Rejected

:speech_balloon:

Cashflow Sankey diagram: Inflow --> Accounts --> Outflows

I really like the Cashflow (Sankey) diagram....it is a very valuable part of understanding how the model is (or is not) working correctly.

That said, I do have a tough time trying to following the $ flowing from left-to-right, and I think its because I’m (mentally) anticipating all my incoming funds to land in my accounts, then funds moving between accounts, and finally monies coming out of accounts to cover my expenses. In my mind, this is how my cash is flowing through my financial world.

Current diagram is Inflows –> Outflows

Potential diagram change? Inflows –> Accounts –> Outflows Mentally: Income -> Accounts -> Account Transfers -> Account -> Expenses

This would also help me better understand which account(s) PL is pulling funds from to cover which expenses.

3 votes

Tagged as Suggestion

Suggested 14 April by user Mike Bendtsen

Moved into Rejected 28 April

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  • 14 April Mike Bendtsen suggested this task

  • avatar
    Shawn @PL

    Cool idea, but ProjectionLab doesn’t really conceptualize income hitting accounts before being distributed; this is probably out of scope for our application.

    I fear this would be a large amount of engine rework for little to no long-term projection benefit, and would add complexity (performance cost).

    28 April

  • 28 April Shawn @PL approved this task

  • 28 April Shawn @PL moved this task into Rejected

  • avatar
    Mike Bendtsen

    Would be curious on what the mental mind-map of the PL community is as I suspect the majority looks at their cash flow as incoming dollars landing in an account, moving funds around to the appropriate account(s), and then paying expenses from specific account(s).

    Reading through the large number of Withdrawal Order suggestions, and seems like the land->transfer->pay philosophy would help resolve what folks are mentally trying to figure out how PL can model…and closer mimics how we all actually treat our cash flow.

    It is unfortunate that this contradictory to PL’s fundamental design tenant as it would be a really good evolution of the tool, and a great (mental) extension of a budgeting apps mindset towards retirement modeling.

    Though it has been rejected, at least I know it’s been suggested and thus the seed has been (subconsciously) planted …future brainstorming by the PL team on a very complex problem might remember this as an elegant means to solve…

    22 July