What happened to the comparison with average spending?

I’m not quite sure where to report this as it is probably a design decision but there used to be a line in the spending tab which showed you where you currently are compared to your average monthly spend.

I use this to keep a general track of my spending but I have just noticed that with the last TestFlight release it appears to have disappeared/been removed.

Is this a temporary glitch or preparation for something better (if the latter then when is that ‘something better’ due)?

2 Likes

You’re absolutely right! I found it very useful. Perhaps prep before targets are rolled out?

1 Like

Noticed this one too, it was never really accurate for me as my overall spending can vary wildly month to month but maybe should have been kept until Targets starts rolling out?

And actually - even if the targets functionality is forthcoming I still think the ‘current spend vs. average spend’ would be useful to have as it gives a global view.

Well spotted :slight_smile:

We’ve removed it to simplify things in preparation for the really soon to come Targets feature. Let’s see if after the feature is in place you still miss it. If that’s the case we’ll improve it and bring it back :innocent:

I’ve been fortunate to get a sneaky peak at the Targets feature. It’s gonna be good! :dart:

2 Likes

@Hugo

Thanks for the response.

Just for further explanation - why I liked the feature so much is that it allowed me, as the month progressed, to see if I was tending to overspend or underspend compared to my general spend. And it gave me this info at a glance.

I am generally trying to reduce my spending but have not focussed on a particular area as such and so far, using this feature, I have been able to keep a much better control over my general spending (much more so than I have been able to previously using categories etc).

Everyone’s mileage varies but for me this one feature alone has been invaluable. I’m not sure that having to set goals and targets for particular categories is going to motivate me in the same way - but I will give it a try.

Any idea when this is coming?

Also one further suggestion:
It would be nice to get some warning when a feature is going to be removed rather than having it disappear under your nose.

I was actually tracking my spending using the spend vs average and I would have at least like to have taken a final reading of now much below my average I was at before it vanished :frowning:

1 Like

I also find it very useful (still have the feature as I’m not on any testflight version). The ability to see overall spending compared to average is great as there will often be expected fluctuations within categories for me caused by one-off larger expenses.

You’re totally right. So far we still need to do things in a bit of a rough way to keep ourselves lean (it’s still a beta after all). But we know that’s not ideal and we’re working on better ways to create/remove features so we can tune things progressively. Apologies for the missing average, hope the new Targets system makes it worth it :slight_smile:

1 Like

I miss this feature!!

I have tried Targets this weekend and decided it is not for me. I very carefully manage my money, ensuring that as soon as I am paid I put aside enough for bills and savings each month. I then have the rest for my daily spending, and usually task myself quite hard by putting more into savings. Therefore my target each month is not to go overdrawn or have to move money out of my savings in the last few days of the month. That’s how I like to manage my money.

What I liked about about the vs average spend is that at a glance I can see day by day how I’m doing to my average. I feel good if there is a minus figure and if it is a plus, then decide if I should cut back anywhere.

I would really like the ‘comparison to average’ implemented for the categories as well, so I can look to see if I am spending more than average on my groceries for example, rather than having to define a target and have a sense of impending doom as the bar drops to red.

3 Likes

@mj84 I agree entirely.

I am going to give targets a longer trial but already I am feeling that they are not really fitting with how I spend my money…
Basically I don’t really monitor my spend in buckets (i.e. categories) I keep a track of my overall spending and if spend too much on, say, entertainment it just means I have to tighten up in other areas.
Targeting categories works if you want to define a fixed target for your areas of spending and stick to them even if other areas have no spend.
Whereas for me: in a month where I may want to spend more on Records (yes I still buy them) I will spend less elsewhere in order to keep my overall spending within limits.
This worked well with the average spending tracking.
Trying to use categories to achieve the same thing would (I feel) result in having to constantly alter my category targets on a rolling basis which kind of defeats the intended purpose…

Besides - I don’t see that targets and average spend should be mutually exclusive. Surely it is possible to keep both features…?

1 Like

@mj84 @Trash

If it’s a choice between one or the other, my vote is for targets, rather than spend vs average because I prefer the visualization rather than a percentage. My guess is that the design went in the direction of displaying how much the user has remaining in the month because that leads to the realization “I won’t have enough” & then Monzo offering it’s first revenue generating product - an overdraft.

But as Joe says, hopefully both can be incorporated while still keeping the design clean & the app easy to understand & use.

Just to pick up on this point [quote=“Trash, post:11, topic:6131”]
Basically I don’t really monitor my spend in buckets (i.e. categories) I keep a track of my overall spending and if spend too much on, say, entertainment it just means I have to tighten up in other areas.
[/quote]

if you’re using the targets functionality, you don’t have to track your targets by category. In the targets menu, you can tap on any / all of the categories & select disable [category name’s] target & then just set your overall monthly target and only refer to that.

Either way, that obviously doesn’t completely address your use cases…

If having to choose between either or, I’d choose to see a visual representation of how much I have left to spend, ideally broken into categories. Targets fits exactly that definition for me.

Until yesterday I was relying on manual inputs into an iOS app called Daily Budget which kind of satisfied my needs to see a remaining allowance for the month, but Monzo automatically tracking my variable spending and providing me with a remaining allowance figure is perfect.

I’m all up for discussion on how it can be improved and I also see that spend vs average isn’t necessarily a replacement of targets as it could work along aside or instead of if the user wishes.

There’s a toggle enable/disable targets so maybe, given enough popular demand, spending vs average could be reinstated with the ability to toggle on and off as well.

1 Like

+1 for keeping the average spend.

Targets are nice, and they are useful, but it seems that the two features could work nicely together. I would tweak my spending depending on how I’m doing against my daily average - it’s been the most valuable feature in the app since I started using it in March and it’s a bit of a hit to see it go. I’m using the app much less now. While it’s useful to know that I can spend £XXX in the next 20 days before going over budget, it doesn’t help me understand if I’m keeping on track day by day. If I knew that I could spend £XX more today as an average day to stay within budget for the month then I’d understand the context of the target. While I’m far away from the end of the month it seems that I have loads left to spend but the average helps me figure out a responsible daily spend.

TL;DR: monthly remaining spend to stay in target is interesting but I find it very hard to understand what I can spend when I’m earlier on in the month, for example.

Appreciate the pro-activity & communication, keep it up

4 Likes

The app doesn’t currently respond to landscape orientation of the phone. It would be possible, useful even, to see targets and spend vs average side by side in landscape orientation. Alternatively bring back the tabbed view to enable switching between them.

If and when Monzo creates an iPad or web app then both could be displayed at once on those devices.

I miss it, too! I don’t care about targets, I have a different saving strategy. But I like comparing month-on-month category spend.

3 Likes

+1 from me too. Please bring this feature back.

2 Likes

As I keep saying - I’m not sure what it has to be an either/or situation.

The interface should be able to support both and therefore give us the best of both worlds.

I’m giving up on targets they are not adding anything for me (and I seem to spend more time trying to adjust them than necessary).
For the love of whoever please bring back average spend (at least as an option).

2 Likes