Release Partial Amount of Planned Spending/Transfer Available to Cover Overages (edited)

Flopbot

Greetings,

Please consider adding another button to this dropdown that says something like "Transfer available to cover overage".  When clicked, it would move money from the green portion to cover the red portion.

In my screenshot, I have an overage in Eating Out and and underage in Eating In.  It would be great to be able to shift money one-time-only, between tiles to make everything balance out.  Next month, all the tiles would continue to start out with the same amounts $650 for Eating In and $50 for Eating Out.

Ultimately, I think, this would make zero based budgeting possible in Simplifi!  Added bonus, it would give Simplifi some of the functionality of one of a leading competitor that starts with Y... so maybe you could steal some more of their users. 

Quicken Desktop sort of does this although it is super clunky, error prone, and obviously an afterthought.  I would love to see Simplifi excel them with this.

Suki

I like this idea.  I would definitely use the suggested feature. That way we don't have to adjust our monthly budget each month.

JDavenport

Right now you can release unused planned spending for general spending but it’s all or nothing. It would be nice to choose how much you would like to reallocate. 

MHayes

Would be a great feature! I just moved over to Simplifi and I like all the functionality but I truly miss having a transfer button.

DannyB

Expenses in a given category can very from month to month and one or another category can end up going over budget.  What would be nice is the ability to easily make adjustments to the budget during the month.

For example:  Let's say I budget $500 for groceries & household and $300 for eating out.  As the month progresses I go over budget for groceries and need to make an adjustment in order to stay within my overall budget for the month.  I have money left in my Eating Out category and can easily skip going to In-n-Out for lunch for the rest of the month and I probably don't need a latte from Starbucks every day.  So, I can move money from my Eating Out category to my Groceries & Household to cover the overage. 

Simplifi already notifies me that I'm getting close to my limit in a category and will show me when I'm over budget in a category.  The feature I'm requesting is a way for Simplifi to automate moving money from another category to cover the overage.

This is how I do this now:

1. Go to Spending Plan
2. Find the category to take money from
3. Click on 3 dot dropdown menu
4. Click on Edit Expenses
5. Decrease amount
6. Click on Update
7. Find Category to add money to
8. Click on 3 dot dropdown menu
9. Click on Edit Expenses
10. Increase amount
11. Click on Update

What would be nice is to have these steps automated in Simplifi.  My suggestion is to add another selection in the category drop down menu that opens a window with a box to select the category to take money from and a box to indicate how much money to move and then an Update button.

I think this would be a great feature to offer.

Flopbot

@DannyB

I LOVE this idea!  A feature like this - I would think - would bring Simplifi closer to allowing envelope budgeting and closer to totally dominating Y _ _ _.

DannyB

Ah hah, @Flopbot,  so you already had this idea posted!  @Coach Natalie this feature request is basically the same feature I am requesting here [removed self-referencing link to merged post].  Maybe these can be merged.

LtDan1912

As a long-time Y _ _ _ user myself, this is the one thing I really miss the most.
-- This and the ability to rollover unused planned spending to the next month
-- And the ability to have different types of goals (Weekly, Monthly, By Date)
-- And the ability to shift money across goals without affecting a spending plan
-- And the ability to spend from a goal seamlessly without having to keep track of the individual transactions and doing all sorts of gymnastics like tagging it, ignoring it from the spending plan, etc
-- And a mobile app that is fast enough to be usable.

Don't get me wrong-YNAB has its own set of issues as well. Price-point for one.

Coach Natalie

This Idea needs a bump and some votes!

If you'd like to see this ability added to Simplifi, please be sure to add your vote and let us know how it would benefit you. 

Thanks, everyone! 

Flopbot

I do like this idea and voted accordingly.  I’d find this idea most useful if it was paired with this idea…

• The ability to EASILY move unused money - or a portion thereof - from one Spending Plan item to another [removed self-referencing link to merged thread].  If I realized I wasn't paying down the "Entertainment" category fast enough, then maybe I'd want to move $50 from my "Clothing & Shoes" category to get it done faster.  Along with this, I'd love the ability to see a record of when this was done, which was something that was lacking in Quicken Desktop.

JDNYUS

I agree with this change, particularly the way that Flopbot described - where we can release some or all and at the same time reallocate it to another category

DannyB

This is a similar feature and can be incorporated with the feature request [removed self-referencing link to merged thread] as @Flopbot says above.

Let's vote this up!!!

GirlFriday715

I don't understand why you don't have a feature to only release a particular amount of money from a spending category. It's the middle of the month and I've overspent in one category, so I want to adjust my budget and release SOME funds from a category to cover the over spending. In your app, I have to release all of the funds I planned for that month for a category. Why? Let's say I planned on $200 for dining out, and I haven't used any of it yet, but I know I'll be using some later in the month. But I've overspent on gas because I took an unexpected trip. So I want to move $50 from dining out budget over to auto to cover the overage. How do I accomplish this in your system? It seems like I only have the option to release everything from a category and then later if I spend in that category, I'll now have to go find money from another category to cover the dining out category. Seems like a lot of work because you only give people one option. Please explain if I'm missing something, or create an option for people to adjust their budgets more easily.

DannyB

Hi @GirlFriday715

[removed self-referencing link to merged thread] is a feature request for just what you are asking about.

Right now you have to:

• decide how much you want to move between categories
• Decide which category (ies) you want to move money from
• open the "Edit this month" option on the 3 dot dropdown menu for the category you want to take money form
• reduce the amount for that month by how much you want to move
• open the "Edit this month" option on the 3 dot dropdown menu for the category you want to increase funds for
• change the amount by what you deducted from other category.

It's a bit of work but you don't have to release all the funds from one category to add them to another category.

Add your vote to the feature request to help promote having this feature to move money around in Planned Spending added to Simplifi.

UrsulaA

I agree with this feature. Also, related - can one have the ability to release surplus left in planned spending in bulk at the end of the month instead of having to go to each planned spending tile to do so?