84 YNAB Categories?! 🤯

It's Ben's turn! Ben shares a whopping 84 categories from his budget on today's show, from "BMI" to "sundries" (Ben's favorite word).
Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie!
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Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
2:26 Groups
3:53 Holding categories
11:40 Giving
14:42 Bills
30:26 Frequent spending
36:52 Individual fun money
47:35 Irregular expenses
57:08 Nanny
59:55 Financial goals
1:02:15 Goals funded
1:03:55 YNAB Wins
1:05:16 Special announcement
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[@justin_stoddard]

Would be great to have the ability to have sub-categories. Would solve Ben's combo monthly and yearly subscription budgets. Like Bills --> Monthly Subs --> Netflix, Disney+, Hulu This would give us the ability to have individual categories but also have those categories collapsable.

[@fsmoura]

groups within groups . . . within groups . . . budgetception 🤯

[@CaliChic1593]

I literally would watch/listen to a dedicated YNAB category show/podcast, just sayin' 😅bring on other YNAB team members or even users, maybe from different stages of life or various income levels.. It's fascinating to see what people prioritize and how they organize their budgets. I've literally watched Ben and Ernie's episodes with pen and paper and taken notes on different categories I want to add, grouping ideas, and ways to place emojis 😂

[@chelsea-lewis]

I second this idea!

[@misseclair]

Yes! I would watch/listen to this

[@_kamila_]

3 minutes into the video... you know the fastest way to count your categories, when you're both such YNAB pros, right? I hope, I'm not womansplaining, but when you select all categories with the checkbox in the top left corner, you see in the sidebar on the right, how many categories are selected - and that's your number! Ta daaa 😉

[@raychelle8]

As a very new budget nerd, I have a baby win, but I'm excited about it! My YNAB win is being genuinely excited to get my tax refund so I can use it to help get a month ahead. This is huge for me because there was a time, not long ago, when I would have used that money to reward myself for being alive. I genuinely still feel like I'm rewarding myself but in a different and much smarter way 😊

[@BackBackForwardLightning]

Way to go, keep it up!

[@PaulaBrahanCan]

EXCELLENT! :)

[@NanetteLoves2Budget]

THAT is a gift that will keep giving!

[@ksk881]

I love it when you talk about having too much sitting in a category that you move somewhere else. I have NEVER had too much money sitting in a category 😂 ! I’m working on it, so it’s something I’m looking forward to in the future. I’m getting ready to do the Monthly Money Challenge to give me a swift kick start!

[@YNABofficial]

LOL. It's never much. Actually, there's literally $2.00 sitting in my BMI category right now because I found two dollar bills in the house and I don't know where they came from. 🤣 ~BenB

[@yarnstead]

🙋🏻‍♀️ here to represent NOT RICH people who budget for regular massages! Massage can be a very helpful thing for pain management, avoiding repetitive strain injuries, and/or stress reduction. I get a massage once a month and have for years. When I was dealing with an injury, got them even more often ❤

[@yarnstead]

It’s investing in myself!

[@nurh6538]

Same! Now intentionally budgeting for these too but cant afford monthly just yet! Go you!

[@Coconuthead85]

Totally. Me too! And I start it for my husband too. I see it as life maintenance self care for our health~

[@MP-nc7wk]

Love it!! I was so excited to see a nice, long budget nerds! My budget is so all set that it's boring me. Fun to see these videos!

[@elizabethhenson8645]

One thing I recently started is a "frozen" category group. These are things that I am temporarily not paying on right now. For example, since we are moving this summer I'm not funding my book fund as we increased our travel budget for the house hunting trips. But I'm not going to delete it because it will become a priority again in a few months. This has also been helpful in realizing what I'm not really prioritizing.

[@kaiolowen5788]

This is smart! I temporarily paused some subscription services due to time/competing priorities. I don’t want to hide them because they will come back, but I don’t like them in their current category cus I want to fund them. I’m going to try this right now 😂

[@ekimball13]

Massages! Ya'll - check with your insurance company. A LOT of insurance companies cover a certain number of massages a year. I personally get 60 per year for just the cost of my $25 copay! It's life-changing!

[@j.lancelot8171]

YNAB Win: After listening to this and the Ernie Categories episode, I had an epiphany and revamped my own categories. Certain large purchases were being made out of "small" categories infrequently. There is now one category called Luxuries for infrequent large presents to ourselves, which can include spending from future funded goals (and those categories can then be deleted). I then collapsed a bunch of those smaller categories into my Consumables category -- they were Consumables masquerading as something more. Of course, all of this involved some sweet, sweet nerdom as I scrolled through past transactions and months to keep everything in balance after the changes. Thanks, B&E!

[@user-jf9qg8gr6k]

Here's an idea for yearly expenses - total all yearly subscriptions and divide by 12, make a holding category with a saving goal that adds up over the course of the year. When the year turns over, take that money from holding and put in a separate spending category (while still adding to monthly holding). Now you're a year ahead!

[@arambladen3087]

I do that "charecter/emoji" pipe thing for almost all of my categories... very helpful 😁 it's like "Name | Description | Due Date: $00" I love it!!!

[@Davegibson94]

Darn. Fixing my budget tonight… Thanks for the idea!

[@arambladen3087]

@@Davegibson94 No problem 👍🏻

[@britneeg]

I don’t mind the video length!

[@YNABofficial]

Thanks, Britnee! That makes me feel better about rambling on so much. haha! ~BenB

[@fsewald1]

Love the compassion category! What a great idea!

[@grammadee]

Really enjoyed all your 84 categories Ben and the laughs on this one with you both!

[@elizabeth1234..]

Yay! Something I can attend! I'm usually on my way home from work and can't attend

[@minecrafttomato7369]

Oh Ben can’t wait to tell my 12 year old son that you are saving up for the Zelda game. It’s the one way that I seem to have got interested in budgeting. He has a category for the game, one for the controller and today he decided that instead of spending money on sweets etc he’s going to buy an anibo (sp!) such a nice way to show him budgeting can be fun! Oh and I want to check you aren’t going to be in the bath for your budget with me Ernie 😂

[@YNABofficial]

🤣no, I won't be in the bath-I promise! 🤣 ~Ernie

[@YNABofficial]

Love it! It's all about finding the right motivation! Zelda's a good one for sure! ~BenB

[@nurh6538]

I like the idea of putting intentional giving aside ❤️

[@AshBuriva]

Oh about massages!! Apparently, you can have them covered by insurance! Check your policy, and check the place that you're going to that they offer "medical massages". You might end up paying just your copay!

[@YNABofficial]

Good to know-thanks! ~Ernie

[@ivanners]

Realization at minute 29 I think is a really good point. Having Categories separated allows you see in a realistic way How much are you spending your money. This is a point that I want to get by using YNAB (Day 2 of Trial). I believe, that as soon as I finish to really put all the expenses, I'll be able to have an overview of where my money is going and how can I optimize it (Should I just stop Prime if I have Max?, SHould I go to the Barbershop 2 or 1 time at the month).

[@beckquin47]

The emojis seriously help me visualize my budget, plus separate things with the same name but different uses. I also put in a solid color square for which bank account it comes out of or goes into. I have the same credit union account from high school that I don't live near anymore, but I have specific things I can't move out of it, like my car payment and my checkbook. I also got chime awhile ago since I know I'll move around a lot, which makes regular payments a lot easier, especially because it notifies me when I pay for something. My paychecks also deposit into it.

[@libertopian]

YNAB stands for You're Not Alone, Budgeters!

[@carolea7158]

I have 175 Categories (!) and I'm looking forward to this. I had planned to do a Fresh Start in January but have been dreading the idea of going through all of these.

[@melissadiaz111]

So interesting to hear about the nanny expenses!

[@YNABofficial]

Oh good! I was hoping that wouldn't be too much of a bore. 😆Let me know if you have any follow-up questions about it. It's not something people talk about enough! ~BenB

[@davidhart4789]

I have electric heat which is much more in the winter. I got on the budget plan where I pay the same amount monthly and have a settle up month where I either pay the difference or am credited the difference. I have a category for the electric bill each month, but have a sub category to it where I add money for any difference in the actual amount of the bill and the budgeted plan. If it is less than the budgeted bill I don’t add any that month. When settle up month I have the exact amount of the difference to use. If I get a credit then I leave it until the over amount eats it up.

[@rachaelbyrd3331]

I love hearing you guys talk about the pool and the lawn lol. It reminds me that YNAB is totally customizable for anyone’s priorities. Also, Ben, I’m not sure if this would be an option for you, but my mom leaves her pool open all year so that she doesn’t get the gross algae every spring. We live in Georgia and hers is saltwater though, so that might make a difference. I’m also really looking forward to Ernie’s live! And thank you for going live in the evening so I can actually watch live! Putting it on my calendar right now 😂

[@YNABofficial]

I think a lawn and pool episode would be super fun! 😊 I've thought about leaving it open. Sadly, here in central Virginia, it could freeze and possibly burst pipes if I kept it running. Besides, it's kind of a bummer to take care of a pool when it's too cold for anyone to swim, and my pool is under a lot of big trees, so the leaves in the fall would be a stinkin' nightmare! 😅Salt water pools are a higher cost up front but a lot less maintenance, so if I had one and it was slightly warmer here I might consider keeping it running. Thanks for letting me chat pool care. I love it. 😁 ~BenB

[@elizabethgadsby9641]

We have an in ground chlorine pool and leave it open year round. How often does it get below freezing in central Virginia? Here in Oklahoma, I leave our pool open year round. The solar cover goes on in the fall anyway to extend our season, but also helps keep the leaves out. When we do have a day or so below freezing, we'll either leave the pump running or drain the pool down below the pipes if it's going to be a week or more. Because the sun is less frequent and not so strong over winter, we don't need to do any maintenance or chemicals, just give it a good shock in the late fall. When I start to get it ready for swimming in the spring (late March), there's little to no algae growth.

[@valerieproctor517]

The M I C K E Y that Ben threw in was PERFECTION. 😂 Love the vibes of SuperDad of young kids

[@YNABofficial]

Haha! I was hoping someone would catch that! 🤣 ~BenB

[@beckybarrett7452]

I have 10 groups 51 categories. I like having my annual and semi annual in one group. I have them organized by date. Jan is AAA, YNAB and Amazon prime. I’d like to try putting all the funds for June in one category and then fund it at the first of the month. Right now I get paid weekly so I fund 1/4 of each category every week. My son says that’s to much math. 🤣

[@JamesShipman]

I order bills by due date, I'm not yet a month ahead so I need them in the order that I can fund them. I anticipate that once I'm conformably over a month ahead that I'll reorder them alphabetically.

[@mjcusack]

Ernie, you could consider the wood stove insert part of your "Durables" category. I like your name for that category and I'm using it for anything along those lines - appliances, furniture, even a toilet brush.

[@YNABofficial]

At the very least, using the money in Durables for a wood stove would help me prioritize this! ~Ernie

[@fsmoura]

Listening to this while reconciling ( o3o)

[@vladimir.zlokazov]

I never thought about holding categories. I have this condition that I have money on different accounts in different currencies and in different countries and the money cannot be easily moved between locations. It is really hard to budget for that reason if all this money is just sitting in ready to assign because I cannot see if I have too little or too much money for expeneses in one country or another. Putting money into specific holding categories might just solve this. Thank you! Would be nice to see multiple currencies supported in YNAB btw.

[@kristin1847]

Just wanted to say I made some changes to my budget after watching this video and Ernie's video! I previously had monthly and non-monthly expenses as two of my groups, they were from the old YNAB 4 days and just carried over. I put annual bills and true expenses together in the non-monthly category. However, I took Ernie's tip and just changed my monthly group to "Bills" instead and moved every bill there no matter how often it's paid. Mine are arranged in due date order though, not alphabetically. Then I changed my non-monthly group to "True Expenses" and arranged those alphabetically. I also have a frequent group, which I call "Everyday Expenses" and arranged it alphabetically. Thanks for the advice and tips! P.S. Super excited for the next Zelda game Ben :)

[@YNABofficial]

The hype could not be higher at this point, Kristin. 😁 ~BenB

[@jordanhoman0212]

15:54 we organize our categories by priority

[@toddw8396]

Yeah, I definitely have a lot of categories. 😂. Have a group called “Yearly One-Time and Quarterly Expenses” where ALL once a year or quarterly payment items live. They are listed in order of calendar due date and after the month is over, I hide the items that are done/over with so the next upcoming items are at the very top of this list. It works for me in not forgetting about things like birthdays, car tags, yearly subscriptions, property taxes, etc.

[@elizabethhenson8645]

Me too - although I don't hide. I just pull them to the bottom of the category so they stay in order by date, but still visible to start funding for the next year/quarter.

[@toddw8396]

@@elizabethhenson8645 🤔 Moving to the bottom instead of hiding…I like your idea better! Much easier to prepare for the startup of a new year.

[@elizabethgadsby9641]

To Ben's comment about the | we use this at work to separate data points in a list and I've started using it everywhere. We have the pet supplies storage areas labelled for pet sitters and I separated the list of contents on the label with them (Dog Grooming | Spare toys | Dog walking). Ya'll, it will change your life 😅

[@Marx3]

Sundries ... Toiletries If your stuck for what works to use for budget categories you can use an online thesaurus

[@Tesla-Cannon]

Ernie is joining the YNAB budget with me crew! Lol exciting

[@YNABofficial]

It's an honor! ~Ernie

[@rachaelcarroll8861]

YNAB Win: Aged my money to 34 days so far. My bank account has more padding now than it had in quite some time.

[@NanetteLoves2Budget]

Feels amazing, doesn’t it?

[@cabbie83]

I wonder how many episodes in a row I could listen to category breakdowns before I get my fill. Do you do interviews with other people to get more category content?

[@YNABofficial]

So funny you said that, because we were just talking about bringing on a team member or maybe even a YNAB user to talk about their categories. I think it'd be fun! ~BenB

[@NanetteLoves2Budget]

Yes it would! I might volunteer if you decide to poll for willing budget nerds!

[@amandabixler1468]

Man I love Ben’s emoji game! They look different than normal ones - any ideas on where he gets them from??

[@YNABofficial]

I think it's because Ben's on a PC. ~Ernie

[@YNABofficial]

Oh yes, they're Windows emojis, which frankly look awful compared to Apple. It's kind of a major bummer, but what can you do? ~BenB

[@cmpedicini]

My wife and I have 111 (!), which is still an improvement over the 185 (!!) when we married last year.

[@mjcusack]

Ben, would it make sense to move all of your accounting categories into their own group? But I'm curious, if you aren't ever funding those categories ahead of time are you really budgeting for those purchases then? 🤔

[@jordanhoman0212]

10 groups, 81 categories for me. More than half of my categories are for christmas/birthday/etc.

[@robinpeace007]

So, I just want to remind people that the info you write in the notes section (below "available balance" of the category in Budget will appear when you hover over the category name. This is helpful to see when deciding what category fits a transaction. There is probably a better way to write that. 🤔

[@YNABofficial]

Such a good tip! ~Ernie

[@ChristianOlivier]

You discuss Sundries, Consumables naming for months then Ben says I just want to separate « Food » and « Non-Food »… Looks like the perfect name duo to me, Food and Non Food: Simple, self explanatory, short. On my way to update my budget (just kidding I am not splitting Groceries ;-))

[@YNABofficial]

Yeah, maybe the right names are hidden in plain sight there! ~BenB

[@saralep]

About to update all my categories to have pipes between my emoji's and category names! Wait? What?? there is a backpack???

[@YNABofficial]

Don't be like me and stop halfway down through. 🙈 ~BenB

[@saralep]

@@YNABofficial Ha!! I only have 49 categories - added all those pipes and my budget really looks so pretty!

[@katrinahohbein1486]

Ben mentioned he has an HSA account, I'd love more info on how you track that through YNAB.

[@YNABofficial]

I'm not sure how Ben has it set up, but generally the easiest way is to set it up as an unlinked tracking account support.ynab.com/en_us/how-to-add-a-health-savings-account-in-ynab-ByRXzZOAc ~Ernie

[@YNABofficial]

Yep, what Ernie said - I have it as a tracking account, unlinked. A long time ago, I kept it on budget, but I had to constantly worry about matching my HSA balance to my Medical category and nobody's got time for that. Keep it as a tracking account since it already has a job, or just leave it off entirely! ~benB

[@sura-quayarbon6055]

So I am one of those with LOTS of categories. I know that for some people that is very overwhelming. I have a few items grouped together into their own categories but the majority are individual. Part of that is so I have a better idea of where our money is going because we are getting out of very significant consumer debt. The other part is I have a finance background and I find categories that are to broad can risk being short or overfunded. We are officially in our 2nd year of YNAB (started April 2022). We also did a fresh start on January 1st because we had so much going on at the start and had several items that were no longer relevant. I hope to be even more tailored in 2024, possibly get more general and not have to be quite so specific. I have seven groups: credit cards*, weekly true expenses (fuel, groceries, eating out, coffee), monthly true expenses*, periodic true expenses* (annual or every 2-3 years), nice to have true expenses (items that can be cut from the budget if we need to cut expenses), Goals/Wish List and finally one for my daughter so she can start learning to track her own money with three functions, save, spend, and give (* are untouchable). We have more than 84 categories - our Goals/Wish List is very extensive with 34 categories with the majority unfunded, listed in order of priority. Having them just waiting helps us focus and also look at what we want to do in the future when we can.

[@brianwalsh288]

How exactly do you suggest I spend less in a month than I make? It’s truly the hardest part of YNAB for me to figure out.

[@YNABofficial]

Two habits that might help-(1) check the budget before you spend. This gives you an overview of your plan and then you can decide how your purchase fits in with those priorities. Another way of thinking about it, checking the budget before you spend gives you the option to say NO. (2) cover overspent categories right away. Shifting money around changes the plan and gives you new perspective on how you need to move forward with your money. What this could look like in real life-it's the end of the month, and my groceries category is running on fumes ($2.05 to be exact)...and I will need to go grocery shopping once more before the end of the month. Now that I know where I stand, I can start making some decisions about how I'm going to navigate this. I know I don't want to do a regular shopping trip because that would put my groceries category ~$200 in the hole. That means I'd have to cover that with money from a different category. I'm ok rolling with the punches, but if I do it too much I run the risk of spending more than I make. So what I'm probably going to do is make the family eat out of the pantry and do a very limited trip to the grocery store to get us through the end of the month 😄. Hope that helps! ~Ernie

[@jessicamcafee961]

I’d love to know your wife’s business. I need this service

[@joeshiro]

Your babysitter is an employee and not a self-employed freelancer?

[@YNABofficial]

Yes, she meets the criteria for an employee rather than a independent contractor put out by the IRS. So that's how we're required to handle it for taxes. ~BenB