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A Heatmap Report You Can Use With Your YNAB Budget
Main Post:
I've created an additional report that you can use with your YNAB account using their API. It displays your YNAB transactions in a heatmap style to get a bird's eye view of your budget.
If you'd like to check it out, its available at Heatmap for YNAB
A few things to note about it:
- This doesn't work on mobile devices. I figured the audience for linking with the API was limited to desktop users mostly. If there is enough interest, I'll look at adapting it to mobile.
- I'm colorblind so I had to enlist my wife to help with the colors. Hopefully everything easily distinguishable but if not I added an option to change the colors.
- I'm open to feedback! Let me know if there is anything additional you'd like to see or there is an area for improvement
Some background:
My wife and I have been using YNAB for a couple of years and I enjoy seeing reports that display all my hard earned work using the program. The more reports the better I say. After seeing the simple heatmap of income/expense on Financier, I was inspired to create a fun heatmap report. I don't get a lot of opportunities to code at my work so I also wanted a personal programming project to learn some new things so I created this. Its been approved by the YNAB API team and is listed on their API Page. Hope you enjoy!
***Edit I've made some changes to the report based on requests. The following changes have been made:
*Themes have been expanded to reflect the ones in YNAB.
*Tracking Accounts now work except the ones listed in the 'Budget Accounts' section when adding new accounts in YNAB. This means loans and mortgages now show.
*Custom colors save across sessions.
*Screenshots added to get a basic idea of how the report looks before connecting your account.
*GitHub Repo updated with instructions on how to run the report locally.
Top Comment:
Thanks, this is a very nice new dashboard. I like how you used the same style filters as YNAB reports.
It's neat that you implemented views by day of the week, week of the month, etc.
My only gripe is that when I select theme 'YNAB Dark', the background area (around the heatmap) is still a big zone of white...
Three week solo trip to Japan - trip report & budget breakdown : JapanTravel
Main Post: Three week solo trip to Japan - trip report & budget breakdown : JapanTravel
Recreating Budget vs Actuals Report into saved search
Main Post:
We have been using the native Budget vs Actuals report for our financial reporting by subsidiary for years now and it has been decided that it just isn't meeting our needs for various reasons (not my decision). We have been working with a group of NetSuite consultants to try to avoid this but after trying other options, it's come down to either trying to recreate this as a saved search via scripting and custom records or else completely rewriting our COA, which is not an option at this time for my company. And we don't have any money to implement any 3rd party reporting tools at this time. I'm the NetSuite technical admin and have done a fair bit of development so this now falls to me to try to figure out.
Has anyone done this before and if so, how did you go about it? I've done this with other record types for reporting so I'm not worried about the scripting part of it. I'm struggling to map it out and wrap my head around it and the more I think about it, the harder/next to impossible this seems. I know the budget record isn't accessible via the records browser so I'm assuming the best way is going to be scripting a search to access the budget records so that I can write the budget into a custom budget record type, which I can then write a saved report off of. But then the issue becomes how best to associate this custom record with the transactions so I can pull in the actuals.
Mostly just looking for input from anyone who has done something similar or thought about this. Thank you!
Top Comment: I would suggest a non posting custom transaction for recording your budget to meet this requirement. Import it in parallel to your budget process, and then you can accomplish this with a saved search. (it'd take some effort to figure out exact details, but I'd suggest case statements or decode to drop it in different columns) Without a custom transaction, this literally cannot be done with a saved search alone. If I were scripting this, I'd expect to spend over 150 to 200 hours trying to figure it out (I'm using Solution 7 before I do this effort - it'd be cheaper). The issue is that the budget is stored in NetSuite as a single record per fiscal year, and then divides it into additional fields on that single record budget. So your script would have to accommodate for this and stitch the data together according to period versus your real transactions (which is what the budget vs actual report does for you) Either way, before writing that script I'm looking at side loading my budget using custom transactions, or asking solution 7 for a 30 day demo. They really aren't all that expensive, and your time is worth something.
UT Arlington Operating Budget Report (2022)
Main Post:
Data collected from UT Arlington's Operating Budget report (2022): https://www.utsystem.edu/sites/default/files/documents/report-state/2021/annual-operating-budget-ut-arlington/arl-final-bud-07-13-2021.pdf
The funds designated to cover budgeted expenses for UTA's President's department is greater than UTA's Business, Education, Liberal Arts, Science, and Social Work departments. Their "strategic initiatives" costs over $15 million, and the President's Office alone has a budgeted expense of $80,000.
Guess UT Arlington's President's department is hard at work.
UT Arlington Operating Budget Report (2022), Section: \"Designated Funds\", Page: \"G.1\"
UTA President's Department, Budgeted Expenses (2022)
Liberal Arts Department, Budgeted Expenses (2022)
Business Department, Budgeted Expenses (2022)
Education Department, Budgeted Expenses (2022)
Science Department, Budgeted Expenses (2022)
Social Work Department, Budgeted Expenses (2022)
Top Comment:
What does "presidents office" even mean? Like he has two employees getting paid 40k each? Or one getting paid 80k? Don't tell me that's 80k for renovations of his physical office...
Trip Report: Drive Yourself on a Budget Safari in Kruger National Park, South Africa
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When my wife and I were planning our trip to Africa, one of the things that was at the top of my list was to go on a safari to see Africa’s amazing wildlife. However, when I started looking into the cost of African safaris, it wasn’t long before I started to get really discouraged. We were traveling for an extended period, so our daily budget was really tight. Most safari tours I found online started at several hundred dollars per day, and some were even thousands of dollars per day. There was no way that we were going to be able to swing that kind of money.
The more I searched, the more I began to lose hope. I was so frustrated. Traveling in Africa is supposed to be cheap, why are these companies charging so much for these safari trips? That’s when began to wonder if we could just rent a car and go on safari ourselves? As it turns out, I was on the right track. It really is as simple as just renting a car and driving into a safari park, at least in Kruger National Park in South Africa.
About Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park is located in the north-eastern portion of the country of South Africa. At nearly 20,000 sq. kilometres, it is one of the largest game preserves in all of Africa. Kruger was first declared a National Park in 1926, and today it extends all the way to South Africa’s borders with Mozambique and Zimbabwe providing a protected corridor for migrating game animals.
Despite Kruger National Park’s enormous size, it is surprisingly accessible. There are excellent quality paved roads that connect every corner of the park, and an extensive network of rest areas and safari camps. While it is certainly possible to arrange game spotting tours, the park is perfectly set up for self-drive safari adventures.
What Animals You Can Expect to See at Kruger
Kruger National Park is home to a whopping 147 species of large mammals, more than any other game preserve in Africa. The park is also home to all five of the “Big Five” game animals. I had personally never heard the term “Big Five” before visiting South Africa, but it is serious business there. Driving to the park, we passed restaurants selling “Big Five Burgers”, there were “Big Five Hotels”, and even “Big Five” Souvenir Stores. In case you’re wondering, “Big Five” refers to five game animals: the lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo.
We spoke with quite a few of the park’s visitors who had seen the “Big Five” at Kruger, some had even seen all of them on their very first day in the park. We were not so lucky. We did see four out of five though. Despite our best efforts we never managed to spot any rhinos. This is because rhino populations worldwide are dwindling and the park is very secretive about the location of its rhinos to protect them from illegal poachers.
In case you haven’t heard, rhino populations are quickly being reduced to the point of imminent extinction around the globe, largely due to the Chinese and Vietnamese appetite for their horns. Many practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine claim that rhino horn is a powerful remedy for erectile disfunction. This is, of course, totally ridiculous. Rhino horn consists almost entirely of keratin, the same compound that makes up human fingernails and hair. Truthfully, men ingesting rhino horn to help them with their sexual inadequacy, would see the same results from eating a steaming pile of turds.
We did not see rhinos during our time at Kruger, but we did manage to see a lot of animals. Driving through the park, we literally saw hundreds of wild elephants, giraffes, zebras, warthogs, baboons, impala, antelope, Cape buffalo, hippopotamus, lions, leopards, crocodiles, hyenas, ostriches and too many others to name.
Tips for Planning a Budget Safari at Kruger National Park
Here are some tips that I put together for anyone planning a self-drive safari in Kruger National Park. These are the questions that I wish I had the answers to before we went.
Is it safe to do a self-drive safari at Kruger National Park?
Yes. We felt completely safe driving around the park. It is important to remember that the animals are wild. This is a game preserve and not a zoo, do not feed the wildlife. You must remain in your car for your own safety and as a general display of your intellect. If you give the animals plenty of space and respect you will not have any problems.
How are the roads in Kruger National Park?
The roads are impeccably maintained. The vast majority are paved, and the dirt roads that we drove on are neatly graded and easy to navigate.
Do I need a four-wheel-drive vehicle to do a self-drive safari at Kruger National Park?
Absolutely not! We rented the cheapest economy car that we could find to drive around the park. If you are on a tight budget, you don’t have to worry about going cheap. Our car was only about $12 a day and got amazing gas mileage.
The speed limit throughout the park is 50km/hour, so we coasted in 5th gear to save gas the majority if the time. I would recommend a tall car though if you have the budget, as some height would allow you to see over the tall grass along the side of the road.
You can easily pick up a rental car in Johannesburg or Nelspruit. Driving in South Africa is easy as the roads are not overcrowded and safe for the most part. There are some areas, particularly in Johannesburg, that may not be safe to drive in. It’s best to map out your route and make sure to avoid the sketchy neighborhoods before you go driving through Joberg.
How much time do I need to see Kruger National Park?
We drove (coasted) through a pretty large section of the park in four days. I think that that was a good amount. We saw tons of animals, and left once we were tired of driving at numbingly slow speeds for hours at a time to look for wildlife.
Is it hard to spot the animals at Kruger?
No. We had no problem spotting the wildlife. When we first entered the park, we went about 45 minutes or so and only saw a few antelope. Then we turned a corner and saw elephants and zebras at a watering hole. If you drive around long enough you will spot lots of animals, even without a guide.
On some days, we literally had large herds of zebras and elephants surrounding our little Kia rental car. Usually when there has been a large cat sighting, such as lions or leopards, you will see groups of cars stopped along the road watching them.
We found that driving around at dawn and dusk provided some of the best opportunities to spot animals, but we did come across animals all day long.
Rivers and watering holes also increase your odds, so keep that in mind when planning your route. At the safari camps and visitor centers, there are spotting boards, showing where different animals have been reported on a map of the park. Rhinos are excluded from these boards to protect them from poachers.
Is it safe to sleep in the park?
Safari Camps are scattered around the park and are usually at great spots for wildlife viewing. These camps are fenced off and provide protection from the animals. Every safari camp that we stopped at included a small store, a gas station, a restaurant, and overnight accommodations ranging from tent camping to multi-room luxury cabins.
We stayed in the safari huts, because we didn’t have camping gear. These huts were small but clean and comfortable, and included beds, chairs, a refrigerator, and a charcoal barbeque.
In hindsight, I would not hesitate to tent camp, it is a good way to save money if you are up for sleeping on the ground. We did see some signs warning campers to refrain from feeding wild hyenas because it can be dangerous if they get too comfortable with humans. The only animals we encountered in the safari camps were small monkeys and some lizards and birds.
Make reservations BEFORE going to Kruger, as spots in safari camps fill up well in advance. We were not able to secure lodging within our budget for every night of our visit, but did pretty well for booking last minute.
Do I have to sleep in the park?
There are a lot of hotels located just outside of many of Kruger National Park’s entrances. We found many of these hotels to be nicer and a better value than staying in the safari camps. Our strategy was to spend every other night in the park. That way we only had to pay the entrance fees every other day.
If you have a reservation in the park, you will have to pay the entrance fees ($25 per person) in order to enter the park to reach your camp. You can then spend the next day slowly driving out of the park, and not have to pay the entrance fees until you enter the park again. This was a great way to keep Kruger National Park within our tight budget.
How do I plan my route through Kruger National Park?
Since we only booked our trip about a week before arriving in Kruger, our route was largely planned based on availability in the Safari Camps. These camps fill up well in advance, so I would recommend reserving your spots as early as you can. Here is the website where you can check availability and make your reservations https://www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/. We found that the website reservations system didn’t work properly, and the online customer service was terrible. In the end, we had to make our reservations the old-fashioned way, over the phone.
Remember that the speed limit in Kruger is only 50km/hour, so you aren’t going to go too far in a single day. Also, you must be out of the park or in a safari camp before 6:00pm. Be sure to plan reasonable distances between stops, because you will be moving slowly and you can only stop for food and toilets in designated areas. It’s better to drive slowly and spend your time looking for wildlife anyway. When in doubt, follow rivers and water, these increase your odds of spotting the animals.
I hope this helps you plan your trip. If you would like to see the original post with pictures you can find it here
https://www.mymola.com/drive-yourself-on-a-budget-safari-in-kruger-national-park-south-africa/
Top Comment: To be honest, 99% of the time I don't care about peoples detailed reports. It turns out, that it was just because of the destination that I had no interest in. This, on the other hand, was a fantastic and useful read. Will definitely use it as a resource in the near future. Thank you so much!
[Erik van Haren] Multiple sources report that Red Bull has indeed exceeded the budget cap in 2021. But the sometimes circulating amounts are nonsense. It would be about 1 to 2 million dollars. Not in terms of car development, but due to costs such as catering and absenteeism due to illness.
Main Post: [Erik van Haren] Multiple sources report that Red Bull has indeed exceeded the budget cap in 2021. But the sometimes circulating amounts are nonsense. It would be about 1 to 2 million dollars. Not in terms of car development, but due to costs such as catering and absenteeism due to illness.
Top Comment: Red Bull punishment is gonna be a diet