Anyone interested in a YNAB chat/support thread?

[OrangeBlossomsinthesun]

Hi,

I wondered if anyone was interested in a YNAb thread to chat about progress and help each other. I've just started the trial period a couple of weeks ago and, although it's quite a steep learning curve I'm really impressed with it.
I'm freelance so it's important for me to track money and be prepared for fallow periods. I had a thread here with some great advice. I'll add it as there are some good links www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_money_matters/4327812-YNAB-help-for-a-freelancer?watched=1&msgid=110514876#110514876

Anyone up for some YNAB chat/support?

It was a very helpful realisation! Things are going to be tight again this month but I have a decent invoice coming in at the end of the month so I am hoping to get some long term expenses more under control.

We are the same this month. Another super tight month and are just finishing a covid isolation

I've been listing some of the outgrown clothes on a selling site and I've made €8.50 :o that will go towards something!

@Justanotherquestioner

We are the same this month. Another super tight month and are just finishing a covid isolation

Nightmare! I think it's going to be slow at first, the long term expenses are going to be key I think. But it makes me realise we were flying by the seat of our pants before. I usually get a decent tax rebate in about June and I'm so fed up of it servicing credit card debt but not even completely getting rid of it and then it just building back up.

I've just watched this and now have a fees and interest category. Found out where my credit card statement is in the bank app and found out what I paid in interest last month so I have budgeted the same for the next one.
It's a bit depressing as it's debt but I feel better for understanding it finally.

Well done on the selling. I have a few bits on a selling app but nothing is shifting.

Just added emojis to my category names

I love the emojis! It makes it easier to see what’s what.

I also use angry faces next to ones that I hate paying but have to (professional registration fees etc) and smiley faces next to nice ones, like goals, holidays, eating out. Childish but effective for me.

I think I've got to face up to it - the only reason I did so well with a weekly groceries budget last month was because nothing major ran out, and if it did, it wasn't all in the same week.

Yes, the weeks that I need to buy a lot of toiletries are big weeks.
This month is going to be tight again but I think I can cover all the absolute must spends and then hopefully will be able to begin to cover some of the long term expenses bit by bit from the end of the month.

I can totally see though that I'd have been spending much more freely without YNAB as I'd have felt quite flush at the beginning. The categories really force you to think about what you will need and in my case demonstrate that what you have won't stretch nearly as far as you think.
I also think I've been guilty in the past of mentally budgeting money more than once iyswim? So I think oh yes I have that money for x but then you also spend it on y and z and forget. You can't do that with YNAB

Actually, I usually go shopping on a Saturday, which is the 30th this month so DH should have been paid by then and I will have some funds to release for week 5's food shop. Otherwise it's going to get complex.

Hello, hoping to start using ynab but can't link bank accounts in the UK. Are you mostly the same and have to manually input your transactions??

Ok I read this thread and downloaded YNAB. It is now one hour later and I am frustrated. Can anyone advise?

I get paid on the last day of the month, and then most of my big bills go out in the first few days of the month. In October this already happened - my Sept salary came in and all the big bills went out. I now set a budget and told it that the next bills are going out in Nov, repeating monthly, and that I’ll be paid before, but it still auto assigns loads of my money to October bills which have been paid! What am I doing wrong?!

More generally, should I watch some instructional videos first? I am impatient and was hoping this would be intuitive and quick…

You need to watch the videos. It's not quick to understand, but it is effective.

Most of us do manually input yes. You can buy a third party sync product, but it gets to be second nature putting stuff in very quickly.

@ThisIsTrifficult

Hello, hoping to start using ynab but can't link bank accounts in the UK. Are you mostly the same and have to manually input your transactions??

I'm in Spain and can't link my account either. I just input each transaction on the app and then reconcile (tick off in YNAb that it's cleared) every few days. I prefer it actually as it makes me more aware that I'm spending iyswim?

@EatYourVegetables

Ok I read this thread and downloaded YNAB. It is now one hour later and I am frustrated. Can anyone advise?

I get paid on the last day of the month, and then most of my big bills go out in the first few days of the month. In October this already happened - my Sept salary came in and all the big bills went out. I now set a budget and told it that the next bills are going out in Nov, repeating monthly, and that I’ll be paid before, but it still auto assigns loads of my money to October bills which have been paid! What am I doing wrong?!

More generally, should I watch some instructional videos first? I am impatient and was hoping this would be intuitive and quick…

You can only budeget with what you have, are you trying to budget money you haven't received?

but it still auto assigns loads of my money to October bills which have been paid! Have you added those paid bills as transactions? otherwise YNAB doesn't know they've been paid.

This is good:
And this I watched about 6 times as I set up my first budget

Are you using the app vegetables or the website?

I've seen new users on the reddit sub confused today because the app is forcing them to use auto assign, which I think is a bit counter intuitive.

I think I need to watch the videos about 6 times too

I’ve figured out how to tell it “don’t assign that, it’s all in the past”. I’m still trying to figure out the reconciliation thingie you mentioned. I’ll watch the videos you suggest tonight 👍

@BertieBotts Yes exactly! The app auto assigning. I think I have it figured out now but boy oh boy did the “auto assign by date” not work!

So, to illustrate: I got £2000 at the start of the month, and paid £700 of bills, leaving me with £1300. I told the app “I have £1300 now, will get £2000 every month, and will need to pay £700 every month starting in Nov”. It then auto assigned some of my £1300 to the £700 bill for October (which didn’t need any money!), and I was struggling to delete that.

I think it’s ok now but so far I’m more overwhelmed than I expected. Keep the positive stories coming!!

I find the web version easier to use and then I mostly just use the app to add transactions or check how much money I have before I spend.
Nick True videos on YouTube are worth watching, I linked one below. It's complex at first but I really like it

The set up process must have changed a lot. Because when I started up I just told it I have 1300 now. It didn't ask me what I expected to get and then I was just prompted to set up categories. Auto assign wasn't a thing then (we had options called quick budget) and so all the money was left to assign however I felt best.

I think just go through the tutorial and then either start a new budget if it's too messed up or take the money out of the categories for October and put it where you need it.

I also primarily use the web version as this is easier and better set up. But it's apparently possible to use the mobile app alone.

You shouldn't need to reconcile when you've just started. Do that about once a week or whatever frequency works for you. I only do it monthly.

I use the new version and never tell it what I expect to get, I thought that was the point? That you don't budget into the future with money you don't have yet? Is that where you are going wrong?

Yes which is why I find it weird they have put that into the set up process

It seems to be a very recent change.

I do have a recurring transaction set up with the child benefit and DH's pay.

Because when I started up I just told it I have 1300 now. It didn't ask me what I expected to get and then I was just prompted to set up categories. Auto assign wasn't a thing then (we had options called quick budget) and so all the money was left to assign however I felt best. Same
here with the new version. I have never used auto assign either.

If it's too complex start again with a new budget and go through the nick true tutorial.

I mean I think this tutorial where it forces you to use auto assign is newer than the new version you used Blossom. Only seen confusion about it in the past couple of days on Reddit and now here as well.

I only signed up at the end of August, is it newer than that?

I've only seen people confused about it over the last couple of days.