Debt repayment is not an expense?

[Shawn M.]

Since PRINCIPAL repayments aren't an expense when you track them in Quickbooks, how do I track them in a way that lets me know what my monthly cash flow is? ( as in the amount of money I can put in my pocket each month)

Most RE investments calculate the principal as an expense for monthly cashflow purposes. BUT it really is just an internal transfer to a long term liability and never shows up on your P&L statement. Is there a way to make it show up as a line item on my P&L so I can quickly see what my cashfow is with or without it?

are you with me???