New User Q - how to add existing balances of sinking funds to subcategories?
Hi,
I've searched videos and posts to try to find the answer to this question and I must be overlooking it.
I set up my first budget for February. I added accounts such as my regular checking account (where my paycheck gets deposited), plus a number of separate savings accounts I maintain for irregular needs. They look roughly like this:
Car maintenance fund: Balance $ 550, adding $50 a month
Vet expenses: Balance $750, adding $150 a month (I've got multiple, aging pets)
Christmas: Balance $70, adding $35 a month
etc.
The balances in these accounts all got added to my regular checking balance and gave me a figure for the "To Be Budgeted." I've set up True Expenses categories to reflect my current sinking funds and I've figured out how to arrange them to account for the adding of the monthly contribution ($50 for car, $150 for vet etc.) However, I can't figure out how to reflect the fact that these accounts already have balances in place. I want to be able to look at my car maintenance fund and know that I currently have $550 in there, not just the $50 that I allocated for the month of February.
If it makes any difference, I have not currently linked any of these accounts. I'm doing everything manually, hoping it will help me learn the process.
Thanks in advance for any help.
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Hi, Sea Glass
You allocate the total of all your TBB funds to each appropriate category based on what you have and not on what you want to allocate monthly. If you have a $25,000 emergency fund, you would allocate $25K to your e-fund category (or categories in whatever combination equalled $25K), and then in future months budget the usual monthly amount to keep topping up the category.
Once you've budgeted the funds to their home category, those funds will stay in their category, rolling forward every month, until you either spend or move those dollars.
Edited to add: Welcome to the forum.
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HappyDance Ah, okay. I see what I need to do. I immediately started allocating the monthly contributions for February. Instead I need to allocate the $550 for the car account and then do the $50 addition for future months.
Off to go reset those subcategories for February. Thanks!Reply -
Sea Glass
Yes. You got it. At some point in the distant future, if you find that the first month's numbers make your report averages wonky, you can simply exclude the first month in your time-frame selection in reports. You won't be using historical reports for a while, but you can file that tidbit away for future reference.
I started mid-month after my biggest expenses had been spent and with savings that were allocated in lumps. I never include the stub starting month in my reports.
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HappyDance I hadn't gotten far enough to think about the reports and skewing the numbers! Thanks for the heads up.
I've adjusted February's allocations to reflect those balances I want to carry into the True Expenses accounts. Thanks again.Reply
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