diff --git a/hledger-ui/Hledger/UI/RegisterScreen.hs b/hledger-ui/Hledger/UI/RegisterScreen.hs
index 74ebe55fc80..541c19a2dd8 100644
--- a/hledger-ui/Hledger/UI/RegisterScreen.hs
+++ b/hledger-ui/Hledger/UI/RegisterScreen.hs
@@ -245,7 +245,9 @@ rsHandle ev = do
               where
                 p = reportPeriod ui
 
-            e | e `elem` [AppEvent FileChange, VtyEvent (EvKey (KChar 'g') [])] -> uiReload copts d ui >>= put'
+            e | e `elem` [AppEvent FileChange, VtyEvent (EvKey (KChar 'g') [])] -> do
+              ui' <- uiReload copts d ui
+              put' $ regenerateScreens (ajournal ui') d ui'
 
             VtyEvent (EvKey (KChar 'I') []) -> uiToggleBalanceAssertions d ui
             VtyEvent (EvKey (KChar 'a') []) -> suspendAndResume $ clearScreen >> setCursorPosition 0 0 >> add (cliOptsDropArgs copts) j >> uiReloadIfFileChanged copts d j ui
diff --git a/hledger-ui/Hledger/UI/TransactionScreen.hs b/hledger-ui/Hledger/UI/TransactionScreen.hs
index 50ac313b7c9..5656b065902 100644
--- a/hledger-ui/Hledger/UI/TransactionScreen.hs
+++ b/hledger-ui/Hledger/UI/TransactionScreen.hs
@@ -31,7 +31,6 @@ import Hledger.UI.UIUtils
 import Hledger.UI.UIScreens
 import Hledger.UI.Editor
 import Hledger.UI.ErrorScreen (uiCheckBalanceAssertions, uiReload, uiReloadIfFileChanged, uiToggleBalanceAssertions)
-import Hledger.UI.RegisterScreen (rsHandle)
 
 tsDraw :: UIState -> [Widget Name]
 tsDraw UIState{aopts=UIOpts{uoCliOpts=copts@CliOpts{reportspec_=rspec@ReportSpec{_rsReportOpts=ropts}}}
@@ -188,50 +187,8 @@ tsHandle ev = do
 
     where
       -- Reload and fully regenerate the transaction screen.
-      -- XXX On transaction screen or below, this is tricky because of a current limitation of regenerateScreens.
-      -- For now we try to work around by re-entering the screen(s).
-      -- This can show flicker in the UI and it's hard to handle all situations robustly.
-      tsReload copts d ui = uiReload copts d ui >>= reEnterTransactionScreen copts d
-      tsReloadIfFileChanged copts d j ui = liftIO (uiReloadIfFileChanged copts d j ui) >>= reEnterTransactionScreen copts d
-      
-      reEnterTransactionScreen _copts d ui = do
-        -- 1. If uiReload (or checking balance assertions) moved us to the error screen, save that, and return to the transaction screen.
-        let
-          (merrscr, uiTxn) = case aScreen $ uiCheckBalanceAssertions d ui of
-            s@(ES _) -> (Just s,  popScreen ui)
-            _        -> (Nothing, ui)
-        -- 2. Exit to register screen
-        let uiReg = popScreen uiTxn
-        put' uiReg
-        -- 3. Re-enter the transaction screen
-        rsHandle (VtyEvent (EvKey KEnter [])) -- PARTIAL assumes we are on the register screen.
-        -- 4. Return to the error screen (below the transaction screen) if there was one.
-        -- Next events will be handled by esHandle. Error repair will return to the transaction screen.
-        maybe (return ()) (put' . flip pushScreen uiTxn) merrscr
-          -- doesn't uiTxn have old state from before step 3 ? seems to work
-
-        -- XXX some problem:
-        -- 4. Reload once more, possibly re-entering the error screen, by sending a g event.
-        -- sendVtyEvents [EvKey (KChar 'g') []]  --  XXX Might be disrupted if other events are queued
-
-        -- XXX doesn't update on non-error change:
-        -- 4. Reload once more, possibly re-entering the error screen.
-        -- uiTxnOrErr <- uiReload copts d uiTxn
-          -- uiReloadIfChanged ?
-          -- uiCheckBalanceAssertions ? seems unneeded
-        -- put' uiTxnOrErr
-
-        -- XXX not working right:
-        -- -- 1. If uiReload (or checking balance assertions) moved us to the error screen, exit to the transaction screen.
-        -- let
-        --   uiTxn = case aScreen $ uiCheckBalanceAssertions d ui of
-        --     ES _ -> popScreen ui
-        --     _    -> ui
-        -- -- 2. Exit to register screen
-        -- put' $ popScreen uiTxn
-        -- -- 3. Re-enter the transaction screen, and reload once more.
-        -- sendVtyEvents [EvKey KEnter [], EvKey (KChar 'g') []]  -- XXX Might be disrupted if other events are queued
-
+      tsReload copts d ui = uiReload copts d ui >>= put'
+      tsReloadIfFileChanged copts d j ui = liftIO (uiReloadIfFileChanged copts d j ui) >>= put'
 
 -- | Select a new transaction and update the previous register screen
 tsSelect :: Integer -> Transaction -> UIState -> UIState
diff --git a/hledger-ui/Hledger/UI/UIScreens.hs b/hledger-ui/Hledger/UI/UIScreens.hs
index d182345a2d3..e8810634265 100644
--- a/hledger-ui/Hledger/UI/UIScreens.hs
+++ b/hledger-ui/Hledger/UI/UIScreens.hs
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ screenUpdate opts d j = \case
   BS sst -> BS $ bsUpdate opts d j sst
   IS sst -> IS $ isUpdate opts d j sst
   RS sst -> RS $ rsUpdate opts d j sst
-  TS sst -> TS $ tsUpdate sst
+  TS sst -> TS $ tsUpdate opts d j sst
   ES sst -> ES $ esUpdate sst
 
 -- | Construct an error screen.
@@ -241,11 +241,12 @@ rsNew uopts d j acct forceinclusive =  -- XXX forcedefaultselection - whether to
     }
 
 -- | Update a register screen from these options, reporting date, and journal.
-rsUpdate :: UIOpts -> Day -> Journal -> RegisterScreenState -> RegisterScreenState
-rsUpdate uopts d j rss@RSS{_rssAccount, _rssForceInclusive, _rssList=oldlist} =
-  dbgui "rsUpdate"
+rsUpdate uopts d j rss@RSS{_rssAccount, _rssForceInclusive} =
+  dbgui "rsUpdate" $
   rss{_rssList=l'}
   where
+    -- Force evaluation of old list to allow GC
+    !oldlist = _rssList rss
     UIOpts{uoCliOpts=copts@CliOpts{reportspec_=rspec@ReportSpec{_rsReportOpts=ropts}}} = uopts
     -- gather arguments and queries
     -- XXX temp
@@ -279,7 +280,8 @@ rsUpdate uopts d j rss@RSS{_rssAccount, _rssForceInclusive, _rssList=oldlist} =
       items
 
     -- pre-render the list items, helps calculate column widths
-    displayitems = map displayitem items'
+    -- Force evaluation to prevent thunk accumulation
+    !displayitems = map displayitem items'
       where
         displayitem (t, _, _issplit, otheraccts, change, bal) =
           RegisterScreenItem{rsItemDate          = showDate $ transactionRegisterDate wd (_rsQuery rspec') thisacctq t
@@ -297,7 +299,7 @@ rsUpdate uopts d j rss@RSS{_rssAccount, _rssForceInclusive, _rssList=oldlist} =
 
     -- blank items are added to allow more control of scroll position; we won't allow movement over these.
     -- XXX Ugly. Changing to 0 helps when debugging.
-    blankitems = replicate uiNumBlankItems
+    !blankitems = replicate uiNumBlankItems
           RegisterScreenItem{rsItemDate          = ""
                             ,rsItemStatus        = Unmarked
                             ,rsItemDescription   = ""
@@ -308,7 +310,8 @@ rsUpdate uopts d j rss@RSS{_rssAccount, _rssForceInclusive, _rssList=oldlist} =
                             }
 
     -- build the new list widget
-    l = list RegisterList (V.fromList $ displayitems ++ blankitems) 1
+    !itemsVector = V.fromList $ displayitems ++ blankitems
+    !l = list RegisterList itemsVector 1
 
     -- ensure the appropriate list item is selected:
     -- if forcedefaultselection is true, the last (latest) transaction;  XXX still needed ?
@@ -316,7 +319,7 @@ rsUpdate uopts d j rss@RSS{_rssAccount, _rssForceInclusive, _rssList=oldlist} =
     -- otherwise, the transaction nearest in date to it;
     -- or if there's several with the same date, the nearest in journal order;
     -- otherwise, the last (latest) transaction.
-    l' = listMoveTo newselidx l
+    !l' = listMoveTo newselidx l
       where
         endidx = max 0 $ length displayitems - 1
         newselidx =
@@ -357,10 +360,17 @@ tsNew acct nts nt =
     ,_tssTransaction  = nt
     }
 
--- | Update a transaction screen. 
--- This currently does nothing because the initialisation in rsHandle is not so easy to extract.
--- To see the updated transaction, one must exit and re-enter the transaction screen.
--- See also tsHandle.
-tsUpdate :: TransactionScreenState -> TransactionScreenState
-tsUpdate = dbgui "tsUpdate"
-
+-- | Update a transaction screen by refreshing the current transaction from the journal.
+-- This preserves the current transaction selection while updating its data.
+-- XXX Caveat, this works by showing the transaction at the same index in the processed ledger,
+-- if transactions have been inserted or removed before the one shown this will just show
+-- whatever transaction landed at the same index in the new data set.
+tsUpdate :: UIOpts -> Day -> Journal -> TransactionScreenState -> TransactionScreenState
+tsUpdate _ _ j tss@TSS{_tssTransaction=(currentIdx,currentTxn)} = 
+  dbgui "tsUpdate" $
+  let 
+    -- Find the updated version of the current transaction in the journal
+    updatedTxn = case find (\t -> tindex t == tindex currentTxn) (jtxns j) of
+      Just t  -> t
+      Nothing -> currentTxn  -- fallback to current if not found
+  in tss { _tssTransaction = (currentIdx, updatedTxn) }
diff --git a/hledger-ui/Hledger/UI/UIState.hs b/hledger-ui/Hledger/UI/UIState.hs
index d7a97f7c57e..1b8a9b6c248 100644
--- a/hledger-ui/Hledger/UI/UIState.hs
+++ b/hledger-ui/Hledger/UI/UIState.hs
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ import Hledger
 import Hledger.Cli.CliOptions
 import Hledger.UI.UITypes
 import Hledger.UI.UIOptions (UIOpts(uoCliOpts))
-import Hledger.UI.UIScreens (screenUpdate)
+import Hledger.UI.UIScreens
 import Hledger.UI.UIUtils (showScreenId, showScreenStack)
 
 -- | Make an initial UI state with the given options, journal,
@@ -366,8 +366,18 @@ resetScreens d ui@UIState{astartupopts=origopts, ajournal=j, aScreen=s,aPrevScre
 -- (using the ui state's current options), preserving the screen navigation history.
 -- Note, does not save the reporting date.
 --
--- XXX Currently this does not properly regenerate the transaction screen or error screen,
--- which depend on state from their parent(s); those screens' handlers must do additional work, which is fragile.
+-- XXX Currently this does not properly regenerate the error screen,
+-- which depends on state from their parent(s); that screens' handler must do additional work, which is fragile.
 regenerateScreens :: Journal -> Day -> UIState -> UIState
-regenerateScreens j d ui@UIState{aopts=opts, aScreen=s,aPrevScreens=ss} =
-  ui{ajournal=j, aScreen=screenUpdate opts d j s, aPrevScreens=map (screenUpdate opts d j) ss}
+regenerateScreens j d ui@UIState{aScreen=s} = 
+  let !ui' = ui{ajournal=j, aScreen=s'}
+      !s' = case s of
+        MS mss -> MS $! msUpdate mss
+        AS ass -> AS $! asUpdate (aopts ui') d j ass
+        CS ass -> CS $! csUpdate (aopts ui') d j ass
+        BS ass -> BS $! bsUpdate (aopts ui') d j ass
+        IS ass -> IS $! isUpdate (aopts ui') d j ass
+        RS rss -> RS $! rsUpdate (aopts ui') d j rss
+        TS tss -> TS $! tsUpdate (aopts ui') d j tss
+        ES _   -> s
+  in ui'
diff --git a/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.m4.md b/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.m4.md
index 74126d9d372..940d6dd3c0d 100644
--- a/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.m4.md
+++ b/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.m4.md
@@ -330,14 +330,10 @@ eg to toggle cleared mode, or to explore the history.
   ([#836](https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/issues/836))
 - It may not detect changes made from outside a virtual machine, ie by an editor running on the host system.
 - It may not detect file changes on certain less common filesystems.
-- It may use increasing CPU and RAM over time, especially with large files.
-  (This is probably not --watch specific, you may be able to reproduce it by pressing `g` repeatedly.)
-  ([#1825](https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/issues/1825))
 
 Tips/workarounds:
 
 - If --watch won't work for you, press `g` to reload data manually instead.
-- If --watch is leaking resources over time, quit and restart (or suspend and resume) hledger-ui when you're not using it.
 - When running hledger-ui inside a VM, also make file changes inside the VM.
 - When working with files mounted from another machine, make sure the system clocks on both machines are roughly in agreement.