On 8/11/2020 8:32 PM, doncram wrote:
The idea of "envelope method" then is to mirror the model of budgeting and
control done by real life envelopes holding the cash allowed to be spent in
each budget area. This is an inspiring model/image. The physical model is
very visual, very clear... each envelope of cash is a continuous visible
indicator of how much more can be spent in that category. It is alarming
if one runs low or empty. If overspending really does have to be done,
then cash must be "borrowed"/transfered from another envelope/budget
category. In a household where one person has the envelope for groceries
vs. another has the envelope for clothes purchases, there would be
"transaction costs" or punishments of having to beg other person to fork
over some of their budget. I see the appeal of trying to make an
accounting/budgeting system follow that. However....
There is a fundamental important difference no matter how you try to
implement in gnucash (or pretty much any software).
With physical currency in physical envelopes or somebody else holding
the different debit card there is no such thing as negative dollars. In
other words, if you actually need the enforcement provided by
physicality, if lacking in the discipline to follow a budget unless so
enforced, gnucash can't help you nor probably any other program.
What do you want here? A way of specifying for an account that cannot go
opposite? That a transaction would be refuse to enter if it was doing
that? TOO LATE. When you enter the transaction in gnucash (or anything
else; even old fashioned pen and ink on paper) it has already happened.
You are just recording that fact in the books. Understand? If you want
accounts in gnucash to represent the envelopes you still need to have
that physical cash in physical envelopes for enforcement <<in the case
of separate debit cards would, be separate bank accounts, so regular,
not "virtual" accounts in gnucash>>
Even in the case of entities with legally enforceable budgets this is
true. Just because there is no more money left in the budget for
expenses of a certain category doesn't mean if a check is written that
would fall in that category it would bounce. Or that the entity could
say to whoever got that check "sorry, the budget for that was exhausted,
send the money back". If something is done wrong (with respect to an
enforceable budget) somebody is in trouble, maybe deep trouble, or a
board might have to call an emergency meeting to authorize or a town a
special town meeting (I'm in new England) to authorize << but even in
that case, the voters could say "NO" >>
Michael D Novack
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