[Feature Request] Budget indication of scheduled transactions #87

New Issue

GiteaMirror · 2026-02-28T18:48:12-06:00

GiteaMirror commented

2026-02-28 18:48:12 -06:00

Originally created by @alpha-beta-soup on GitHub (May 8, 2022).

Let's say I pay $500 rent every Friday. Some months there are four Fridays in a month, less often there are five. Do I budget $2000 or $2500 in a given month?

Let's also say I have a complex series of subscriptions, tithes, donations, fees, etc. that repeat either weekly, fortnightly, monthy, 6-monthly, annually, bi-annually... but definitely deterministically. How much do I budget in these categories?

I should be able to tell, within a budget category for any month, what all of my scheduled expenses are, so I can budget for these known and regular expenses before allocating money to categories to cover my unknown/irregular expenses.

Although I'm new to Actual (recent nYNAB convert due to their massive price hike), I can't see a way to see these expenses reflected in my budget until after they occur. I want to budget for them before they occur.

Originally created by @alpha-beta-soup on GitHub (May 8, 2022). Let's say I pay $500 rent every Friday. Some months there are four Fridays in a month, less often there are five. Do I budget $2000 or $2500 in a given month? Let's also say I have a complex series of subscriptions, tithes, donations, fees, etc. that repeat either weekly, fortnightly, monthy, 6-monthly, annually, bi-annually... but definitely _deterministically_. How much do I budget in these categories? I should be able to tell, within a budget category for any month, what all of my _scheduled expenses_ are, so I can budget for these known and regular expenses before allocating money to categories to cover my unknown/irregular expenses. Although I'm new to Actual (recent nYNAB convert due to their massive price hike), I can't see a way to see these expenses reflected in my budget _until after they occur_. I want to budget for them _before they occur_.

GiteaMirror closed this issue

2026-02-28 18:48:12 -06:00

GiteaMirror commented

2026-02-28 18:48:13 -06:00

@j-f1 commented on GitHub (May 8, 2022):

Your situation is slightly different, but maybe the way I handle annual subscriptions will be relevant:

I budget a fixed amount of 1/12 the annual subscription price every month, and then by the time the subscription comes due, I’ve saved up enough unspent money in the category to pay for the full annual subscription price. In your situation, since there are 52 weeks in a year, if you budget a consistent amount, it should even out.

@j-f1 commented on GitHub (May 8, 2022): Your situation is slightly different, but maybe the way I handle annual subscriptions will be relevant: I budget a fixed amount of 1/12 the annual subscription price every month, and then by the time the subscription comes due, I’ve saved up enough unspent money in the category to pay for the full annual subscription price. In your situation, since there are 52 weeks in a year, if you budget a consistent amount, it should even out.

GiteaMirror commented

2026-02-28 18:48:13 -06:00

@sleepyfran commented on GitHub (Jun 7, 2022):

For this I really like the way YNAB handles it, they display the category in orange and let you know how much you need for that month + let you automatically budget it:

@sleepyfran commented on GitHub (Jun 7, 2022): For this I really like the way YNAB handles it, they display the category in orange and let you know how much you need for that month + let you automatically budget it: ![](https://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/569d98ea9033603f7da32549/images/60d0906c00fd0d7c253f8020/file-vf2281OLC1.jpg)