YNAB support thread (2)

[HouseofHolbein]

Just a continuation of the previous one before it fills up!

I have watched some of the videos again, I need to invest some more time on them I suppose but so time consuming and I keep thinking it shouldn't be this complicated. I get mixed up on setting targets and then too much showing as set aside. But I was impressed by the state of my bank balance at the end of the month so will persevere

I've watched a few more YNAB videos. Found one about handling groceries which I found very helpful and have tried a different method for my new budget. I buy quite a lot of stuff in bulk on the credit card but then don't properly account for funding bulk purchases in the budget. Maybe this new method will help with that.

Also watched one about 6 common mistakes which was also helpful.

Morning all! First of the month how are your budgets doing?

I’ve started just topping up my spending pots on the first rather than allocating the money ahead of time… think this is where I was getting in a mess before. I fill up my direct debits for the next month when I get paid on the 7th then put any money left over into a pot called money in where it sits until the 1st.

I now do all my spending on credit card but pay it off in full each month which gains me a tiny bit of interest on my savings.

currently working on a category called safety net which I want to hold 3 months expenses as I don’t get sick pay in this job apart from statutory and I’m mindful that my mom is 96 and in poor health so I may need to take some time off for her.

mind you I’ve been saying similar for about 6 years now. Starting to think she’ll outlive me at this rate 🤣🤣

I’ve been doing really well. I retired in September and have now got a part time job that pays weekly so I’m finding it so useful now that there’s money coming in a bit more sporadically.

For the first time ever I have money in Decembers budget.

I still don’t know if I’m doing it right but it’s working for me!

I don’t think there’s a ‘right’ way to do YNAB just whichever way works for the individual and that you can use it to keep in control of your finances 😊 I feel like I have more financial freedom now… my only debt is my credit card and that gets paid off in full every month. I go away regularly for the weekend to see bands etc and I have a fund for that. I have money put aside for pretty much everything I need and am constantly reviewing my categories… adding more and merging some.

I feel so much happier now my finances are under control 😊

@WorthySloth we watch a lot of bands too. Who do you like?

We're late 50's but have a real mix of musical tastes.

This year we have seen:
Blossoms
Stereophonics
Simple Minds
Basement Jax

and two not so well known bands
The Reytons
Red Rum Club

This year I’ve seen Elvana Ghost guns n roses Deftones linkin park slayer anthrax mastodon amon Amarth and simply Red 🤣🤣 also did takedown festival in Portsmouth.

got Skindred wonderstuff and madness to go.

also smaller bands… mother vulture are a big favourite and a band called Jayler.

next year have Deftones yungblud Metallica x 3 and def leppard booked in so far

Definitely a different genre to me then 🙈

Tbf I like most stuff but the last couple of years have been very metal heavy.

simply Red was incredible tho. I cried through about half of the gig because it was absolutely beautiful 💕

I'm getting the hang of ynab a bit more. Modified my categories a bit, so I now have a big shop budget and then one for top up shops. I like having an excuse to walk to the shop so tend to buy things we need like banana and coffee in a top up shop.

Still can't do credit cards without checking the how to guide each time.

Yeah @Goldpanther I think I know what I’m doing with my credit card but always have to double or triple check 🤣🤣

How’s it going? Payday tomorrow for me so I’ll fill my direct debits for December and put the rest in a category for my other pots.

I’ve bought more gig tickets and theatre tickets plus hotel which are gifts for 2 of my daughters. Came out of the gift category which is now looking quite empty 🤣🤣

away tomorrow for the weekend but that’s all covered 😊

All good here. We've had quite an abstemious year (my income dropped off a cliff) and as a result I'll be able to allocate our underspent holiday budget towards other things like a new freezer and car... boring but necessary!

I'm feeling a bit stupid. Years ago YNAB seemed fairly straight forward and I got on really well with it. Now it seems complicated and I feel like a bear with very little brain despite watching the videos and so on.

I will persevere as it is helping me be more conscious about spending and planning. I just opened up my new fresh start budgets on 3rd November (first banking day) and immediately felt overwhelmed by all the decisions I had to make.

Sadly I think the real problem might be that I have been deluding myself about how much disposable income I actually have and using the credit card to mask this. I used to always be able to pay it off each month but have been using it as credit for a while and it has crept up on me.

Also, my income comes from various different sources at different times of the month. I also have an annual lump sum payment. I have decided to follow the YNAB advice and only enter and assign the income when it arrives, rather than entering it all on the first of the month and assigning it even though I haven't actually got it yet. I think this is making things look worse and I need to get through this months payments before I can get a real plan going.

The good news is that I am not doing some impulse spending as I can't face opening up the YNAB and entering it. Also a regular payment (outgoing) will finish in February and that will make a big difference.

I shall watch some more videos.

I am thinking of using a pot of money set aside for a longer term thing to clear the decks and then maybe I will find it all less confusing. But, I will then have to be really disciplined about filling up the long term pot again.

I struggled with the ynab approach of entering income only when it gets paid. I have my salary on the 25th, my DH contributes to bills on the 1st, then I have quarterly payments and an annual bonus. When I used a spreadsheet I could see what was coming in in future months and spent it ahead of time.... I'm really trying with ynab to wait for the payments before I spend it.
It's been tough, but I'm hoping it helps me long term by shifting my behaviour to saving towards larger purchases, instead of making big purchases and paying it off later....
I'm not there yet, but I'm definitely getting better.

To add, I'm trying to move my direct debits for bills to be after the 1st, so I can get paid, my DH contributes to finances and then the bills come out, instead of having them scattered across the month.

I've gone off piste as moved my christmas savings from credit Union into current account and been buying bits and pieces for christmas need to separate it and log it all before the money evaporates

Half way through the month and I am feeling a bit more in control. The personal account had a couple of incoming payments today and so I was able to catch up a bit on assigning them to the budget. YNAB says that it can take up to four months to really work through a cycle of staggered income payments and get on top of it. I can see why that is. The joint household account is trundling along and settling down.

I still haven't got the hang of dealing with transfers from the savings account to account for spending for budgeted items from the current account. I think I am doing this wrong YNAB budget wise. Back to the videos. Probably do another fresh start in December. Secretly I quite enjoy doing fresh starts. Putting all the pots of money in the starting balances and then allocating them is very satisfying even when it tells me I have more spending than money. It really puts things into focus.

Overall I am pleased and should be in much better shape by the start of next year than I was this year. Worth the effort. As in the past YNAB has saved me more than it costs me.

How is everyone holding up getting towards the end of another month?

I tried to do something a bit clever and totally messed up my budget 🤦‍♀️ absolutely could not work out how to put it right so I did a fresh start. Determined to stick with this one now and to keep it simple!

i feel like my finances are healthier than at the start of the year. I’ve changed jobs and am earning more and have the option of overtime which is nice. That’s helped. Hopefully not booking anymore big gig tickets for next year… small gigs only apart from what we already have booked in. So that’ll save some money 🤣🤣

next stop Christmas I suppose!

I feel like I'm doing a lot better with budgeting, I've just been paid and for the first time in ages I've stuck to my budget (food shopping is under budget !! ) so I'm very pleased.

I have a bonus coming up soon, and although some is going on Christmas shopping, I'll probably save the rest. Whereas usually I would have spent half by now before the money is even in my account... That's a huge shift in the way I handle money. Hopefully I can keep getting better.

It’s lovely getting a bonus! I like to allocate 25% to spending categories, and save 75%. It makes me feel like I’m getting some fun guilt-free extras, whilst being responsible toward future me too.

1st of the month and I was keen to get my budget sorted. This is a big change in itself, I spent most of the last couple of years trying to avoid it.

It is really amazing how quickly things get turned round and fall into place once you start taking control of it. The household credit card is paid in full and the budget is fine. The thing of setting food spending budgets for each week of the month seems to be helping a lot with controlling that. I am hopeful that 2026 will start with a clean slate and I can really plan.

The personal account is looking a lot better. The fresh start budget has ironed out a few wrinkles. I am starting to get used to the method of seeing all the various accounts as one 'pot' and just working off the budget, not the account balances. I am also getting used to allocating funds as they appear in my account and this seems to be working better.

I'd forgotten what a great feeling it is feeling secure financially. Not just spinning the plates and hoping for the best.

That's brilliant! I love Ynab

Can't get my current account to reconcile today but will try again tomorrow as a few things need to clearing think.

I've been trying to crack properly getting a month ahead so have allocated money to January, including the start of my Christmas 2026 pot.

How's everyone getting on?

I'm £150ish under budget for December, so very pleased!

I'm also looking forward to starting January, I'm planning to combine some categories and I think I can be more precise and cut out some spending on certain categories. For eg TV and internet, if I add up all my bills it's about £7 less than I budget, so I can funnel that elsewhere.

Also planning a no spend January, so will budget as usual, but then see how much I can have left over at the end of the month!