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?

I am already paying off a chunk towards the overdraft every month, so I don't want to put all savings from under-spending towards it or it will feel like there's less incentive to being frugal. If I get a little something "back" then it spurs me on!

@BertieBotts I think mine will end up being handled very similarly to yours!

I've posted on this thread before I think, but under a different name. Love YNAB. Reading recent posts I've realised that I could do with tidying up my catagories but so pleased that I've managed to stick with it for a whole year!

I have a category 'Clothes that I can't justify'. Doesn't stop me buying them ... but does result in a greater return rate! 😆

Oh no, that would be most of my clothes & shoes category under judgement!

Have you found that using it has made a positive difference over the year?

It’s made a huge difference.

Firstly, as someone else upthread said, I noticed a number of subscriptions going out that I was no longer using. I knew they were there but having to enter the money as leaving my account each month (I input manually) was embarrassing so I fixed them.

Then figuring out over the year (I think I might’ve been using it closer to 15 months) where and when money was going out has really helped me get organised. Having a blank now on an example but yes, it’s definitely made a difference. I haven’t had to dip into savings this month, which I normally would have done to help fund Christmas. Still needed to shuffle between categories but not as bad as I would have been b4 YNAB.

I do have ‘allowed’ clothes categories - specific items I’m looking for - but I’m a bit of a sales whore, and always thinking this will look great when I lose that weight etc. Am still waiting … 🤦🏻‍♀️😄

For us, YNAB has made such a huge difference, even only in 6 months, I hardly know where to start. For us it’s a whole lifestyle change, where we are able to decide what is important to us as a family and then align our money to that.
since starting YNAB 6 months ago I have:
paid off all our Credit card debt (around 2.5k)
gone from living paycheque to paycheque to having over 5k in the account before I get paid
we’re planning for an annual holiday - and have booked this years and been able to pay the deposit from saved up money
not been living on beans in January because I was able to budget this year for Christmas
We’re saving for our kids’ uni / after school age and realistically going to be able to support them if needed.

It has been such a lifechanger for us. I’ve tried to budget before but there is something about the way YNAB works that completely chimes with me. If I want to buy something, and I’ve already spent my budget of ‘nice things for me’ that month, the choice is there. I can but it, but I have to choose to take that money from elsewhere. The kids university funds? Our summer holiday? The car tax? The pot I am saving in case we need emergency dental treatment?

Because I have prioritised in advance I don’t spend it. It’s so transparent now!

I with I had started years ago. My teens already use it 😁

If you had to explain in simple terms the method, how would you describe it?

I try and imagine it as loads of different jars with labels on, for different things.

what I can’t get my head around (I have dyslexia and dyscalculia) is what the colours on the app version mean.

so I get that red is overspent.

What does yellow and grey mean?

how do I do this if I’ve already overspent loads? How does it help?

It's really encouraging to hear stories of those who have transformed their finances from using YNAB.

I only started at new year but it's made us really review what we are spending. We've managed to cut some costs already by cancelling a couple of subscriptions/downgrading to cheaper options. I'm obsessed and trying to figure out what else I can cut out

We have a significant amount of debt and are only just getting by month to month, even though we have an ok household income. I'm hoping in a few months time we will start seeing the benefit! I'd love to get to the point eventually where we have paid off a decent amount of debt and are able to pre-fund things like Christmas etc. It will make such a difference to my stress levels!

Do you mean the colours on the Budget screen? (I find desktop MUCH easier to work with than mobile, BTW).

Grey just means the category is empty - there's nothing to spend there, but nothing overspent or needed either. It's neutral.

Green means you have money available to spend. It's good.

Red means a category is overspent. This is bad (because it makes it seem like you have more money than you have) and you should fix it ASAP.

The orange/yellowish colour indicates that there's something that needs attention - you might need to fix it, or you might think "Ah right, yep, I know why it's like that - no problem".

That could be:

Overspending (but on a credit card)
You have a goal in that category, and haven't funded sufficiently to meet the goal.
There is an upcoming payment in that category, and there isn't enough money in the category to cover the payment.

For example for me DH gets paid on the 25th but the internet bill comes out on the 29th, so it's currently unfunded and yellow. That's OK because I'll fund it when he gets paid. But I have also just noticed that I have a red bubble in the School Supplies category because DS1 needed €5 for a school book yesterday and took it out in cash but there was only something like 70 cents in the category. I'll go and borrow that now from somewhere else.

Oh, and if a goal is partially funded, the orange categories might have a little pie chart showing how much is funded.

When you say "I've already overspent loads" can you explain - overspent since when? How long have you been using YNAB?

Assuming you have nothing in Ready to Assign, all the jars add up to what should be in your bank account. Which means if you've overspent in one jar you're going to go overdrawn at some point unless you reassign from another jar. You can only assign the money that you have in your account currently. What does your money need to do before you get paid again?

Almost at my next payday after starting YNAB after new year and have just over £200 spare after everything has been funded for this month. This is completely unheard of, especially in a month where I got paid before Christmas and have had to wait almost 6 weeks until the next pay day!

I'm usually a get paid, live frivolously for a week then like a pauper for the rest of the month kind of person.

Its made me so mindful of spending and has helped identify some things which we've been able to cancel to save money. Hoping it's going to really help us pay debts down this year.

@FranktheElf that sounds like the pattern we were in too.

6 months later and we not only have no credit card debt but also are saving towards our priorities every month - kids uni, summer holidays, -I’m even saving so I can get us the Hogwarts Castle as a Christmas holiday project next year. I also have several K in the bank before payday now - 2 years ago my payday used to just fill up my overdraft back to zero.

But there is an odd phenomenon which you might encounter - YNAB broke. Even when you have several thousand in the bank, when you are spent up on your budget you feel totally broke. I’m limping through till the 31st at the moment because, although I have already been paid this month, I’m not spending any of it till February. So I have only about £200 left in various pots but like you, the bills are paid, there’s money for food and petrol and even some left for eating out. It’s like a miracle!

YNAB is like a jar/envelope budgeting tool.

Colours - @BertieBotts has explained well.

"how do I do this if I’ve already overspent loads? How does it help?"

You have to start from where you are. If you are in your overdraft, that's ok. You just need to be trying to get back out of it. By being really mindful of your spending, you'll find that you have more to spare than you did have (even pennies) and that can be chipping away at your overdraft.

This is very encouraging, well done to you! I'd love to be able to pay off a big chunk of debt this year. At the start of the year it didn't feel manageable and now I feel like we can make a good start. Stories like yours really give me hope that we can finally get on top of things.

First January EVER that I'm three days from payday and I still have money in my fuel, groceries and misc spending pot. In fact first month since I started YNAB in Sept 2022 that I haven't blown my entire grocery budget. I can still go shopping on Friday out of this month's money. Life changing.

January pay will be stashed ready to allocate on 1 February.

Well done!!

"Loud budgeting" is trending.

We are trend setters.

My workplace is changing payday from the 15th to the 27th. They are offering bridging loans, thank goodness. Half of my direct debits come out on the 1st anyway, and I can move my standing orders, but I'm still ARGH! I've spend the past 4 months twiddling my budgets and now I'm going to have to change them again. It will give me the opportunity to "loud budget" and talk about YNAB at work.

I am pleased to report that I spent most of my nascent emergency fund this month! I don't mind having spent it, as for one of the first times ever, I actually had the money there when the emergency arose and could deal with it immediately without stress. What a great feeling!

Does anyone else find themselves becoming a bit evangelical about YNAB to everyone around them? I have had to ban myself from talking about it.

@WouldBeMrMicawber yes I am! I also have to stop myself from talking about it. My money isn’t of interest to anyone else, and theirs is none of my business, but every time someone tells me they are running out of money at the end of the month, I want to talk about YNAB.

Oh yes I am always trying not to loud budget! Now I can relax into it.

That payday change sounds dreadful. Imagine dealing with that without YNAB. 😱

I get paid last Friday of the month. So that is today! And guess what - I got to this point in January and I'm not completely skint. Which is a really fantastic feeling. And the bonus short month approaches.

I started to YNAB to break the living pay check to pay check cycle. I wasn't struggling thankfully & I wasn't too much in debt, but I was overspending every month, and wanted to get a handle on things. Now December & January are just "normal" months financially & I'm not overspending.

@RobinEllacotStrike same here! A payroll mess up meant I was paid a week early this month - and I haven’t touched a penny of it! And I won’t need to until 1st Feb. I also realised that though I have budgeted for council tax every month, we don’t pay it in February and March, so that is a few bonus hundred that I can tuck away 😁

YNAB has had such a positive impact on our family. My DCs will be going on the expensive school Trip in year 11 because I have started putting money away now, while they are in year 9. We can go on an annual holiday. We don’t live on beans in January any more. I’m buying a lot less and appreciating what we have a lot more.

And like you, I’ve broken the paycheque to paycheque cycle. I get more buzz from allocating the money on 1st of the month as I used to spending a bunch of money on payday. 😂😁

I'm a seasoned YNAB4 user, but I've recently taken the plunge and moved to the online version. Can anyone help me with a couple of minor questions?

I can use the app, no problem at all. However, I like to use the laptop, and notice that when I open the programme it automatically defaults to January. Can I get it to open in the current month (like the app does)?

Also, I can reconcile using the app, by clicking on the three dots on the accounts page. However, I can't see reconcile on the web version. Anyone know where it is?

These are both pretty minor really, as so far I'm liking the swap and I'll probably make the switch permanently when the free trial runs out.

@h0rsewithn0name The reconcile button shows up for me in the top right of the page for each account. For the defaulting to January thing, it's to do with the URL - if you bookmark the URL without /202401 at the end, it should open on the current month.