Split Txns Not Included in Spending Plan??

Diver4242

I spent all this money and time getting Simplifi set up, only to find that my rent payment, which includes monthly amounts for trash, gas, sewer, water isn't "seen" by the spending plan at all? Same with shopping trips to Costco, Walmart, Target where we buy products in several different categories? I just chatted with support and they said it doesn't do that and won't. Wow. Past the 30 days so no refund. On to another product, I guess.

Coach Natalie

Hello @Diver4242,

Thank you for posting your inquiry to the Community, although I apologize for the misinformation provided to you via Chat Support. I did go ahead and pass the interaction along as a coaching opportunity.

To clarify, all transactions should be included in the Spending Plan as long as they're not set to be ignored. If the split transaction in question is a Recurring Bill, once the transaction is linked to a Recurring Reminder, it will show in the Bills & Income section of the Spending Plan. Although you won't be able to split the transaction during the Recurring Series setup (please see here to vote for this ability), once the transaction is linked to the Reminder, you would then be able to add splits. However, the entire transaction will show as one line in the Bills section.

For example, I have a single transaction that takes place once a month where I go to the store and get 3 different money orders. Since I'm unable to split the actual Recurring Series, I instead have it set for the main Category of 'Rent'. Once the transaction occurs each month, I assign it to the Recurring Series and then split the transaction into the 3 individual Categories. This allows me to track the individual expenses, while having the transaction properly listed in the Spending Plan.

However, if the transaction Category splits in question are instead meant to be tracked in Planned Spending, you would see them accounted toward each corresponding Planned Spending item accordingly. Any additional spending that occurs throughout the month that is not linked to a Recurring Reminder or is not tracked via a Planned Spending item will be shown in Other Spending.

For more details on using the Spending Plan, please see our Support Article here. We also have a #TipTuesday available here that has more info on how splits are handled in the Spending Plan.

I hope this helps!

-Coach Natalie

Diver4242

This is not the problem I am having. I'm able to split the rent transaction after it happens, as I have the breakdown then. I split it out to include the utilities (see attached) for my May 4 rent payment. But, it doesn't get applied to the spending plan (see other attached). Please let me know if this is a bug or what. I have only a little time left to decide between Simplifi, Mint, and YNAB so I want this to be clear.

RobWilk

That looks like planned spending - if it's marked as a bill it won't be there — it's not clear if it's marked as a bill, you don't show that.

Diver4242

I unlinked that one may rent/utility payment from the series, which deleted the splits (!!). After I rebuilt the splits, the amounts then showed in the spending plan. I upvoted the feature, it's kind of hard to believe it doesn't work this way, kind of confusing, so I hope Simplifi is changed soon as I'd like to implement all my upcoming/anticipated recurring expenses including this one!

RobWilk

That's because it was showing under bills. Bills is a separate category from planned spending. It would be wrong for it to count it in both places, you'd have double deductions.

Diver4242

I guess I'm confused. Then how can I see how much I've spent in each category for the month? Simply, that's all I want - to see what I budgeted and what's spent and what's left. I planned to spend $16 on trash/recycling. It was spent with my rent payment as part of the split. This is very confusing and seems unnecessarily complicated. Isn't a bill a planned spending expense?

DannyB

Hi @Diver4242

Just some thoughts on, "I have only a little time left to decide between Simplifi, Mint, and YNAB so I want this to be clear."

Each of these apps has a different approach to budgeting and will have pros and cons based on what you are looking for, how you approach your personal finances, What you are trying to accomplish with budgeting, how you want to handle and track your income and spending all of which are dynamically impacted my your personality/approach to life.

I am not all that familiar with Mint beyond what I've read in reviews and some comments from friends who use it since I have never personally used it. Of the three, my sense is that Mint is the closest to what I think of as "traditional budgeting" and that it is closer in design and function to the traditional Quicken app though maybe not offering all the features Quicken does. But it's "free" if you don't mind the ads.

YNAB is more "intense" in my mind then either Simplifi or Mint. YNAB is, as you probably know, a "zero based" budgeting platform and requires you to assign ALL income to an expense or savings category at the time the income arrives in your accounts. For YNAB to be effective you have to stay on top income and expenses. I used YNAB for a short time and loved the available resources, but found it just didn't work for me. But, one of my daughters has used YNAB for years to help her and her husband get a strong grip on and to get on top of their finances.

Though I have experimented/evaluated a number of fin apps over the years, the two I ended up using consistently were MS Money back in the '90s and early "00s until Microsoft stopped supporting it and then I switched to Quicken which I used up until I found and switched to Simplifi and I have found in the past 18 months or so that Simplifi works for me. Simplifi gives me a way to manage my personal finances at a level that just works for me. Simplifi is less time intensive than the other apps I've used and it gives me a great way to wrap my head around our day-to-day/month-to-month income and expenses along with some developing big picture stuff.

I know you're trying to figure out how to handle your monthly rent payment that includes some utilities and how to incorporate this hybrid payment into the spending plan whether as a recurring Bill or as Planned Spending. I think that can be worked out, but your decision on which app to finally use, you will need to examine what your budgeting and financial needs are, how you go about organizing (i.e. detailed goal oriented planning and execution of that plan, or if you are more spontaneous fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of person, or more likely some combination of the two… I lean heavily toward the latter and find that Simplifi best matches my personality… learning to use it and to work with and around its quirks is secondary to finding something that works with my approach to life and living.

Again, just some thoughts about making the choice beyond the technical how-to though that is also IMPORTANT.

Coach Natalie

Hello @Diver4242,

I'd suggest taking a thorough look over our Spending Plan Support Article to learn how the Spending Plan works. I think in order to make Simplifi's approach to budgeting work for you, you have to understand the fundamentals of the design. The Support Article outlines what each section of the Spending Plan is intended for and how to use it.

The Support Article also mentions that the Spending Plan is designed to not double count transactions, so as soon a transaction is linked to a Recurring Reminder, it will be shown in the Bills & Income section instead of a Planned Spending expense of the same Category. So, you have to decide which section of the Spending Plan you'd like expenses to count toward.

For the split transaction in question, is there a reason you need to track the individual Categories in the Spending Plan? Since the totals are what matters in the Spending Plan, the idea is to make sure that all of your expenses and income are properly accounted for so you know how much disposable money you have left; tracking individual Categories for a single bill each month isn't technically necessary. Have you considered setting your rent payment up as a Recurring Bill with the Category of "Rent" like the example I provided above? You can then link the transaction to the Reminder each month, the total amount will be reflected in 'Bills', and then you can split the transaction so if you need to track the individual split Categories at any point, you can do so by using the Spending Report.

Planned Spending is technically meant for items that fluctuate each month, such as gas and groceries, or for one-time expenses like birthdays. Planned Spending allows you to budget and plan for those expenses on a monthly basis, and then release any money that's leftover at the end of the month. Although you can track any Expense Category here, we'd recommend setting your recurring bills up as just that — a Recurring Bill Series.

If you'd like to learn more about Simplifi and compare it to other products you've tried or are trying, we have some great resources available. Our Help Site here has tons of Support Articles, and we have a YouTube channel available here.

Let us know if you have any additional questions as you learn the Spending Plan!

-Coach Natalie