Advanced Option: Total expenses for the couple or individual entry for client and spouse
In your projections for a couple, you have a choice to enter either the total combined expenses or the individual portion of these combined expenses for each of the spouses. In most cases, it is advisable to enter the total combined expenses so that the software can allocate a portion to each spouse so that neither runs out of money before the other. This is the default setting.
In this article:
- 1
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Option 1: Default Option (recommended) - Enter the Expenses for the Couple
Base expenses can be entered under Scenario Setup -> Expenses during the initial setup flow, or on the Combined Planning page.
Snap will allocate the spending between spouses each year based on their individual resources.
Combined Planning Page image:
The $84,000 of combined Base Expenses in this example is split between the spouses as shown above. Hovering your mouse over the value each year under Base Expenses on the Combined Planning page will display each spouse's allocated portion for that year. Each year the allocated amount is recalculated and there could be a different value for Base Expenses for each spouse each year.
Additional Expenses that are entered as joint expenses are split 50% to each spouse by the software automatically. You can edit the combined amount of the expense either under Scenario Setup -> Expenses -> Additional Expenses or on the Combined Planning page under Additional Expense columns.
Note: In Option 1, the Base Expenses for the client and spouse are automatically assigned based on the Combined Base Expenses entry. Also, the Additional Expenses that are jointly owned are assigned 50% to each spouse. If you wish to change the automatic allocation of these combined expenses, you must follow the steps in Option 2.
- 2
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Option 2: Advanced Option (rarely used) - Enter the Expenses for each Spouse Individually
Snap lets you manually enter the Base and Additional Expenses for each individual if the situation arises. First, you must select the Advanced Option to disable automatic allocation of all expenses for this scenario.
Select Scenario Setup -> Expenses -> Advanced Options -> Show
This is an Advanced Option because in most cases, you will want to enter the Combined Base and Additional Expenses for the couple and have the software automatically allocate the percentage that each spouse pays for.
If you check the option to disable the automatic allocation of expenses:
- For Base Expenses: you will need to specify individual Base Expenses on each individual's Planning page.
AND
- For Additional Expenses: you will need to specify the amount each spouse is responsible for on each individual's Planning page.
Example
A couple has a Combined Base Expenses value of $84,000 per year and we want to specify 50% for each spouse, or $42,000 each. There is also an Additional Expense (joint) of $40,000 for a vehicle that we want to specify one spouse is responsible for $30,000 and the other for $10,000, instead of $20,000 each. This vehicle expense occurs in the first year of the plan and 10 years later.
First, on the Expenses page, select the Advanced Option to "Disable automatic allocation of all expenses for this scenario". Note the joint vehicle expense of $40,000.
On the Planning page for the first spouse, enter Base Expenses of $42,000 each year and an Additional Expense of $30,000 for the vehicle every 10 years.
After doing the same for the other spouse (but with $10,000 for the vehicle expense for this spouse), go to the Combined Planning page to see the result. Notice you're not able to edit the Base Expenses on this page or the Additional Expenses. Both must be edited on the individual Planning pages because that is what this Advanced Option indicates.
Note: In Option 2, the Expense amounts for the Combined Planning page are now in black font and cannot be edited. The Combined Expenses are the sum of the individual amounts that you have entered. You can revert to the default option by deselecting the check box under Advanced Options.
If you apply the Sustainable Scenario recommendation, the check box to disable the automatic allocation of expenses for this scenario will be automatically unchecked.