I can relate to your comment…
I can more accurately forecast cash flow, avoid overdrafts, and gain better control of my finances
I created this template (Near Term Account Balance Forecast II (alternate to previously shared template)) to forecast my “cash” balance- which is anything out of my checking and savings accounts.
I do not keep a separate “cash” account as I hardly ever use cash. For the times I do withdrawal cash from my checking or savings account, I just split the transaction into the Dining Out and Shopping General categories as that’s what I usually spend it on- basically, it’s close enough.
If you have a lot of truly cash transactions (which I would think are when you spend cash from any withdrawals from your checking or savings accounts), I would categorize the withdrawal as a Transfer into your cash account and then itemize when you spend this cash. In this scenario, in the template I shared above, you would forecast the withdrawals which would then help you forecast your “cash” balance.
As for credit card transactions, I categorize all CC payments as transfers and categorize the individual charges against my budget. If you exclude CC charges, you will be missing a bunch of spending data.
Hope this helps, but let me know if you have any questions.