YNABJ - Everyone needs one! - The Something Awful Forums

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Tamba: Apr 5, 2010

greazeball posted:

Something weird is going on (or I'm being dumb, which is not that weird).

I'm trying to reconcile my current account, there have been about 10 transactions since I last reconciled on the 8th. But somehow I'm getting a difference of 15000 Swiss francs. Just to confirm that I wasn't blind and missing some giant thing in my bank statement, I tried to reconcile from a date we've already reconciled to and there's a 14000 CHF difference:

Here, the balance on my bank statement matches the cleared balance on the date:

But then I don't understand what's happening here:

I've been reconciling this account for about 8 months and it's always been pretty straightforward but now suddenly I don't get it. Can anybody help?

Do you have any cleared transactions with a date in the future? Those don't show up when you reconcile.

# ? Oct 24, 2014 11:55

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# ? May 15, 2024 01:35

greazeball: Feb 4, 2003

Tamba posted:

Do you have any cleared transactions with a date in the future? Those don't show up when you reconcile.

I've done it again, unclearing the ones on my current statement and it happens again. Does it look like YNAB is just not reading the first 2 digits of my statement balance? I mean I entered it as 14606.37

and then it shows 606.37 here

# ? Oct 24, 2014 12:03

Tamba: Apr 5, 2010

Try it without the comma

e: just tried it myself, and the thousands-separator shouldn't make a difference, but I'm in a region where . and , are switched...

Tamba fucked around with this message at 12:18 on Oct 24, 2014

# ? Oct 24, 2014 12:14

greazeball: Feb 4, 2003

Tamba posted:

Try it without the comma

e: just tried it myself, and the thousands-separator shouldn't make a difference, but I'm in a region where . and , are switched...

gah gently caress you're right, I just figured it out myself

also in my first post-- I M DUM

thanks for the help!

greazeball fucked around with this message at 12:27 on Oct 24, 2014

# ? Oct 24, 2014 12:22

Teeter: Jul 21, 2005; Hey guys! I'm having a good time, what about you?

I paid rent for this month on Oct 3. I've already paid for next month's, so now I've got two instances of rent within October and don't know which is the best method for handling it.

Do I up this month's budget to double and leave Nov at $0? Or if I leave this month as the regular amount, do I subtract the overage from next month's 'Available to Budget' or from next month's category balance? Can I split my paycheck between income for Oct and income for Nov so that my budget available isn't so high this month? I'm trying to assign everything but it makes Nov go into the red.

e: I ended up doing a split transaction for the inflow of my paycheck I just received, putting the amount that I pay for rent as income for Nov and the rest as income for Oct. That allowed me to budget next month's rent in Nov, and I fixed the overspending by changing some of my categories that I'm over in to subtract from next month's balance. I still don't know if this is "correct," but I have a nice $0 available to budget for both this month and next so it looks clean and feels good at least.

Teeter fucked around with this message at 20:33 on Oct 24, 2014

# ? Oct 24, 2014 20:07

Gothmog1065: May 14, 2009

I would subtract it from the category balance, it'll ride over and next month will even it out.

# ? Oct 24, 2014 20:32

Teeter: Jul 21, 2005; Hey guys! I'm having a good time, what about you?

Gothmog1065 posted:

I would subtract it from the category balance, it'll ride over and next month will even it out.

This was the solution, along with splitting the income. My issue was that everything looked so messy because I still had ~$300 available to budget for this month but assigning it to categories was making my Nov budget dip into the red.

# ? Oct 24, 2014 20:36

crimedog: Apr 1, 2008; Yo, dog.
You dead, dog.

My answer with these things is to match reality. Both transactions were made this month, so they should both be budgeted this month (or otherwise have enough in the correct category balance this month)

Either way though, it all works it in the end.

# ? Oct 24, 2014 22:49

tuyop: Sep 15, 2006; Every second that we're not growing BASIL is a second wasted; Fun Shoe

My main CC switched its formatting for statement data so that all the transactions read as income rather than expenses in YNAB. Is there any software that can easily fix this? I'm considering downloading the csv and doing it myself but that may be a headache to import.

# ? Oct 25, 2014 18:24

Rexim: Jun 2, 2006; I wants flies in on a dragons, okay?

Oh hey, I just realized you can enter a transaction with a future date, without going through the scheduled transaction function. That's...mildly useful!

# ? Nov 1, 2014 01:44

tuyop: Sep 15, 2006; Every second that we're not growing BASIL is a second wasted; Fun Shoe

Rexim posted:

Oh hey, I just realized you can enter a transaction with a future date, without going through the scheduled transaction function. That's...mildly useful!

Yeah I use it to track bills!

# ? Nov 1, 2014 02:42

Edgar Allan Pwned: Apr 4, 2011; Quoth the Raven "I love the power glove. It's so bad..."

So I have a question. There is a category for debt, but how do I initialize it so that as I budget for it, I can see it being reduced? I have it done for credit card debt, but the other debts (hospital bills, therapy etc) aren't really a thing I would assume to make accounts for. So how do I add debt to my debt column?

# ? Nov 3, 2014 23:13

tuyop: Sep 15, 2006; Every second that we're not growing BASIL is a second wasted; Fun Shoe

Edgar Allan Pwned posted:

So I have a question. There is a category for debt, but how do I initialize it so that as I budget for it, I can see it being reduced? I have it done for credit card debt, but the other debts (hospital bills, therapy etc) aren't really a thing I would assume to make accounts for. So how do I add debt to my debt column?

Make accounts for those things, they're accounts. I don't think there's any other way to record them in YNAB*.

*The other way is to record a large purchase in a category like "medical bills" and have the arrow flip to the right, so that the balance is carried forward. Record interest as an expense in that category and budget money toward it as you would any other category. When you send money to the creditor, categorize it as a transaction in medical bills. The balance should move in a positive direction, but may not because this is a dumb way to do it.

But really, making it an account makes much more sense.

tuyop fucked around with this message at 23:31 on Nov 3, 2014

# ? Nov 3, 2014 23:28

PurpleButterfly: Nov 5, 2012

Edgar Allan Pwned posted:

There is a category for debt, but how do I initialize it so that as I budget for it, I can see it being reduced?

This is kind of the same question I have, but I'd like to expand on it. When I started using YNAB, I had:

Debts

- Some student loans
- Two credit cards with small balances that I paid off that month (I do that every month, and always have)
- A car loan (this is the big one)

Savings

- An assortment of separate savings accounts that I had earmarked in my head for each of the following:
--- Emergency fund
--- Vacations
--- Expenses that come up once or twice a year, like car registration
--- Paying my tax bill

When I started using YNAB, I created the credit cards and car loan as accounts, but not the student loans (which I am now realizing was a huge oversight). I am trying to finish setting it up properly, and here are the questions I have:

- I have the outstanding car loan balance listed as a subcategory under Pre-YNAB Debt, and I figured out that filling in the Budgeted column for that category on the Budget screen makes that red balance go down. What about the actual transaction that occurs when I make the payment? Am I correct in my thinking that since that transaction is actually a transfer from one account to another, it shouldn't be in a category at all?

- The "Car Loan" account should be an on-budget account, correct?

- What about the savings accounts - on- or off-budget? I want the YNAB budget sheet to accurately represent the fact that those accounts had an opening balance, that the opening balance dollars had a job from the get-go, and that the balances in each of those budget categories have been growing (which they have). I'm having trouble setting up my account types and categorizing transactions to achieve the intended effect. (The fact I'm working toward some of those savings goals by transferring money automatically to specific savings accounts, and transfers aren't supposed to have a category, is what's making this complicated.)

# ? Nov 16, 2014 22:34

Gothmog1065: May 14, 2009

PurpleButterfly posted:

This is kind of the same question I have, but I'd like to expand on it. When I started using YNAB, I had:

Debts

- Some student loans
- Two credit cards with small balances that I paid off that month (I do that every month, and always have)
- A car loan (this is the big one)

Savings

- An assortment of separate savings accounts that I had earmarked in my head for each of the following:
--- Emergency fund
--- Vacations
--- Expenses that come up once or twice a year, like car registration
--- Paying my tax bill

When I started using YNAB, I created the credit cards and car loan as accounts, but not the student loans (which I am now realizing was a huge oversight). I am trying to finish setting it up properly, and here are the questions I have:

- I have the outstanding car loan balance listed as a subcategory under Pre-YNAB Debt, and I figured out that filling in the Budgeted column for that category on the Budget screen makes that red balance go down. What about the actual transaction that occurs when I make the payment? Am I correct in my thinking that since that transaction is actually a transfer from one account to another, it shouldn't be in a category at all?

- The "Car Loan" account should be an on-budget account, correct?

- What about the savings accounts - on- or off-budget? I want the YNAB budget sheet to accurately represent the fact that those accounts had an opening balance, that the opening balance dollars had a job from the get-go, and that the balances in each of those budget categories have been growing (which they have). I'm having trouble setting up my account types and categorizing transactions to achieve the intended effect. (The fact I'm working toward some of those savings goals by transferring money automatically to specific savings accounts, and transfers aren't supposed to have a category, is what's making this complicated.)

If you have an account that has a "job" then you want it as an on account.

Car loans are NOT an on budget account, since you're just paying into it. I have all of my installment loans (Cars, house, misc installments) as off accounts, as the money goes into it and that's it.

Credit cards can be either off or on accounts. If you are not going to use them AT ALL, they can be off budget accounts (treat them as installments). Realistically, however, they're going to be on budget, as you can assign any spending on them a "job" which should be paid back at each statement. This will create some fun times as your "pre-ynab debt" (the red number in the budget) is not the same number as the current balance of your credit card if you have used it. If you have NOT used it, they should be the same, however, you have to keep adding interest and whatnot as a "pre-ynab" category.

For instance, you have a credit card. You start off with 5,000 as the initial Pre-YNAB balance. Each month, you make a payment of $100. The red amount in the budgeting section would go down by $100, as well as the amount in the Budget section. This is all well and good, until you have interest. I always categorize them as Pre-YNAB debt, because that's the interest on it. So each month, the budget screen and the accounts screen on the left will reflect a $50 decrease.

When you use the credit card, you have to add up all of your spending, AND the minimum amount (which will include your interest) and pay that off each month. If you don't add up your current spending, your numbers will get very off and things will start to get wonky.

Savings accounts, for me, are on budget. Mine was an emergency account (and sadly I'm having to use the poo poo out of it).

Just remember, if you are doing it correctly, it doesn't matter where the money is in your "On Budget" accounts, it can all be used. Any movement between those accounts doesn't affect your budget (Which is why they made a Pre-YNAB category for your credit cards -- So you can use them as "on budget" accounts and move money from checking to the Credit Card AS WELL as making your Pre-YNAB debt payments to clear that off (Which is technically off budget)).

Now that I've completely confused you, watch this. This will explain CC's in YNAB more clearly than I.

e: I added the video for the credit cards to the OP. Let me know if anyone thinks anything else needs to be added. I keep up with this thread.

Gothmog1065 fucked around with this message at 23:03 on Nov 16, 2014

# ? Nov 16, 2014 23:01

greazeball: Feb 4, 2003

What do people do as far as hiding Christmas presents from their partners? I don't really want her to find out I've been shopping at expensivejewelery.com and I don't want to just be doing the reconciliation and see a charge for deliciouswhisky.com either. Just use fake names for everything and then change them in January? Don't enter things in til after Christmas? Is there a way to be discreet with the amounts? I don't think either of us really give a poo poo about that but just to really keep it out of sight, out of mind?

# ? Nov 17, 2014 01:27

Old Fart: Jul 25, 2013

We have personal discretionary line items. I've usually either used cash or bought a gift card at Target for whatever it was I wanted to order online (seriously everybody has a gift card now). There are also Visa gift cards.

# ? Nov 17, 2014 02:35

ilkhan: Oct 7, 2004; I LOVE Musk and his pro-first-amendment ways. X is the future.

Gothmog1065 posted:

If you have an account that has a "job" then you want it as an on account.

Car loans are NOT an on budget account, since you're just paying into it. I have all of my installment loans (Cars, house, misc installments) as off accounts, as the money goes into it and that's it.

Credit cards can be either off or on accounts. If you are not going to use them AT ALL, they can be off budget accounts (treat them as installments). Realistically, however, they're going to be on budget, as you can assign any spending on them a "job" which should be paid back at each statement. This will create some fun times as your "pre-ynab debt" (the red number in the budget) is not the same number as the current balance of your credit card if you have used it. If you have NOT used it, they should be the same, however, you have to keep adding interest and whatnot as a "pre-ynab" category.

For instance, you have a credit card. You start off with 5,000 as the initial Pre-YNAB balance. Each month, you make a payment of $100. The red amount in the budgeting section would go down by $100, as well as the amount in the Budget section. This is all well and good, until you have interest. I always categorize them as Pre-YNAB debt, because that's the interest on it. So each month, the budget screen and the accounts screen on the left will reflect a $50 decrease.

When you use the credit card, you have to add up all of your spending, AND the minimum amount (which will include your interest) and pay that off each month. If you don't add up your current spending, your numbers will get very off and things will start to get wonky.

Interest should have its own category, it shouldn't be added to pre-YNAB debt (as its not pre-YNAB debt, its a current transaction). Anything you are going to make purchases on should be on-budget.

# ? Nov 17, 2014 03:32

Gothmog1065: May 14, 2009

ilkhan posted:

Interest should have its own category, it shouldn't be added to pre-YNAB debt (as its not pre-YNAB debt, its a current transaction). Anything you are going to make purchases on should be on-budget.

I was told to do that. Doesn't matter much in my case right now anyways.

# ? Nov 17, 2014 05:51

PurpleButterfly: Nov 5, 2012

Gothmog1065 posted:

A good explanation

Thank you! That helps a lot.

# ? Nov 17, 2014 06:52

Happiness Commando: Feb 1, 2002; $$ joy at gunpoint $$

I use Mint to collect all my spending and then transfer from there into YNAB every week or two. What do I do about clearing and reconciliation? I've been having some problems with balances shifting over time, so I'm about to do a fresh start. I haven't been clearing or reconciling, so presumably I need to start.

# ? Nov 23, 2014 04:31

tuyop: Sep 15, 2006; Every second that we're not growing BASIL is a second wasted; Fun Shoe

Happiness Commando posted:

I use Mint to collect all my spending and then transfer from there into YNAB every week or two. What do I do about clearing and reconciliation? I've been having some problems with balances shifting over time, so I'm about to do a fresh start. I haven't been clearing or reconciling, so presumably I need to start.

Download and import transactions from your bank and reconcile that way. YNAB will match the transactions by date or value and you approve or reject each one, but your categories will stay.

# ? Nov 23, 2014 04:50

EL BROMANCE: Jun 10, 2006; COWABUNGA DUDES!
🥷🐢😬

Just a heads up, if you buy YNAB before Monday it's only $30 not $60. (Think this works when you buy a email or physical gift card from the store only, as the normal price still appears for me when you go to purchase a copy for yourself). Took the plunge as I've been intrigued for a while, and hoping it'll make the money back nice and quickly!

# ? Nov 28, 2014 18:37

100 HOGS AGREE: Oct 13, 2007; Grimey Drawer

EL BROMANCE posted:

Just a heads up, if you buy YNAB before Monday it's only $30 not $60. (Think this works when you buy a email or physical gift card from the store only, as the normal price still appears for me when you go to purchase a copy for yourself). Took the plunge as I've been intrigued for a while, and hoping it'll make the money back nice and quickly!

It's the steam sale now too so it might even be $15 on there soon.

# ? Nov 28, 2014 18:37

Dead Pressed: Nov 11, 2009

I'm holding out to see if steam gets it lower, but as of now its not discounted at ALL on steam.

Thanks for the heads up about the $30 deal, though...I'll go through with that if I can't get it cheaper before Monday.

# ? Nov 28, 2014 18:51

Gothmog1065: May 14, 2009

EL BROMANCE posted:

Just a heads up, if you buy YNAB before Monday it's only $30 not $60. (Think this works when you buy a email or physical gift card from the store only, as the normal price still appears for me when you go to purchase a copy for yourself). Took the plunge as I've been intrigued for a while, and hoping it'll make the money back nice and quickly!

Where do you have to go for this? I have a few people interested in buying.

# ? Nov 28, 2014 19:12

EL BROMANCE: Jun 10, 2006; COWABUNGA DUDES!
🥷🐢😬

Hm, maybe it's expired... I bought it myself then posted pretty much straight away, but now I'm only seeing it at $60 even with a fresh browser. Last years blog indicated it went on until the Monday, but maybe they shortened it this year? That's a shame if so.

# ? Nov 28, 2014 19:35

Gothmog1065: May 14, 2009

EL BROMANCE posted:

Hm, maybe it's expired... I bought it myself then posted pretty much straight away, but now I'm only seeing it at $60 even with a fresh browser. Last years blog indicated it went on until the Monday, but maybe they shortened it this year? That's a shame if so.

Well that sucks. I'll keep an eye on steam then.

# ? Nov 28, 2014 19:46

thegreatcodfish: Aug 2, 2004

Gothmog1065 posted:

Well that sucks. I'll keep an eye on steam then.

https://secure.youneedabudget.com/c...source=internal

Try that.

Link comes from here: https://ynab.infusionsoft.com/app/hostedEmail/33955896/a5adf4cd63a26b42

# ? Nov 28, 2014 21:36

Gothmog1065: May 14, 2009

thegreatcodfish posted:

https://secure.youneedabudget.com/c...source=internal

Try that.

Link comes from here: https://ynab.infusionsoft.com/app/hostedEmail/33955896/a5adf4cd63a26b42

Great, thanks! I had to use the second link, first was expired.

# ? Nov 28, 2014 23:12

Amused Frog: Sep 8, 2006; Waah no fair my thread!

Is that only for gift cards or is there some way to get the key? I know some people interested in buying it but I'm not in the US.

# ? Nov 29, 2014 11:57

EL BROMANCE: Jun 10, 2006; COWABUNGA DUDES!
🥷🐢😬

I bought mine as an electronic gift card, not one that had to be sent out. I just got an email with a link to a code.

# ? Nov 29, 2014 15:22

Slainhobo: Jan 9, 2004; King Shit of Fuck Mountain

thegreatcodfish posted:

Try that.

Link comes from here: https://ynab.infusionsoft.com/app/hostedEmail/33955896/a5adf4cd63a26b42

Thanks! Still working for me.

Just bought one for my sister and brother in law for Christmas. A couple months ago I was telling them I was using it to help me use my credit card all the time. It's a cash back card so it's nice to get money back instead of my bank card. She said credit cards will get me in debt, since she's and her husband both have maxed out cards. I told her, the trick is don't spend money you don't have. "Yeah, but if you have debt that doesn't work." Currently they are looking to upgrade her laptop and buy a tablet for my four year old nephew for Christmas. Hopefully one of them takes a look at the classes and uses it.

# ? Nov 29, 2014 16:21

Easychair Bootson: May 7, 2004; _{Where's the last guy?

Ultimo hombre.

Last man standing.

Must've been one.}

I'm just getting started with YNAB with the immediate goal of paying off all credit card and student loan debt ASAP. The CC is set up as a Budget Account and the student loan as an Off-Budget Account. I'm going to still be using the credit card for upcoming purchases (for which I'll budget), and I've watched the video on handling credit cards in YNAB.

If I know I'll have a $400 auto insurance bill in April (paid every 6 months) should I be budgeting $400/5 for the month of December? Or should I budget $0 for auto insurance and put that money towards the pre-YNAB credit card debt?

edit: working through the videos and it seems that my question is answered by asking myself "What does this money need to do before I get paid next" as well as the idea of budgeting only what you have available by prioritizing: immediate needs, bills, then rainy day funds

Easychair Bootson fucked around with this message at 19:43 on Nov 30, 2014

# ? Nov 30, 2014 18:37

Gothmog1065: May 14, 2009

Easychair Bootson posted:

edit: working through the videos and it seems that my question is answered by asking myself "What does this money need to do before I get paid next" as well as the idea of budgeting only what you have available by prioritizing: immediate needs, bills, then rainy day funds

Pretty much this. I look at the month and try to budget what I can for everything. First you work on budgeting in the items you have to pay THAT MONTH. Once you have all of those budget items taken care of, I would look at putting the money back for the car insurance (no surprises!), and applying all of the leftover to the credit cards. The leftover being AFTER you've already budgeted in the Principal payment, all of the transfers (Which you should already have budgeted into groceries, gas, whatever already). THEN you add the extra, and just slap that onto the existing amount.

The thing is, I would consider your $80 (400/5) for insurance as part of your monthly budget. Just because you're not paying it now doesn't mean you're not going to pay for it. It's a known expense, and it shouldn't be a "Rainy Day" fund for emergencies or unexpected things. It should be a monthly budget that gets paid out every 6 months.

# ? Nov 30, 2014 20:49

ilkhan: Oct 7, 2004; I LOVE Musk and his pro-first-amendment ways. X is the future.

Easychair Bootson posted:

I'm just getting started with YNAB with the immediate goal of paying off all credit card and student loan debt ASAP. The CC is set up as a Budget Account and the student loan as an Off-Budget Account. I'm going to still be using the credit card for upcoming purchases (for which I'll budget), and I've watched the video on handling credit cards in YNAB.

If I know I'll have a $400 auto insurance bill in April (paid every 6 months) should I be budgeting $400/5 for the month of December? Or should I budget $0 for auto insurance and put that money towards the pre-YNAB credit card debt?

edit: working through the videos and it seems that my question is answered by asking myself "What does this money need to do before I get paid next" as well as the idea of budgeting only what you have available by prioritizing: immediate needs, bills, then rainy day funds

$400/5 gets that bill paid with minimal fuss. Or you can scramble to come up with $400 in April.

YNAB is all about the former. Its not all about what the money needs to do before you get paid next (thats short term thinking). Its about planning ahead so that when the bill comes you have the money ready without even having to check balances or even really think about it. Bill arrives, bill gets paid, move on.

Pretty much what the above said. Take your net income, subtract the categories you know you have to pay (including interest), subtract the relevant portion of known upcoming expenses, subtract an amount to cover savings and unknown costs, and put the rest into the principal balances.

ilkhan fucked around with this message at 21:19 on Nov 30, 2014

# ? Nov 30, 2014 21:15

Not a Children: Oct 9, 2012; Don't need a holster if you never stop shooting.

What should I do if I find myself continually underspending my budget? Obviously a good problem to have, but it looks like everything is a bit out of whack. For example, when I started, I budgeted about $150/mo for fuel. Now that I live close enough to work to bike/walk, that expense has gone down quite a lot, but the balance in that category is hanging around the mid $200s. Across all categories, my balance column totals to about double what my actual budget is.

Now, this is primarily because I budget for long-term expenses that haven't actually come up yet -- $50/month toward car repairs, $100/month towards a vacation, $25/month for holiday purchases, etc. Is this a good way to maintain things? It just seems that the balances are getting awfully high, yet if they all came due at once, I'd be barely able to cover them with my non-savings liquid funds. Is this the way good budgeting is actually supposed to turn out, or should I be worried that I'm doing it wrong? Is it reasonable that I budgeted expenses that are a long way (like, years) off, like vacation savings and car repairs?

# ? Dec 1, 2014 16:24

Chin Strap: Nov 24, 2002; I failed my TFLC Toxx, but I no longer need a double chin strap; Pillbug

Not a Children posted:

What should I do if I find myself continually underspending my budget? Obviously a good problem to have, but it looks like everything is a bit out of whack. For example, when I started, I budgeted about $150/mo for fuel. Now that I live close enough to work to bike/walk, that expense has gone down quite a lot, but the balance in that category is hanging around the mid $200s. Across all categories, my balance column totals to about double what my actual budget is.

Now, this is primarily because I budget for long-term expenses that haven't actually come up yet -- $50/month toward car repairs, $100/month towards a vacation, $25/month for holiday purchases, etc. Is this a good way to maintain things? It just seems that the balances are getting awfully high, yet if they all came due at once, I'd be barely able to cover them with my non-savings liquid funds. Is this the way good budgeting is actually supposed to turn out, or should I be worried that I'm doing it wrong? Is it reasonable that I budgeted expenses that are a long way (like, years) off, like vacation savings and car repairs?

This is exactly how you are supposed to do it. If one category gets ridiculously buffered (like 6 months of gas or something) you can divert money for next month to another category instead of adding the same amount again.

One way to think of it, if you had 6 months buffered in every category that isn't long term, that is a 6 month emergency fund right there (ignoring even whatever is in your "savings").

Definitely do long term categories, that is what shows the rewards of budgeting this way. Now you can actually justify doing big things like vacations because you have planned for it.

# ? Dec 1, 2014 16:38

ilkhan: Oct 7, 2004; I LOVE Musk and his pro-first-amendment ways. X is the future.

Not a Children posted:

What should I do if I find myself continually underspending my budget? Obviously a good problem to have, but it looks like everything is a bit out of whack. For example, when I started, I budgeted about $150/mo for fuel. Now that I live close enough to work to bike/walk, that expense has gone down quite a lot, but the balance in that category is hanging around the mid $200s. Across all categories, my balance column totals to about double what my actual budget is.

Now, this is primarily because I budget for long-term expenses that haven't actually come up yet -- $50/month toward car repairs, $100/month towards a vacation, $25/month for holiday purchases, etc. Is this a good way to maintain things? It just seems that the balances are getting awfully high, yet if they all came due at once, I'd be barely able to cover them with my non-savings liquid funds. Is this the way good budgeting is actually supposed to turn out, or should I be worried that I'm doing it wrong? Is it reasonable that I budgeted expenses that are a long way (like, years) off, like vacation savings and car repairs?

Adjust your budget to zero out the categories that are monthly expenses. You aren't saving for a big gas purchase, for example. Put the excess into a rule 4 category or into a dedicated category for a future big purchase. Car repairs should be a category, but if you think you have enough in there to cover a major repair stop putting money towards it.

You can be as detailed or general with categories as you want to be. Some have a repair category for each car, some just have a general car category for everything car related. Sum of your category balances should equal your actual account balances. You want to have enough to pay out every category balance at once, so you are fine with that.

# ? Dec 1, 2014 16:49

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# ? May 15, 2024 01:35

Old Fart: Jul 25, 2013

I'd say you're doing it exactly right. If you're not at Rule 4, then I'd zero out the categories to get there (just budget negative), but if you are, then there you go. As was said, it's a built-in emergency fund. Alternately, you can stop contributing to those categories for a while and build up retirement or vacation savings. Or whatever you want. Welcome to the peace and flexibility that comes with good budgeting.

# ? Dec 1, 2014 18:00

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > YNABJ - Everyone needs one!

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