YNAB help for a freelancer

[OrangeBlossomsinthesun]

Hi,

I'm freelance and so my income varies. I think I'm reasonably good with money but because sometimes clients don't pay me on time I feel like I need to get a really tight grip on my money.

I was having a look at YNAB, should I start at the beginning of September when money comes in so I can allocate it?

Do you think YNAb is worth the money?

Do you use the US version? In dollars? I'm in Spain.

Can I input different dates that things will go out? For instance the mortgage goes on 1st of every month but the phone bill goes out mid month. Some invoices come in mid month, how do I square different invoices coming in at different times?

Thanks for all the help. I've watched this about 6 times and I'm now going through it and pausing it every couple of minutes as I set everything up. It's really helpful.
I've decided to leave August blank as it's just totally confusing me starting in the red with credit card debt and halfway through the month. But now I've got things in there (as per Nick's recommendations) it suddenly makes sense and I can see how it will work at the start of September.
I think it's going to be super helpful. I'm really excited.

Glad to hear that OP. Best of luck with it.

This is really good as well if anyone else is starting out with YNAB.

I have another question.

As a freelancer I have a business account where clients pay me and I simply move the money from there into my personal account to pay my mortgage etc minus the tax that I have to pay every 3 months.

Should I incorporate that account into my budget?

Also I'm working with unlinked accounts cos I'm not in the UK, so when my mortgage comes out do I have to add that transaction into YNAB or does it know because it's a recurring expense?

Hi. I would add all of your accounts to YNAB (current, savings, credit cards, cash). You will need to add a transaction to YNAB when you move money between your own accounts so that the balances are accurate.

I also work with unlinked accounts. For bills I have set it up as a recurring transaction which appears each month and each month I simply accept it. When you add a transaction, there is a bit at the bottom of the calendar that pops up which has 'repeat' and then a drop down of options.

It feels overwhelming at first, but it gets easier.

I've actually set up a separate business budget using this www.youneedabudget.com/calling-all-freelancers-and-small-business-owners-heres-a-simple-way-to-make-sure-you-get-paid/ So I have a personal one and a business one. I'm finding that easier at the moment.

I just wanted to come on and say that I have aged my money by 1 day!!!!! I'm sooo excited. It's not much but I don't know anyone IRL who understands or uses YNAB so I have nobody to tell who would understand. I don't suppose anyone here is interested either hahaha but I was super excited. I'm finding it really helpful and I think I will definitely subscribe at the end of my trial period.

I might set up a YNAb thread and see if anyone else is interested in YNAb chat actually.