"Scoop" <imscoop22[at]gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1140910688.921304.249870[at]j33g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
- quote -

Assign it to the account where they usually come from.

Thanks, that helps a lot. I didn't realize I could view anything but
the graph in the DRP...sometimes I guess I just miss the obvious.

Would it make sense to assign all non-bill cash flow transactions to my
primary checking account where all my payments come from anyway? It
seems like that woul account for just a/b all of my spending and would
be fairly accurate.

"Scoop" <imscoop22[at]gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1140889602.740639.56180[at]v46g2000cwv.googlegroups.com...
- quote -

The payment and the interest charge are separate transactions, just as they
would be if you were paying it manually, not using the DRP. Look at the DRP
payment schedule if you want detailed payment information. There is no need
to match a downloaded credit expense transaction to anything. Money should
match the scheduled payment transaction automatically.

- quote -

No. I see the same thing. The Cash Flow Forecast (CFF) does not seem to
include interest expenses for accounts in the Debt Reduction Planner (DRP).
Don't rely on CFF for projected balances for those accounts. The DRP
forecast does include interest expenses. Its graph and payment schedule is
accurate for that purpose.

I don't include accounts in my DRP in my usual view of the CFF, since
payments to the DRP accounts are made from my primary checking account.
Because my primary checking account is in the CFF, and because total monthly
payments to the DRP are constant, the CFF is an adequate representation of
my total cash flow.

As an aside, I have a credit card account in the DRP set to draft the
minimum payment from my checking account automatically. The other account in
the DRP requires intervention, since the amount varies monthly. Without
billpay, I could go to the credit card website and schedule a payment for
the amount calculated by the DRP. It's easier for me, though, to list it as
an ePay. Then I just check the box in the bill schedule and click Pay
Online. (I only have 2 accounts in the DRP. If there were more, all but one
would be paying the minimum.)

"Scoop" <imscoop22[at]gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1140882371.151000.249830[at]u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com...
- quote -

Schedule the payment.

I use a single credit card for almost all non-bill transactions. I pay some
of my bills through it, if I can. Budget categories are associated with that
account. To confirm that the estimated credit card payment amount is
appropriate, I review the cash flow on the credit card account alone. That
shows a decent approximation of the historical highs and lows. If accurate,
the average balance should be relatively constant over a long projected
period.

The cash flow forecast I normally view includes the primary checking from
which I pay the primary credit card, primary savings accounts to/from which
I transfer money, and does not include the credit card account. I include
trended budget items but, other than scheduled bills, few budget categories
are associated with my checking account. The resulting cash flow forecasts
are realistic and useful.

If you have predictable one-time cash events, schedule a one-time expense in
the account you'll use to pay it. I did that for a planned summer vacation,
and scheduled a corresponding additional one-time credit card payment the
following month. The result is good model of both expense events and cash
flow, for irregular expenses.

In reality my vacation will cause multiple smaller transactions, and I'll
pay the bill as part of my already-scheduled credit card payment. I'll just
process the one-time events, then delete them from the respective accounts.
My projected budget and the actuals will be accurate.
--
Chris Cowles
Gainesville, FL

Thanks, Chris!

So, does that mean that the payments that are scheduled include the
calculated payment plus the finance charge for revolving accounts and
you just can't see how it's broken out?

If that's the case, wouldn't it be impossible to match downloaded
transactions as the payment and finance charge are actually separate
transactions?

Do you know why the cash flow forecast, factoring in the DRP scheduled
payments, would leaved the account with a positive balance (as if there
were a credit to the account) instead of taking the balance to zero?

"Scoop" <imscoop22[at]gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1140882371.151000.249830[at]u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com...
- quote -

For revolving accounts in the DRP, interest payments are considered in
determining the payment amount and payoff period, but are not explicitly
part of the payment itself.

Your bank posts separate interest transactions monthly. The DRP's
assumptions are pretty close, if you look at the payment schedule. The
amount of the scheduled payments posted in the cash flow forecast are
relatively accurate, as is the ultimate payoff date.

My observations are in Money 2006. With respect to revolving accounts, I'm
think the functionality is the same as in 2004. For amortized loans, it may
not be. I don't have any in my DRP, so can't report from experience. I
vaguely recall that earlier versions did not address fixed loans very well.
I don't know if that's changed.
--
Chris Cowles
Gainesville, FL

Money 2004:

I am just starting to scrutinize the cash flow forecast for each of my
accounts. In most cases, the information seems fairly accurate but I
have a few questions:

I understand from the FAQ/previous posts that when using the DRP, cash
flow should include interest charges but I don't see it doing so in my
case. All the scheduled payments from the DRP are showing up but I
don't see any interest and it doesn't seem like it's bundled in the
payments that are calculated in any way. Am I missing something? or is
this a common problem?

Also, if I look at the cash flow forecast for some of the accounts in
the DRP, they end with a positive balance instead of a zero balance.
The amounts are small, ~$30 or so. Any idea why this happens?

Between using trended or budgeted items in the cash flow forecast, is
one better or worse than the other? Do people generally have better
results with one vs. the other?

Lastly, is there a trick to getting the cash flow forecast for a credit
card account that you have flagged to be paid off each month in the
account details to show this in the cash flow? One of my accounts
shows a growing balance from forecasted spending but doesn't indicate
that any payments are made. I suppose I could schedule an payment that
is equal to the monthly spending but I figured Money would be smart
enough to figure this out.