- If you are continuing directly from the previous lesson, Synchronizing Expenditure and Budget, you should have open the files synchronizing_example.acc and synchronizng_example.bgt, and have the Synchronize function ON, with a common total of $20,000. If that is not the case please go to that lesson now and complete steps 1-6 of the Simple Synchronizing section. Your screen should then look like this:
- Try changing the value of Rescaled Budget either by dragging the 'thumb'
on the vertical scrollbar, or by clicking on the clickspin controls
to the right of the textbox. Notice how both the budget category amounts
(in the budget tree), and the height of the bars in the lower chart
(representing the balance of the Primary Account), change to reflect
the new budget total.
Note: If you attempt to reduce the budget total below the minimum allowed (the current total for Essential Expenses) a warning dialog box will appear, and the budget total will be reset to the minimum. 
Click
the Optimize button to turn on the Optimize function. 
(The
button can be found on the Expenditure tab,
and also on the
Quick Toolbar.) Now the program will
set a figure for the Expenditure-Budget that can be sustained over
time, given the current accounts data.- On the Accounts/Income tab click the Link button to make the $1,500 interest/growth generated by the Secondary Account (upper chart) available to the Primary Account (lower chart). Notice that optimized expenditure (last row in the accounts table) increases from $18,500 to $20,000.
- Now, if you use the spin controls to increase the interest rates of either thr Primary
or Secondary accounts,
you will see the value of optimized expenditure start to rise as more interest is earned.
- To see a less welcome effect, switch now to the Tax/Inflation tab.
Click on the Tax or Inflation buttons
to see the immediate effect of adding tax or inflation components
to the picture.
Note: If you get a Budget Minimum Reached warning, it means that the optimized expenditure-budget (remember that expenditure and budget are now synchronized) is less than the total for essential expenses in the current budget. It means that you couldn't afford to maintain this budget if tax was paid, or if inflation occurred.
Note: While Expenditure is OPTIMIZED, and Expenditure & Budget are SYNCHRONIZED, it is not possible to directly rescale the budget. Changes to the budget can be made however by adjusting the values of Salary, Initial Funds or the rates for Interest, Tax or Inflation, using the controls on the Accounts side of the program