The hardest thing about budgeting is remembering to do it. I would like to add something in Spending Profile to help make this easier. I find the best way to remember to do something is to send myself an email about it. This works better than to do lists, which so often get written but never read. So far, I have two ideas:
1. Send members a reminder email with a message to log on and add their latest purchases. You would have the option of how often you wish to receive reminders, and you could turn them off if desired.
2. Send members a monthly statement showing their current financial situation in a few simple charts, plus a summary table. This serves as a reminder as well; if the charts are empty, there’s some catching up to do!
I have already implemented option 2; the first statements were mailed out on November 1st. The code is ugly though, and I need to rewrite it before the next mailing. I have set up option 1 (reminders) in the database. Writing the script will be next.