Proper tracking of kids allowance

[Moritz]

I'm struggling how to proper track the pocket money of my kid.
I've a small notebook where we track the pocket money and expenses of my kid.
As it want to spend sometimes money for toys, I decrease the amount in the notebook and spend it from my checking account.
Now I was thinking, that I could also track it with beancount having an account

Liabilities:Kid:Allowance

and

Assets:Allowance:Kid

The first one is my liability, the second one represents the notebook.
Paying pocket money would look like this:

2023-03-05 * "Parents" "Pocket Money"

Assets:Allowance:Kid 10 EUR

Liabilities:Kid:Allowance -10 EUR

This works fine and makes sense.
But what I don't get: how to properly put an expense there when I buy it, eg:

2023-03-10 * "ABC TOYS" "Want to buy awesome toy"

Assets:Allowance:Kid -5 EUR

Liabilities:Kid:Allowance 5 EUR

So the amount is substracted from the kid's money and my liability is reduced by this amount. All good here. But I still have to buy it:

2023-03-10 * "ABC TOYS" "Awesome toy"

Assets:Bank:Checking -5 EUR

Liabilities:Kid:Allowance 5 EUR

The balances would look like this:

Assets:Allowance:Kid 5 EUR
Liabilities:Kid:Allowance 0 EUR
Assets:Bank:Checking -5 EUR

For Assets:Bank:Checking and Assets:Allowance:Kid it is ok, but Liabilities:Kid:Allowance should also be -5 EUR, as it should reflect the amount of money I need to give my kid in the future (Assets:Allowance:Kid).

Somehow it does not work out, but I can't catch it. I guess the problem is, having an odd number of accounts involved, but I've no idea how to properly fix it.

Any help is appreciated.
Moritz

[Martin Michlmayr]

* Moritz <moritz...@gmail.com> [2023-03-05 13:00]:

> 2023-03-05 * "Parents" "Pocket Money"
> Assets:Allowance:Kid 10 EUR
> Liabilities:Kid:Allowance -10 EUR

...

> Somehow it does not work out, but I can't catch it. I guess the problem is,
> having an odd number of accounts involved, but I've no idea how to properly
> fix it.

If you use a Liabilities account, your first transaction has to be
Expenses:Allowance:Kids, not Assets:.

> The first one is my liability, the second one represents the notebook.

Just reverse the sign of the liability in your head to get the
notebook. Their asset is your liability.

--
Martin Michlmayr
https://www.cyrius.com/

[Moritz]

Thanks Martin, that was  it \o/

[tinot...@gmail.com]

Hi,

What I do:

Payment to the kid every month:

2022-09-01 * "Kid" "Pay for September"

Assets:Kid 10.00 CHF

Liabilities:Kid

A game buy:

2022-09-20 * "Sony" "Buy a game"

Assets:Kid -5.25 CHF

Assets:PayPal -5.25 CHF ;my account

Liabilities:Kid 5.25 CHF

Expenses:Kid:Games 5.25 CHF

I didn't find to make otherwise... But also open to comments ;-)

Tino.