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Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#1 Old 27th Jan 2022 at 8:04 PM
Default Handling individual money
In your game, how do you handle Sims within one household having individual amounts of money? For example, a teenager saving up spending money, or a group who have moved in together temporarily but are going to divide later.

So this is a question both about what your personal system is for this is (in what circumstances do you keep track of individual money amounts) and what mods you use to accomplish it. I thought about putting this in random questions but I figured it was open enough for a longer discussion.

I've been using Honeywell's Money Jar to keep track of small cash amounts, but that can be cumbersome. I know a lot of people also use Monique's computers with the banking function, but those have a whole bunch of other options I don't really need and I don't like to have to buy a separate computer so I haven't done it.

What I've been doing is, with the kids in the family (getting the random money from school, or teens with jobs) I have them save up that cash to later take to college with them. That's simple enough.
With a group of roommates in the house that each have careers and aren't planning to live together forever -- right now, this is the Singles girls in Strangetown -- what I've been doing is that whenever they get promoted, the promotion bonus goes into individual "savings" (I'm just writing these into my spreadsheet but I should probably find a way to do it in game) and I just figure that everything else can be divided up roughly evenly. I'm NOT really happy with the realism on this one. If I keep it all in household funds, it just doesn't feel right that, say, Chloe wants to buy a bass guitar and she spends a bunch of her roomies' money on that but she's the only one who uses it... that's not realistic, yknow? But I also feel like tracking each individual person's daily salary contribution separately and then making them take out a certain amount every so often for bills/groceries/etc would be too much math & effort.

What about you? Do you have a system for this, or just not fuss about how much of the household funds "belongs" to one Sim or another?
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Instructor
#2 Old 27th Jan 2022 at 8:56 PM
I use Monique's computer, and I just by default put one in the sims' home if they're having a computer, and put them on a com lot for families without their own computer.
If a sim earns an amount that can't easily be achieved with the amounts the banking function has, I write it down in my spreadsheet so I remember they earned it and then add it to their bank account once they have earned an available amount. Or if it is something small like $5 from a painting or something I just allow that to remain in the common household funds because it's so small it's not worth it then.

ETA
If I have two roommate sims or something I decide which one I feel like owns the house, and then the household funds are their funds but the other sim has their own separate money, I wouldn't do bank accounts for both. Then things like bills, maids, etc come out of the funds of the sim who owns the home, but if the roommate spends money for any reason I can take it out of theirs.
Top Secret Researcher
#3 Old 27th Jan 2022 at 9:25 PM
It's too much of a hassle for me to keep track of it so I don't bother. The most I have is no $20k handout so that can affect how much a sim moves out with.

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retired moderator
#4 Old 27th Jan 2022 at 9:50 PM
I use Monique's computer. As soon as a child or teen gain some money I open a bank account for them. If the amount they made is under $100 I have the parent make up the shortfall since it requires $100 to open a bank account.
I like all YA doing uni courses to have their own laptops (and I think most in rl would have one) so each one having a laptop on a desk in their room seems normal to me. The cheapest Monique computer laptop is only $1000. It comes in a good variety. If you turn it off you can place their laptop in their inventory.

You don't have to give them separate computers, they can all just use one if you like. I like that once they reach $1000 they earn interest and this interest level can be changed. I forget who showed how it can be changed but mine is charging and giving 3% rather than 6% now.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Mad Poster
#5 Old 27th Jan 2022 at 10:28 PM
I, too, use Monique's computer, but I round up the amounts to better fit the deposit function-like if the household funds are 5600, I deposit 5000 and leave the rest in the household for emergencies.
I just wish there was a way to spend the household funds in a secondary party setting-like a pixel owns a grocery store, and they receive the money from a purchase, but the pixel purchasing the food doesn't have it deducted from their fund. It should be taken out at the same time.
Seems kind of one-sided. I don't think they've ever had a mod for it, either.

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Forum Resident
#6 Old 27th Jan 2022 at 11:07 PM
I actually tend to do it on paper. While I do have Monique's computer, I don't use it - the deposit amounts don't match up with the sums I want, and I don't usually want to bother with interest. But that partly works because I don't bother for most households - money earned by teens goes into the household funds (though a teen earning money gets prioritised if they want to buy something), and I don't have households with unrelated members. The big exception is the uni students' dorm (each student has their own money), though the greek houses all pool their cash and it stays with the house. The other exception at the moment is the Grunt family - the General died shortly after earning a 50,000 bonus, and various family members got an inheritance as well. So I divided that up already (because the General wasn't exactly being fair with how he left his money).
Inventor
#7 Old 28th Jan 2022 at 12:21 AM Last edited by jonasn : 28th Jan 2022 at 12:51 AM.
I just assume money is pooled together. It is my reward for handling a family of multiple people. Subtracting money manually after using the build mode or selling items from the inventory is too much hassle. I've only played out an argument about money in situations where household members had become enemies.

It might be theoretically possible to refer to the 'selected person id', assume he is the one responsible for activities in the build mode, continuously poll the budget, maybe on mode change, and note the difference. But it's a lot of work dealing with split money variables, and prone to error.

Moving a person out requires contributions from the whole family. A single teen can make 2 thousand, maybe 3 thousand without digging up treasure, which is not enough for a house.
Forum Resident
#8 Old 28th Jan 2022 at 2:17 AM
Quote: Originally posted by jonasn
I just assume money is pooled together. It is my reward for handling a family of multiple people. Subtracting money manually after using the build mode or selling items from the inventory is too much hassle. I've only played out an argument about money in situations where household members had become enemies.

It might be theoretically possible to refer to the 'selected person id', assume he is the one responsible for activities in the build mode, continuously poll the budget, maybe on mode change, and note the difference. But it's a lot of work dealing with split money variables, and prone to error.

Moving a person out requires contributions from the whole family. A single teen can make 2 thousand, maybe 3 thousand without digging up treasure, which is not enough for a house.


Apart from the students, who (when living in dorms) are a single household because I find it easier to play that way, I have the same philosophy. Maybe it's because I haven't really lived in a shared house (except as a student) - so I tend to have sims living together who would share finances, at least to some extent.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#9 Old 28th Jan 2022 at 2:36 AM
Thanks for the replies all. Maybe I'm being too persnickety for wanting to track individual money! I swear somehow I thought I was going to be the odd one out and everyone was going to go "oh duh I have this whole elaborate system worked out" because I feel like on average I am less fussy about little details than most people who play TS2... LOL!

Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
You don't have to give them separate computers, they can all just use one if you like. I like that once they reach $1000 they earn interest and this interest level can be changed. I forget who showed how it can be changed but mine is charging and giving 3% rather than 6% now.

Just to clarify -- oh, I know they don't have to all have their own individual computers! I meant separate as in "separate from the normal computer," because I don't want the main computers that they actually use in the household to be Monique's computer. Because 1) they can't use it autonomously, 2) I like the CC computers I have and they don't all come in Monique's, 3) it has a bunch of extra options that I wouldn't use besides the online bank option. So if I wanted my sims to have bank accounts, the house needs a separate computer just for the banking, and where am I going to fit that in the house... I guess I could put it in inventory but then I have to pop it in and out every time and switch it out with their regular computer... do you see?
Now that I'm typing all of that out I'm realizing that for me, seems like "the ideal" would be something that has ONLY the bank options from Monique's computer but is not a computer (like a wallet or something). IDK, maybe it exists!
Lab Assistant
#10 Old 28th Jan 2022 at 2:44 AM
Sims in my game use personal bank accounts all the time. Usually everyone has their own bank account at one point in their lives, especially during and after college when they're saving every last penny to buy a house or rent an apartment. Money accumulation starts upon childhood. Any money that they get from report cards, chance cards, or popup stories like "Little Jimmy threw a chair clear across the room and we're gonna pay him for it," goes directly into their own bank account. I also give them any money gained from inheritance, and since I have the "inheritance for every age" mod, it can really give children with single parents quite a strong foot to start on in life. Sometimes if a family or single sim has way too much money I will also have them pass it on or split their fortune among their descendants like in the case of Mortimer in the Goth Family.

While I use Monique's computer and love it, I've been trying to set up a bank system in game where sims literally have to go to the bank, maybe put something in a safe or machine, but I haven't yet figured out how to fine tune things to make sense in game (I have Sun&Moon's safes, but haven't done enough research to know if they're what I'm after). The convenience of it is also not to be underestimated-- it's way easier to have a child stick their 100 simoleon gift from grandma for their A+ report card into a computer bank account than it would be to send the child with their parents to a community lot to open up a savings account, even if it would be more realistic. The interest component of Monique's computer is also what keep me keen on it.

The only thing I hate is when a sim dies unexpectedly, all of their money saved on the computer, whether it's positive or negative, is automatically inaccessible or gone as far as I can tell, which really messes with any storyline I have where a sim's family is saving for something or deeply in debt. I highly doubt that if someone were to die unexpectedly in real life their bank accounts or loans would just get wiped. I just wish there was a "next of kin" setting on that computer or something similar.

Also I have the TS3 Novel Genre Writing Mod, which unfortunately doesn't transfer over to modded computers like Monique's. In the case where a sim or family has a bunch of authors they'll have a "family" computer where everyone does their finances and a seperate "writing computer" where sims do more autonomous tasks. At least from my experience, it's pretty common nowadays to have at least one computer per person in a household, so why not have something similar in my sims game, right?
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#11 Old 28th Jan 2022 at 7:16 AM
Quote: Originally posted by baticeer
Thanks for the replies all. Maybe I'm being too persnickety for wanting to track individual money! I swear somehow I thought I was going to be the odd one out and everyone was going to go "oh duh I have this whole elaborate system worked out" because I feel like on average I am less fussy about little details than most people who play TS2... LOL!


Just to clarify -- oh, I know they don't have to all have their own individual computers! I meant separate as in "separate from the normal computer," because I don't want the main computers that they actually use in the household to be Monique's computer. Because 1) they can't use it autonomously, 2) I like the CC computers I have and they don't all come in Monique's, 3) it has a bunch of extra options that I wouldn't use besides the online bank option. So if I wanted my sims to have bank accounts, the house needs a separate computer just for the banking, and where am I going to fit that in the house... I guess I could put it in inventory but then I have to pop it in and out every time and switch it out with their regular computer... do you see?
Now that I'm typing all of that out I'm realizing that for me, seems like "the ideal" would be something that has ONLY the bank options from Monique's computer but is not a computer (like a wallet or something). IDK, maybe it exists!


Monique's comes in some nice computers. Just in case you haven't seen them.
https://sigmundsims.tumblr.com/post...acked-computers
I only use Monique's computers now, I use a range of the above.

There is the wallet token controller
https://modthesims.info/d/292893/wa...controller.html

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Lab Assistant
#13 Old 29th Jan 2022 at 9:23 AM
I've only used Monique computers for a long time. At first I thought, "that's silly, why would I get two computers", but even before Monique's computers came in better meshes, I found myself very quickly only using the Taka Laptop because even though I never set out intending to use the other options on Monique's computer, their presence isn't harmful or an annoyance at all, and Monique's computers have all the normal computer options. I don't want sims autonomously going to the computer every free second anyways, either.

My sim kids all open bank accounts the second they earn their own money (usually from some sort of award at school as kids), and from there on out, they deposit all their individually earned money, rounded to the nearest 100 of course, into their bank account. They keep those accounts through college, though I do allow most of their earned money in college to just go to the household funds *some exceptions may apply*. And then after college I usually just use Monique's computer to simulate a normal savings account without it being about keeping separate wallets, because I very rarely have non-married adults room together. When I do, I have all the sims deposit all the money they earn rounded down to the nearest 100, with the money lost from rounding being shared family money.
Lab Assistant
#14 Old 6th Feb 2022 at 10:30 AM
I track individual Sim money, but use different methods depending on the situation:

CHILDREN/RENTERS
- All household money belongs to the parents/landlords, who may buy gifts for their children or provide basic furniture for tenants.
- For the children/renters, I use the inventory as their bank account. Won $200 at school band practice or have a job? $200 ornament goes in inventory. For this reason I have a weird knowledge of exact prices for things in the decorative category lol
- Their money is totally separate and won't be spent on bills etc - because children don't pay bills.
- Renters have bills included in their rent, which is paid daily by selling something from their inventory. I may prepare this in advance - so if they rent a room for $20 per day, I may 'deposit' their $100 paycheck as 5x $20 driftwoods. Press delete, easy rent payment goes back into the main household funds.

I also use this system to 'pay' Sims they owe from other households. Buy an ornament for appropriate value and gift it.

JOINT HOUSE OWNERSHIP
- If a group of adults are sharing a house and both own it - adult siblings included - I have their individual totals tracked in a spreadsheet. If they earn money or buy individual things throughout the day it gets added or subtracted from their total. But if bills are paid or things are bought for the whole house, I just let it happen and then balance it at the end of the day.


e.g. beginning of day:
John - 1000
Kate - 4000

John goes to work and Kate buys a new bed for her room:
John - 1200
Kate - 3300

Their TV is stolen and they have to buy a new one - this would be worked out at the end of the day. I add up their totals, realise there is $500 less in the household account than on the spreadsheet. Divide the difference by the number of Sims - $250 each in this house - and then subtract from each of them to get their new totals.
John - 950
Kate - 3050

If unexpected expenses happen they may have to 'borrow' from eachother which would look like this: John gets fined $1000 for a mishap at work.
John - $-50
Kate - $3050.

It isn't perfect because Kate doesn't have her full $3050 if she needs it, but John's priority is now paying her back before he spends any more money.
Alchemist
#15 Old 6th Feb 2022 at 7:38 PM Last edited by Phantomknight : 1st Apr 2022 at 2:57 AM.
I don't always bother with tracking individual's income, as it can be a lot of work and I'm lazy, . But when I do, I either put stuff in sims' inventories or use Monique's computer. I use a lot of the 3t2 versions by SigmundSims that Jo linked to, and have repriced a few of them, so my sims have a lot of options. But otherwise, yeah, it can be a lot of work to track money in TS2. Just do what's comfortable for you. I know some simmers play in window mode so they can record progress in their town spreadsheet as they play--that could help (if you have a second device, like a phone or tablet, you can also update your spreadsheet as you play in fullscreen).


@MHS0501 Monique does also have an atm, so if you already use Monique's Computer, using that is probably easiest. Just be sure to use the controllers from the hacked computer, especially if you have an EP later than OFB. I put my atm stuff in the same folder as Monique's Computer, too, to make sure I don't have duplicates and so all required files are together. Then, in game, my sims can go to the bank and make deposits or take out loans, etc. I often stick an atm machine in a few different stores, too. This way poorer sims without computers at home have a few options, and can do their banking when they do their regular errands, and, if they don't have enough money to buy things, they can take out loans to get some. Or, let's say I want my sims to be able to shop in a store for stuff, without setting up an owner and employees, etc. I have a build/buy enabler, so I'll stick purchases in their inventory and then use the atm on the lot to deduct money from their accounts.

Also, in case anyone needs Monique's Computer: How to Change the Interest Rate and Only the Current Family Gets Charged Interest


I do agree with Jo about Christianlov's wallet, though, @baticeer. It sounds like the wallet would be more up your alley. Natboopsie broke down some of the advantages of the Wallet Controller a long time ago (here and here), which I always like to share for simmers wondering what money mod to use:

"May the sunlight find you, thy days be long, thy winters kind, thy roots be strong." -Grand Oak Tree, DAO

XPTL Mod Archive | Change a Mod's Mesh into a CC Object | Increasing the Game Difficulty | Editing ACR 4 Your Age Mod
Bored? Read an unfinished legacy or sim story. | aka Kelyns | she/her
Mad Poster
#16 Old 7th Feb 2022 at 10:30 AM
I've got the original hacked computers from here though I got a few more options like The ones found HERE I have other versions installed too that look old fashioned like books instead of computers.I've got a few other otions like Simslice piggy bank and like the banks from MS as well as a tuition Mod that kids can use to start saving up for their education and they can use one of the others to save funds for when graduating from school.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#17 Old 7th Feb 2022 at 7:36 PM
Thanks for that helpful breakdown of the Wallet Controller, @phantomknight! It does sound more useful than Monique's computer for someone who only wants the computer's banking functions (and doesn't care about interest), especially the fact that you can do everything while the game is on pause. I'm going to give the wallet a try for sure.
Forum Resident
#18 Old 7th Feb 2022 at 7:56 PM
I handle money roughly, I don't get too worked up about it, I just use intuition. If a sim moves, I imagine if they have relatives who have lent them money or maybe if they have taken out a loan, if on the other hand I consider them a sim with few resources, I try to move them to an apartment or an austere lot. I don't use Moniqe's computer because it tends to corrupt my game... (maybe it conflicts with my other mods) So it's totally forbidden in my game. Knowing that the things that are worth the most drive up the bills, I sometimes gamble so that some families can never get out of the middle class. When you know the game it is more or less easy to manage the money you want your family to have in a more or less organic way. I usually use insimenator to edit the amount of money, sometimes I move a sim with another family and they get 20,000 out of nowhere so I remove that money with the mod.
Lab Assistant
#19 Old 13th Feb 2022 at 2:06 PM
For roommates, I keep track of their contributions to the household (funds upon moving in plus income minus personal expenses). When one sim wants to move out, I sum up the value of the lot/apartment (minus the any items owned by just one sim) and household funds and divide it by the contributions of all roommates and multiply it by the contribution of the sim who will move out. This will be the share that the sim receives upon moving out (plus any item owned by the sim). As I do not use hacks to transfer money, I simply buy some items and put them into the sim's inventory, move out the sim and have them sell the items from the inventory after moving into the new lot. This way, the sims share the collective expenses And I rarely have to do calculations. Sims with big funds and/or a high income may pick their bedrooms first upon moving in so that they have the bigger/better bedrooms. That is the benefit that they have for paying a slightly bigger share of the collective expenses.
Children and teenager in my game usually do not have to contribute to the household funds (except the family is extremely poor) and own all the money that they receive/earn. The money will be added to the household funds, but upon moving out, they receive the full amount plus maybe some additional money from their parents, if the parents can afford it and the relationship is good.
As I play with the no 20k handout mod, I temporarily spend all the household funds on items before a sim moves out and sell them back afterwards. That way, I can ensure that a sim receives exactly the amount of money that they should have (as items in their inventory). On the new lot, I temporarily place mortgage shrubs so that the lot value is zero or negative. That way, a sim without any household funds can move in, sell all the stuff from the inventory and then sell the mortgage shrubs.
Alchemist
#20 Old 16th Feb 2022 at 8:53 PM
@ralna, you might find it easier to move sims out with Pescado's money order. With it, you can specify how much money a sim moving out takes with them. It can be zero, or all the family funds. Basically:
1. Place money order (you'll find it in Misc/Misc in the Buy Catalog) and set the amount of money you want the sim(s) to move out with
2. Put the money order in the inventory of the sim moving out; if you are moving out a group of sims, you must put it in the inventory of the sim doing the Find Own Place interaction
3. Tell the sim with the money order in their inventory to Find Own Place, like normal--they will move out with whatever amount the money order says, even 0

You can find the right version for your game in the hack directory; choose your highest EP.

Honestly, though, I'm remembering why I usually don't have roommates--so much work to keep finances separate! I find it easier to build smaller, cheaper apartments or use Multiple Roommates. If my sim needs roommates, I'll use unselectable ones and they'll split the rent.
( Squinge's Multiple Roommates, Midge's Kick Out Multiple Roommates , to be able to kick them out properly, and Midge's Multiple Roommates Pay Rent, so additional roommates lower rent.)

"May the sunlight find you, thy days be long, thy winters kind, thy roots be strong." -Grand Oak Tree, DAO

XPTL Mod Archive | Change a Mod's Mesh into a CC Object | Increasing the Game Difficulty | Editing ACR 4 Your Age Mod
Bored? Read an unfinished legacy or sim story. | aka Kelyns | she/her
Mad Poster
#21 Old 16th Feb 2022 at 10:06 PM
I like having the option to add playable roommates though I have been adding hacks to allow them to take some extra money along when they move out to their own place even if it's a room in a boarding house.
Forum Resident
#22 Old 17th Feb 2022 at 3:30 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Phantomknight
@ralna, you might find it easier to move sims out with Pescado's money order. With it, you can specify how much money a sim moving out takes with them. It can be zero, or all the family funds. Basically:
1. Place money order (you'll find it in Misc/Misc in the Buy Catalog) and set the amount of money you want the sim(s) to move out with
2. Put the money order in the inventory of the sim moving out; if you are moving out a group of sims, you must put it in the inventory of the sim doing the Find Own Place interaction
3. Tell the sim with the money order in their inventory to Find Own Place, like normal--they will move out with whatever amount the money order says, even 0

You can find the right version for your game in the hack directory; choose your highest EP.


I didn't know you could do this with money orders - I'd been lowering the household funds to zero by buying random stuff, moving the sim(s) out with no funds, and then selling the random stuff and using the money order to send the moved-out sim(s) money. This seems much easier.
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