Why the end date?

[Lucas]

#3365

I’ve noticed that all recurring entries now stop at the same date in 2014, making it 5 years by default.

Though this can be changed, is there any reason why it even has a mandatory end date? Couldn’t it just be an option, or does each entry (even recurring) take actual space and needs to be limited? Or maybe it’s because planning a budget more than 5 years in advance is a ridiculous idea and I’m just nagging for no reason :P

[Eric Poulin]

#3695

Well we do need an end date… here’s why.
Unlike Google Calendar, which just needs to track dates and an associated title, I need to account for dollar amounts that add up through the months.
In Google Calendar, when you create an entry (with or without and end date), I imagine the backend just creates 1 database entry describing the repeat options.  Then when you load a particular month, Google checks any entries marked as repeating and seeing is they should show this month.  Easy enough…
However, for CalendarBudget, I not only need to determine where to show it, but I need to add up all of the values of preceeding entries to incorporate with month’s starting balance.  So, in CalendarBudget, when you create a repeating entry, I have to create a database entry for each and every instance you see in the calendar.  If you create weekly entry for 2 years, that 104 database entries in CalendarBudget. 

So – For that reason, I need to know how far into the future to create these entries.
Does the 5 year default seems too far out?  Would 2 years (or some other number) make more sense?

[Lucas]

#3696

I think 2 years as a default would probably be alright, as long as there is a possibility to extend it. Going into more advanced future options, if you’re putting in an entry for a mortgage you could need up to 25 years of entry (1300 database entries!) where as if I’m just putting in a 1 year lease agreement for my apartment, a shorter term is fine.

It’s not quite possible to really plan for the future like this, because there is always changes in budgets – be it a raise or job change, getting a new car or whatever luxury item.

I do understand that your system doesn’t work quite the same way, I kind of went “Duh!” and realized how different, programmatically, your website is when compared to Google Calendar.

Thanks for the information and details.

[Eric Poulin]

#3697

Perhaps a default of 2 years may be more appropriate.  You can always change the end date to whatever.
Sure you cannot accurately plan into the future, but you can plan.  Thats part of the power of CalendarBudget — the ability to see what you future finances will look like given current and expected trends. 
I’ll change the default to 2 years…

[davidnicholasharris@gmail]

#3698

This is an excellent tool, and now that we’re paying for it, it would be nice if it could use to plan out really far into the future. I’m 31 years old right now, and would like to be able to plan out another 69 years, even if I’m not going to live that long. This would be really helpful for retirement planning as well.

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