover didn't turn out 100% like I was hoping it would.