Does anyone use YNAB (You Need A Budget) and fancy a support/chat thread?

[lougle]

I've just got the trial version and I'm hooked, if not slightly overwhelmed. I'm currently in 'why is it asking me to budget so much money' mode.

I'm hoping that I'll really take off with it because it sounds quite life-transforming.

YNAB and my bank account have a difference of £2661.06 .

I have signed up for classes as apparently they will send a link to the video. I thought it was all going fine until I tried to reconcile my account...

Tibpot thanks, that helps a bit with the "clear" thing. So do I just reconcile at the end of the month, not after every transaction?
I' worried I will have the same problem as purdy above.

Ok, JanePurdy, we can work that out.

I noticed that a couple of days ago, you posted:

"I have just spent this evening putting in all the transactions for the whole of December..."

When you put your starting balance in YNAB, for the first time, did you use the balance from the beginning of December, or the balance on the day that you started using YNAB?

dementedma I try to reconcile every time I look at my budget. For me, because we get money from different sources at different times (we get some monthly payments, some weekly payments, some 4 weekly payments), that's at least weekly.

Reconciling is just making sure that your balance is the same in YNAB as it is in your accounts. If you are entering every penny you spend and receive, then reconciling should be as simple as 'click, click, click.' The benefit of reconciling is that it marks the transactions with a padlock, which makes it clear that they are finished with. Then, you can concentrate just on 'new' transactions since you last reconciled.

You're a genius lougle! I didn't put any balance in at all. Duh!

Rookie error

Go back and put the right balance in.

YNAB also have a forum, which can be really useful when you're starting out, but don't abandon us here!!

Thanks lougle, I've done that now, makes sense!

I'm struggling with not entering my rent, though. You see, I pay my rent weekly out of my WTC, it comes in and goes out the same day. So I haven't entered it under 'monthly bills' as I don't have the money yet to allocate to it IYSWIM.

You can set up scheduled payments ands receipts. So, in your bank account, set up a scheduled payment of WTC coming in each week, then set up a scheduled payment of rent going out each week.

If, instead of monthly bills, your master categories accurately reflect the situation and you have master categories of 'week 1 bills', 'week 2 bills', etc., then you can set up the scheduled payment of rent directly to that category.

Or you can just top up your rent budget each time the WTC comes in throughout the month.

The only reason they say not to allocate before it comes in is that your not then dealing with real figures.

ANother question - & I really will do the classes this weekend! - I don't get the bit where you allocate income for this month or next month. We are paid on 15th month which does half of one month & half the other month, so how do I allocate that?

Your aim is to have a month's worth of money on hand on the 1st of the month. So the money you get on the 15th would all be allocated as income available next month. HOWEVER, few people start YNAB able to do that.

You can split the transaction and allocate exactly half to this month and half to next, or you can see if you can make do on slightly less than half this month, and start building your buffer.

Yes, as tribpot says. The easiest way is to think 'what does this money have to do until the next time I get money?'

So, if you're paid £1500 on the 15th, but you only have £750 of fixed bills plus planned expenses, you have three options:

1. Allocate the £750 to the relevant categories, then leave the remaining £750 in the Available to Budget section, which will then roll on to the next month when you don't spend it.

This isn't really recommended, because it gives you the impression that you have 'spare' money, when you know it will be tied up the with the early part of the next month. It also goes against YNAB rule 1 (Give every £ a job).

2. Allocate the £750 to the relevant categories, then allocate the remaining £750 to the relevant categories for the next month, until it's all gone.

I don't like this method because although it fulfills Rule 1 (Give every £ a job) what actually happens in YNAB is that you still have £750 'Available to Budget' in the current month, but you've allocated it to the following month. It could get messy.

3. Change the £1500 payment into a split transaction in your account. Categorise £750 as 'income for January' and £750 as 'income for February'. What will happen then, is that your current month 'January' will show £750 Available to Budget, and the following month 'February' will show £1500 Available to Budget, on the basis that if you don't allocate any of the money in January it will roll over into February.

Then, you'll allocate the money for January in the January column, which will bring your ATB to £0 for Jan and £750 for Feb. Then you can go ahead and allocate the money in Feb, in the Feb column, so you can see that you've already got part of next month covered.

This is a good method

lougle I think I understand your third option above. I get paid on the 25th and a chunk of dds come off the same day. So if I get paid 2k and 1k comes off immediately in dds, then I allocate 1k to January income and catgorise it all,and 1k to February's income?

Yep, absolutely spot on.

I get option 3 too. Thanks tribpot and lougle.

I have watched the basic class which has helped... I have made a Fresh Start as I think I was utterly confused by having those previous months entered in. So I had the current balance entered as available to budget, have assigned it all categories & will update with transactions/more income & more budgeting as it takes place. It sounds deceptively simple...

JanePurdy it really is simple, once you step away from the temptation to have a nice record of past transactions

Ribby welcome aboard!

This sounds great and just what I need, I think I will buy it tmw.

How do I star though....currently overdrawn as DH didn't get paid on time before Xmas (though payment due mon)...so how does it work from a negative start position?

welcome thehairybabysmum YNAB do a great tutorial on how to start with an overdrawn balance, step by step. Here it is.

justabout YNAB has revolutionised our way of managing money. It's wonderful. I'm so glad you've had a similar experience (albeit not YNAB) in NZ This was my first stress free Christmas.

I've just messed mine up totally and now my heads spinning. I had an income of £500 today which I added as an income transaction to the appropriate bank account. I then decided that since I had available funds, I'd pay the catalogue bill of £116.24. I already had £90 for this, but in cash, at home. So I paid it from the bank, added it as an outgoing transaction, then 'transferred' that sum from 'savings tin' to 'bank account' ( I think), and then all my figures stopped making sense and now I have no idea what I've done.

I think I'm having difficulty with the 'Ynab doesn't care where the money is' part of it. If YNab doesnt know where it is, my figures don't balance because Ynab tells me I have more in the bank than I actually have.

Well I've been on it last night and most of tonight, and I'm struggling

I think I've got too far ahead of myself... We don't get paid until the 21st but I've already entered and allocated (some of) that money- that's not right is it?

I watched a few tutorial vids last night, which made sense at the time, but their examples were a little more simple than my stuff. I think I need to sign up for some classes!

Sorry meant to say thanks to lougle for the directions on how to set it up through Steam- I managed that bit!

Thanks!