Watchlists: Exclude Upcoming Reminders from 'Spent so far' amount (edited)

CharlieP
CharlieP Member ✭✭
edited March 2023 in Feature Requests
In your Watchlist, the value under This Month 'Spent so far' is including upcoming bills that have NOT yet been paid/spent. This is misleading in my opinion. I would think it would only include transactions that have been spent this month. That seems odd to me to include upcoming bills not spent yet. In the attached screenshot, I have not yet spent anything on Heat and Electricity. 
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  • Jim313
    Jim313 Member ✭✭

    I agree this is very misleading and at a minimum, upcoming bills should be shown in the projected column not the “This Month Paid so Far” column. I made additional methodology suggestions Tagged Watchlist.

  • Mark23
    Mark23 Member ✭✭

    I agree "Spent so far" has nothing to do with upcoming, I would think "Upcoming" would be included in "Projected" and not "Spent So Far" bet thats a bug and was implemented incorrectly…Go check the Epic…LOL

  • The example provided by the OP also illustrates the uselessness of Projected.

  • ajbopp
    ajbopp Member ✭✭✭✭
    edited October 2023

    One of the reasons I would find the "Spent So Far" value is to determine if I actually want to spend something that is upcoming. For instance, as I look at my "Discretionary Spending" watchlist, I can use my current value to determine if I really want to go to the coffee shop once a week for the rest of the month to get my coffee and breakfast burrito. If this card is showing me more than I've actually spent, I don't have the information to make that choice.

    Please remove upcoming expenses from "Spent So Far."

    Anthony Bopp
    Simplifi User Since July 2022
    Money talks. But all my paycheck ever says is goodbye

  • Tony Kirk
    Tony Kirk Member
    edited December 2023

    I like the idea of watchlists very much, but the current design makes it unusable. Spent so far should be what’s been spent. Projected might be a choice between summing planned upcoming or projecting based on what has been paid.

  • Max1223
    Max1223 Member ✭✭✭✭

    If it said This Month then "Estimated Spending" (includes Bills and Subscriptions) then it would make more sense. I DO like to know that actual coming/recurring bills can be counted through the end of the month. This shows the end of month spend…that said, I don't have an idea of what Projections are.

  • Denali
    Denali Member

    I agree that projected expenses should not be added to "spent so far" until the actual expense is incurred.

  • UrsulaA
    UrsulaA Superuser ✭✭✭✭

    I will prefer a toggle to include projected expenses from upcoming bills or include them. Sometimes I want to see what I plan to spend later in the month in the watchlist.

    Simplifi User Since Nov 2023

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  • Denali
    Denali Member

    I agree. I don't trust "already spent" unless I have checked on the underlying expenses and added them up in my head. The label is misleading, especially since (I believe) "projected" is sitting right next to it!

  • UrsulaA
    UrsulaA Superuser ✭✭✭✭

    Yes, I am just using the reports to check the already spent on categories when I know I have recurring bills on them.

    Simplifi User Since Nov 2023

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  • UrsulaA
    UrsulaA Superuser ✭✭✭✭

    This comment relates to your other thread. I will like to have a toggle between including upcoming and excluding upcoming from the watchlist's total spent so far.

    Also, related to this, the alert should only be triggered by actual expenses, not upcoming. The toggle I propose will apply to both watchlist expenses and the associated alert.

    Simplifi User Since Nov 2023

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    Questionable Excel before 2014 to present

  • UrsulaA
    UrsulaA Superuser ✭✭✭✭

    Basically, this request is to add an off switch to the feature implemented in 2022.

    Simplifi User Since Nov 2023

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  • Denali
    Denali Member

    Wouldn't these upcoming bills be included in the "projected" category of the watchlist? Then "spent so far" IMO should be only what has really been spent so far, with no upcoming bills included. I struggle with how Simplifi is calculating "spent so far" and always have to dig into the underlying watchlist transactions in order to see how much $$ I really have left to spend.

  • UrsulaA
    UrsulaA Superuser ✭✭✭✭
    edited February 7

    The projected number is calculated as follows:

    The Projected amount displayed for Watchlists is calculated by taking the average amount that's been spent per day during the month (including upcoming Reminders), and then Quicken Simplifi uses that average to project forward for the number of days remaining in the month.

    Spent so far this month is calculated as follows:

    The This month amount displayed for Watchlists is calculated by using the transactions that have already occurred during the month, as well as any upcoming Reminders for the month.

    Source: https://help.simplifimoney.com/en/articles/3472367-using-watchlists#h_131ab63f58

    I would prefer to have the "this month total" with the option to include upcoming (not only default as the current setup is now). The projected calculation can be deleted as it is wildly inaccurate. Other users agree with my opinion of the projected amount.

    Simplifi User Since Nov 2023

    Minter 2014-2023

    Questionable Excel before 2014 to present

  • Denali
    Denali Member

    The toggle for "spent so far" should work - agree with that as a potential solution. I think instead of deleting projected, fix the calculation to be spent so far plus upcoming recurring bills in that category.

  • UrsulaA
    UrsulaA Superuser ✭✭✭✭
    edited February 7

    That projected calculation will make sense to me. Re label it Projected this month for clarity.

    Simplifi User Since Nov 2023

    Minter 2014-2023

    Questionable Excel before 2014 to present

  • rjg5060
    rjg5060 Member ✭✭

    @Coach Natalie

    I agree with the comments on this Watchlist topic: Projected is useless in it's current design and it seems absurd that it has not been fixed yet. In the following example, my average Utilities per month is $235.87 and this month I expect to spend $477.04. There is nothing to indicate I will spend $7,394.12 on Utilities this month.

    The current calculation for Projected using "Spent so far" times the remaining number of days in the month makes no sense to me. I can't figure out how this could be useful to anyone. There is no way I will spend $7,394.12 in Utilities this month and there is nothing in any previous month's data that indicates this could occur.

    I also agree that the "Spent so far" label is a misnomer. This value ($477.04) should probably be the "Projected" value and "Spent so far" should, based on the words used, reflect the amount that has been spent so far this month for Utilities, which on March, 2, 2023 is $0.

  • UrsulaA
    UrsulaA Superuser ✭✭✭✭
    edited March 5

    The projected is wild for me, I have never spent the projected amount in any given month.

    I agree with @Denali

    Spent so far = actual spending for the month without upcoming recurring bills and subscriptions for the chosen categories, tags, or payees. Basically, implementing this idea.

    Projected = Spent so far plus upcoming recurring bills and subscriptions for the chosen categories, tags, or payees.

    Associated idea

    Simplifi User Since Nov 2023

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