Spending Plan & Recurring Series Transactions

Flopbot

Hey all,

Trying to figure this one out. I have these Categories.

• Food ~ Eating In
  • Groceries
  • Groceries - Filtered Water

And I have a Spending Plan > Planned Spending Series tied to the 'Food ~ Eating In' category.

After some testing, I found that when a transaction IS LINKED to a Recurring Series…

It DOES NOT show up on the Spending Plan>Planned Spending…

But when the transaction IS NOT LINKED to a Recrring Series…

It DOES show up on the Spending Plan>Planned Spending…

These are the settings for my Recurring Series…

Is this an identified bug, perhaps? By design?

Thank you!

DannyB

@Flopbot

My first thought is that this has to do with how Simplifi sorts out and handles recurring expenses and Planned Spending expesnse so as not to duoble count an expense.

If so then if you have something set up as a recurring expense Simplifi will want to classify it as a recurring bill or recurring subscription and include it in the Income after bills and savings section of the Spending Plan. When you detach it from a recurring expense and attach the category to a Planned Spending category, Simplifi will recognize the expense and assign it to the Planned Spending category.

Coach Natalie

Hello @Flopbot,

Thanks for posting your inquiry to the Community!

This behavior is by design — as soon as a transaction is linked to a Recurring Reminder, it will be counted towards the Bills and Income section of the Spending Plan and will not be counted towards a Planned Spending expense of the same Category. This is to prevent items from being double-counted in the Spending Plan and is outlined in our Support Article here.

@EL1234 I'd suggest taking a look at our Support Article here on using the Spending Plan, as it outlines the uses for each of the sections as well as gives a general overview of how the Spending Plan works.

I hope this helps!

-Coach Natalie

EL1234

I just noticed the same thing myself, and came here to figure it out. I'm wondering if there is any guidance regarding when to use Recurring Transactions vs when to use Spending Plans. Does it make sense to set up Recurring Transactions (aka bills) for items that are the same every month (eg: rent/mortgage), and Spending Plans for categories that can vary (eg: groceries, utilities)? Or is there another recommendation? (Perhaps things that are paid automatically on a set day of the month should be entered as bills?)

I also think that when Simplifi notices a transaction that repeats itself, and asks if it should be turned into a Recurring Transaction, there should be a warning that these transactions won't be counted in Spending Plans anymore, or possibly even an option whether to show it under Bills or under Spending Plan.

EL1234

@Coach Natalie thanks for your response!

I read through that article. It states:

Planned spending is the amount you plan to spend on items that fluctuate each month, such as gas and groceries, as well as any other one-time expenses for the month.

I'm still unsure which one-time monthly expenses should be listed under Planned Spending and which should be Bills. I would like all those which are paid from my checking account to appear in the cash flow projection. Would it make sense for those to be Bills, and others which are paid via credit card either once per month or throughout, to be Planned Spending? Or should monthly credit card charges be Bills and leave Planned Spending for categories that are spent throughout the month? (It won't mess up my cash flow since those transactions aren't in my checking account anyways).

I am trying to get the Projected Cash Flow for my checking account to reflect reality as much as can be predicted in order for it to be really useful. To that end, I'm going to try this method for tracking credit card autopay dates:

https://community.simplifimoney.com/discussion/3011/credit-cards-the-spending-plan

Really hoping I can get a good system going with this! I wonder if spending plan is intended for the budgeting angle, and cash flow is for keeping a handle on bank account balances. I will probably need to get used to looking at both.

Thanks for your help!

Coach Natalie

Hello @EL1234,

Although other users may come along with different suggestions for you, I personally use Planned Spending for gas, groceries, household and hygiene items, and other items that fluctuate each month but aren't necessarily bills. Other one-time monthly expenses could include birthdays, holidays, and other things along those lines.

Since Planned Spending expenses are not included in Projected Cash Flow (see here), I'd suggest setting anything up that you'd like to have included here as a Recurring Transaction, since the Projected Cash Flow is built from Recurring Transactions, expected Refunds, and future-date transactions. Our Support Article here has more details on how the Projected Cash Flow works.

Let us know if you have any further questions!

-Coach Natalie

EL1234

Got it, thanks @Coach Natalie !