Fixed and Discretionary Expenses (Budgets & Reports)
Hello. I would like Quicken to create a way to classify an expense as either Fixed or Discretionary. This would happen in the Category Window. I can do this at the transaction level by using tags, but i would have to do this for every transaction. Being able to classify at the Category level would allow users to understand where they have some flexibility in spending their money. Fixed Expenses (things you have to pay - taxes, mortgage, etc.) vs where there is some discretion.
The user should be able to do the classification themselves. Of course, being able to include the classification field in reports would also be helpful.
Thank you....love the Mac version...i switched from Windows and have never looked back...
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Yes, please. Then the budget should allow you to quickly show or hide fixed expenses so that they don't clutter the full view when you're managing discretionary expenses.4
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This would also be very helpful in tracking the difference expense types for tax and budgeting purposes.2
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Yes, missing this from Windows version.2
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Sounds the same as Category Groups capability from QWin. This is a key budgeting capability for me that was lost when I transitioned to QMac.
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Yes, being able to see Fixed vs Discretionary (which can go by other names, depending on repeated dates, repeated amounts, etc.) is one attribute I consider Urgent and Important.
BTW, unlike some, I never used Quicken/Windows — my antecedent is Quicken/DOS.
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That is exactly what it should be, not just "Fixed or Discretionary" I believe in the distant past Quicken Windows had these two "category groups" as defaults, but then moved past that to generic category groups.
Both this Idea and this one:
Are really the same thing in the Quicken Windows world and should be implemented in Quicken Mac in the same way, as category groups.
In fact, the way this Idea is stated, would be useless if implement verbatim.
You can't just put something in the Category data and be done. What needs to be decided is where this data will show up in Quicken. The Idea that posted above is a better description because it states that you are going to be able to see this in the budget.
The "implied" but not stated for the Idea in this thread is that you would be able to select to view by category groups in reports. And these days, maybe in "Dashboard cards".
Anyway, you cut this, this a major project. But it can be done in incremental steps. Which is more important, reports or budget? Hard to say. But I think I would lean towards doing reports first. Note that this wouldn't make sense for every report. In fact, looking through the ones that Quicken Windows has it as an option it is very rare. So far, a quick look I come up with Cash Flow and Budget reports. And of course, the budget one would really depend on the budgets getting category grouping in the first place.
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I think that fixed (non-discretionary) vs discretionary at that category level would be nice, but it should be an option on the transaction level as well. Some categories contain can fixed and discretionary transactions.
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It would be near impossible to implement that way, it would be a much better idea for the user to pick their categories better.
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This would be a great feature, especially for those planning for or managing a fixed income - such as retirees. The way I've solved for that is to create two highest-level budget categories: Essential and Discretionary. To allow for space considerations in on-screen viewing, I abbreviate these as (ESS) and (DES). Then, set-up all expenses as sub-categories under one or the other of these two Uber-categories. I do maintain Taxes as a third category so I can keep my high-level expense ratios unencumbered by tax-related expenses. I hope this helps.
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I recently submitted an idea very similar to this. People suggested re-organizing my Categories to support it, but it wouldn't work for me. For instance, I want to keep Food all rolling up to one subtotal, but groceries are necessities while dining out is something I can control. I have a pretty complex and detailed category structure. :-) I used to be a bookkeeper in my former career, so categorizing and analyzing my data is meaningful and important to me.
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Yes, please create a way to see and compare fixed and discretionary spending.
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I use the same type of workaround that NorthernExposure describes. It works, but could be more elegant if it was an actual feature in the product.
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When someone is preparing for retirement they will need to know which expense categories are essential or discretionary. This information is vital for planning the amount of income that will be needed during retirement. Having a flag on a category to indicate the type of expense would make reporting much easier and retirement planning more accurate.
Quicken could default certain categories as Essential or Discretionary.
Essential; Utilities, Insurance, Groceries, Rent, Mortgage, Transportation
Discretionary; Vacation, Restaurants, Subscriptions, Entertainment.
I am sure there are other categories that could be easily defaulted into either category. This feature would also benefit budgeting to help easily identify discretionary items that need attention.
[Merged Post]
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What Quicken Mac needs is category groups like Quicken Windows has. That allows the user to create their own groups of categories. No one is going to agree on what should be in the category groups you stated, or even if you have the correct groups for them.
There probably is already a suggestion for that that people can vote on, and hopefully one of the Quicken Mac SuperUsers or Moderators will be able to point you to it.
[Merged Post]
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@Chris_QPW Custom category groups in the Mac version is a good suggestion. Where can I vote for that?
Your comment "No one is going to agree on what should be in the category groups you stated, or even if you have the correct groups for them." was not helpful and unnecessary.
My suggestion to set defaults on categories, means default, not a permanent or mandated type of classification. The "Usage" flag already exists in the the Category metadata and is set to default as Personal or Business. Agree or disagree with the "Usage" default, it can be changed.
[Merged Post]
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Isn't it possible to do this today using categories and sub-categories, but it requires lumping everything under Essential and Discretionary categories.
Essential
— Bills & Utilities
—— Electric
—— Gas
—— Internet
— Childcare
— Groceries
Discretionary
— Dining
— EntertainmentThat being said, it'd be really nice to not have to lump them under these and to be able to mark categories as varying levels. (Essential, Quality of Life, Discretionary, Play)
[Merged Post]
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Just like the post below requests, add category grouping types of essential and discretionary to use with budgets, I want to be able to use the same functionality for reports (namely the cash flow report)
[Edited - Readability and Fixed Link] [Merged Post]
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Here is the idea to vote on:
[Merged Post]
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[Not relevant after thread was merged]
Quicken Mac Subscription • Quicken user since 19930 -
I think Bosco's illustration is spot-on. I'd sign up for that organization (concept)! And yes, we need flexibility to determine for ourselves what is truly discretionary or essential. Also agree with Prbsparx that making the designations in the Category set-up window seems like the right place in the tool.
I thought I'd add that for retirees, the ability to quickly ID and reduce discretionary expenses during a down stock or bond market (depending on one's income strategy) is key to riding out down markets without tapping one's retirement investments. Gurus like Wade Pfau (and others too) recommend reserves that can span three years.
Quicken - not sure how big your retiree subscriber base is, but I think it is crucial to any retiree managing her/his money with your tool. Maybe we are too small of a market segment to invest the development time in. Didn't I see votes for this budget enhancement somewhere here … showing it didn't make the floor for the development cycle?
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Didn't I see votes for this budget enhancement somewhere here … showing it didn't make the floor for the development cycle?
@NorthernExposure You've posted in the Idea thread — request for a new or enhanced feature — seeking such functionality. The Idea currently has 28 votes; when it reaches 30 votes, it is submitted to the development team for consideration. They look into whether they think it's an idea with merit, whether it fits with the scope and direction of other Quicken products like the mobile app, how much time it would take to implement, and where to assign it priority-wise among hundreds of other feature requests. If/when they decide to put it on their development schedule, the status of the Idea is changed to "Planned" to let us users know it is definitely on their roadmap.
So, if there's anyone reading this who hasn't voted for it, go to the top of the thread and add your vote in the yellow box under the first post. Two more votes (as of this writing) will advance this feature request to the developers.
I'd also note that the developers also look at things in addition to votes here. Feedback from their customer support teams influence decisions, as does the ongoing effort to add functionality present in Quicken windows which is missing from Quicken Mac. We do know that the Mac development team is planning to implement a number of features in the budget section of the program, so it's possible (but not assured) that a feature like this is already in their plans.
Quicken Mac Subscription • Quicken user since 19930 -
Hello All,
The status of this Idea has been changed to Under Consideration as it has reached enough votes and has been submitted to our Product and Development team for further review.
Thank you!
Quicken Kristina
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