The Ultimate Guide to Targets in YNAB

[@jamesgovernale9660]

I never mind long episodes!! Please avoid cutting stuff if the only reason is to save time. Your work is not only entertaining but it is having an actual positive effect on my life and on my family. Keep up the good work!

[@mirla838]

Please. Bi weekly target for spending!!!

[@melissaquesnel1603]

Seriously ! I feel like we've been asking for this for ages ?!

[@ChelseaNeasonIsMe]

YES

[@Mooncows]

I need this too badly haha

[@lucymi]

Cant you do that with the goal repeating bi weekly?

[@melissaquesnel1603]

@@lucymi no, biweekly isn't an option for targets. But you can set up scheduled transactions for biweekly

[@finknottle4192]

I was starting to think about ditching YNAB after using it for the last eight months or so because it just seemed so complicated and I couldn't understand what was happening month to month. Then you guys greenlighted the idea of just ditching targets in a recent video and entering amounts by hand. Bingo! I got rid of all the targets that weren't working for me and just kept the ones where I could see it building savings long-term. Like home repair stuff, new car (some day) and vacation. I think it's going to work beautifully so thank you! I had been tracking my spending for many years previous so this is likely easier for me to be successful with than someone who doesn't already have a fairly dialed in set off numbers.

[@yarnstead]

I didn't use targets much when i started with YNAB a few years back. I did use scheduled transactions - seeing them coming up in YNAB helped me plan and I like not having those extra same bills to enter each month (or year or whatever)!

[@YNABofficial]

Love it! So glad you were able to find the right mix of targets! ~Ernie

[@suewells3111]

I have a number of expenses that are fortnightly. I decided for simplicity's sake to pretend they are weekly targets, just put half of the fortnightly target as the weekly target amount. But it would be fantastic if the feature could be added at some stage for multi-week targets

[@InvalidFingerprint]

This was my immediate thought, why not just set up a Weekly target for half of the amount? Seems way simpler than either of the presented options in the video

[@YNABofficial]

You just have to be careful if you have rollover at the end of the month (for example it's the last, 5th week of the month and the payment will be made in the first week of the next month). That rollover amount will contribute to that next month's target amount and may cause you to set aside less than you need. ~Ernie

[@suewells3111]

@YNABofficial thanks Ernie. Works OK for me because I'm also paid fortnightly so I fund fortnightly as well 😄

[@bridgetnicholls8]

I signed up for YNAB two months ago as a student. I've already paid off one credit card! Thanks for this important episode on targets to help me clean up my budget and get much more focused on my remaining goals!

[@NettieFIRE]

23:31 The ‘overfunded’ focus views, when applied as the next month rolls around, is the *perfect* *partner* 💋to YNAB’s ‘super smart😍’ Target types. Thank you YNAB!

[@YNABofficial]

Yeah, it's one of my favorite things about the new focused views! ~BenB

[@shanag9359]

This episode totally blew my mind!!! I made changes while watching and now I can't wait to see how these changes pan out. :) Thank you guys!

[@futoijosei]

I like to over budget and I keep the leftover cash from the previous months in the same bucket so that if there is an uptick in price (like heating bills) then I don't have to scramble (or at least not as much) to cover the additional costs.

[@AutumnAlchemist]

hey guys! i am a Ynewbie. I've watched several videos over the last few weeks to get a feel for this program, before recently jumping in to start this program. I have attempted several other budget methods before in the past but have always struggled with getting myself into it. Here's to hoping that this method works for me and my spouse in our days ahead! Stay nerdy guys 😁

[@YNABofficial]

Welcome aboard! Don't hesitate to reach out-we're always happy to get nerdy! ~Ernie

[@1esk192]

Using Needed for Spending to cap off spending is beautiful. I just changed two categories (Clothes and my commuter bike) to this, because it makes way more sense. It also reduced the amount per month quite a significantly. It's a more mindful way which fits perfectly with budgeting

[@ohai_mr_e]

I feel that targets are the most powerful feature of YNAB, but also the trickiest to get right. For example, we can set targets in future months that are different from the current month's target 🤯 I do have a question: is there any difference between a "Needed for Spending yearly repeating" target and a "Needed for Spending custom repeats every 12 months"? Is spending along the way treated the same in both scenarios?

[@YNABofficial]

The only difference I know of is the yearly target will save you two clicks 🤣 Both of them treat spending along the way the same. ~Ernie

[@elizabethhenson8645]

For my fortnight targets (mowing, dog training) - I use a weekly target for half the money of the bill. So for example, my mowing bill is $80 and they come every other Monday. Therefore my target is $40 a week and I am never caught off guard as it fluxes between 4 or 5 week months.

[@JK13A]

I have also been slowly realizing that monthly savings builder is much better for fun categories or non-monthly savings for the car and house maintenance.

[@katiekennedy8946]

Oh my goodness… I’m so glad Mint just died… I’ve found my people! I love you guys! An app for budget spreadsheet nerds like me!!!! …this might just change my life 😊

[@cheleeellis3095]

This was delightfully nerdy! Thanks for doing a deep dive. Now to go mess with my targets 🥰

[@YNABofficial]

Have fun! ~BenB

[@aaronstephens9339]

I am so nerdy I watched it twice in the span of 24 hours!! 😂

[@yarnstead]

I keep all my annual expenses, car registration, subscriptions, property taxes, in an Annual category group. Each one has a target for when it’s due. Makes it easy for me to adjust when the amount of the bill changes. I keep the category group closed so there’s no visual clutter to wade through and no temptation to move money from those categories. If I want to think about whether a particular expense is still a priority, I can expand the category and see all the items and their progress bars easily.

[@Tiredmum]

Crocheted four Christmas presents so far (6 or so to go). Only learned to crochet in April and learned to knit this week and will start earlier next year.

[@tammyleibfried]

Monthly savings with a cap, love that!

[@nosirrahm]

Scheduled transactions for specific days of week/month. I need to have money the 2nd Sunday off each month.

[@humminahummina]

Regarding the seasonal gas/electric fluctuations, my power company (Alliant in Wisconsin) does the averaging for me specifically for predictability in budgeting, adjusting every six months based on historical usage.

[@yarnstead]

So does my power company, it does make it easy! My son lives in a different city and his utility company won't do it for apartments (where tenants pay the monthly power bill), so it's. not an option for everyone

[@darkphoenix6807]

I know I’ve put this in another episodes comment, but a target that would be really appreciated would be one where the algorithm understands that you’re going to be moving money most likely out of this target at some point. So, for example, my home category, if I ever need to move money, that is the category I move it out of. But I wanna place a target on it so that I can remember how much I wanna start with and so I can just click “underfunded” when I’m budgeting at the beginning of the month. So maybe YNAB could create “Able to Move Money” target. :) this target would turn green, like the rest of them, when it is fully funded. But when you move money out of this category, the bubble doesn’t turn yellow, it turns blue. The blue bubble allows the user to know that money was moved out of this category, but it doesn’t turn yellow, which to most people yellow as a warning. Just a thought.

[@YNABofficial]

I can't say too much because it's still early days, but our product team is exploring something to solve this issue. ~BenB

[@mrachel3]

To me, it’s the idea of having a target for a category group.

[@ering7733]

Changed/added all my targets after this video 😂

[@YNABofficial]

Haha, like a true nerd! ~BenB

[@sandrarake7780]

For My Accelerated Biweekly Mortgage, I Make 3 targets. MORTGAGE 1ST PAYMENT, MORTGAGE 2ND PAYMENT, AND MORTGAGE 2 EXTRA PAYMENTS. I add money every month, so I always have enough when they come up.

[@lavs23]

A specific amount per month up to a max amount would be an often used target for me.

[@lisasachse778]

Agreed! I wish this was a thing!

[@ACoveredDishLIfe]

Yes please! Although needed for spending + the overfunded filter Isa decent workaround. More work than necessary but when you're YNAB bored it's a good way to have stuff to do between paychecks 😂

[@YNABofficial]

YNAB bored. 😂 ~BenB

[@DK-hv1hf]

Haha! I’m new to YNAB and already figured out I can finagle the target by changing it in the next month. It will delete the target in the preceding month, but that’s ok. In fact, a few monthly savings builders I have will eventually be converted to savings balance when they reach a target that’s in my head. So these targets can be changed in future months. But it affects prior months, so I’ve learned.

[@sdcorrey]

caps for targets would be huge!

[@samanthaalberts979]

For biweekly bills (debt payments for me), I have an ‘extra “debt name” and set it to a 6 month frequency. Even if it’s off, at least I don’t have to add a ton to that category when the time comes for the extra payment. It’s just how my brain works. There’s probably an easier way but I’ve been doing it for so long that changing it now would probably mess me up.

[@MariLarkin]

Loved this!!!! It helped clarify the other targets that I've been afraid to try. Now I can go play with the budget! lol

[@yarnstead]

Me too! I was listening to the audio podcast while driving and couldn’t wait to get home and make some nerdy adjustments in my budget 😊

[@elizabeth1234..]

For things that could go up like car insurance and such I always add a 15% buffer since I have noticed it goes up between 11 and 20%. For electric I do $140 because some months it's $20 and some it's $180 depending on how much AC we use. We don't have gas for us thankfully

[@KAFNOR]

Excellent episode! I'm going to have to listen to this again, but in the meantime, a heap of variable categories got annual targets. That lets me roll over or spend more without seeing yellow. We'll see if I'll keep that up once December is over!

[@kerstenalvarado7175]

Thank you for celebrating my win ❤🎉

[@natashabrandstatter9724]

That’s amazing, Kersten!

[@YNABofficial]

Hey, Kersten! You're very welcome! Thank you for sending it in! ~BenB

[@DK-hv1hf]

I’ve been a YNAB’er since mid-July. What I’ve done with utility bills that vary wildly by season (for me, water, gas, electricity), like with my electric which is dropping as we are in fall, I figured my winter period is the time to build for the heavier summer period. So, I’ve based my monthly spending on what my September bill was. It was in between. But it’s going to radically drop the next few months and I’ll allow it to sit there for the more pricey summer months

[@melissaquesnel1603]

This is a great way to do it , after a year or 2 you may be able to use the "average spent" to set your target , ernie talks about doing this with a lot of categories

[@yarnstead]

Good plan!

[@lovesgoodstories2551]

I listen to you guys via podcast very regularly. You are a "comfort" listen for me. Anyways, listening to an old episode today (again) and you were talking about getting a YNAB staffer who is right into the reports to come on as a guest and go through them since while you two are certified Budget Nerds, reports are not your thing. Is this any closer to happening yet? It would make for an interesting episode.

[@YNABofficial]

That idea didn't make the final cut for the rest of 2023. We'll continue to keep it in mind as we interview other YNABers in 2024. Thanks for regularly listening! ~Ernie

[@PaulaBrahanCan]

I may be missing it, but if i'm not, please consider adding a way to click a button and "reveal" which categories are which target types. I'd like to click "monthly savings builder" and it highlight all of my categories that are set up as monthly savings builders. Right now i have to click through each category and check the right hand side of the screen to see how it's set up. I'm very new to YNAB, but this would be helpful (to me).

[@JamesShipman]

For the less used cadence (6 or 8 weeks) I use a weekly target and just so the mental math to divide the amount by the number of weeks. It becomes like a monthly target but it’s a sub-monthly target then.

[@vincentapa1376]

Infrequent groceries (for groceries bought on Amazon)

[@KevinderKinderen]

Excellent episode. I still struggle with targets and all the alternatives and this helped. I wish there was a way to create a copy of my budget so I can keep the one that works intact and play around with the copy. That way, I could try the different alternatives and, if things break badly just reset back to the original. I keep defaulting to Savings Builder and feel like I'm not taking advantage of some of YNAB's features.

[@vivianlyons3409]

Maybe we can add an ignore feature to yellow progress bars and it turns them gray or something.

[@DK-hv1hf]

Good to know I don’t need to have a target date on everything. The yellow was driving me nuts in things it didn’t really matter

[@kaybellor2284]

Great episode! What about snoozing a target? When does that make sense to use?

[@YNABofficial]

I use it when I roll with the punches. For example, if I take $50 out of clothing to cover a medical expense, clothing turns yellow...and then I snooze it because my plan changed. ~Ernie

[@lisasachse778]

I wish the custom spending target would give us more options in terms of the number of years it repeats itself. For example: I want to replace my phone and laptop every 5-6 years. There is no way to automate that. Once the current period is done I have to manually set a new target which is just one more thjng to think about.

[@nataliacastro7998]

Same problem here, with -yes- replacing computer and phone.

[@bcase5328]

Just as a off hand for a beginner, I would suggest a goal of one month's worth of income as a starting figure for irregular/erratic expenses fund.

[@conureron3792]

Next gen ynab should have “envelope” graphics with dollar bills hanging out.

[@john-colorado5789]

I always get irritated that I can not target my dogs grooming cost(repeats every 6 weeks) or my house cleaning cost(repeats every 2 weeks) and hair cut every 4 weeks. Targets to me should include those seemingly simple setups...I can create them easily on an excel spreadsheet. So yeah...I have to run a spreadsheet and YNAB to feel really comfortable running my budget.

[@peleela]

I'd really like to see a Max Spent in the last 12 (or even 24) months. This would be really helpful for setting a cap target for various unpredictable True Expenses categories. So far I've never had to spend more than $1.5K on an unexpected car repair, so I feel safe having this be my cap. But it sure would be nice to have YNAB quickly show me this number so I don't have to remember it or keep track of it some other way.

[@YNABofficial]

I like it! Smart insights like that would be nice, and I can see how they'd also help build confidence and trust. ~Ernie

[@lw1405]

I never use needed for spending. 99.9% of my categories have the savings builder category.

[@jeffrey9135]

Once you meet your “savings builder” goal how do you categorize the transaction when you spend the money? We saved up for a bed and mattress purchased it and then used that money and marked the transaction as that savings builder category. YNAB just deducts that money from that savings category and says we need that much more. If I go to delete the budget it will ask me what category to put all those transactions and assigned money. Does that make sense? I just want to mark the goal as complete and not have that budget on there for the upcoming month.

[@YNABofficial]

Delete the target once you've saved enough. Then you can hide the category or delete it (like you mentioned) and merge the transactions and assigned money with a category that makes sense (e.g. merge "Bed and Mattress" with "Furniture" or something similar). ~Ernie

[@arambladen3087]

That little dot on Ernie's background wall is making me scratch my monitor every time I watch Budget Nerds!!! LOL 🤣🤣 Great episode btw, it sure helps me tweak and perfect my budget every time! I have a question... My bank made a credit adjustment on my credit card so I entered that in YNAB as "Credit" in the Payee and put it in the "Ready to Assign" category but when I went to the budget I couldn't find it anywhere, Why? I also clicked on the activity on my credit card in the budget and it showed up as "Returns" and in the reports tab, it showed up as inflow, Why? 🤔🤔

[@YNABofficial]

When Ready to Assign is used as a credit card category, it will only reduce the balance. It will not impact RTA or the credit card payment category. What you can do now, if you want, is move the amount of the credit adjustment from the payment category to wherever you want. ~Ernie

[@arambladen3087]

@@YNABofficial Thank you for replying, Ernie 🤗🤗 but as I said I couldn't find it anywhere!! I was expecting to see the adjustment in my budget but it wasn't there! It just shows up in the activity log of the credit card!

[@stephenh8315]

@YNABofficial How do you handle using a saving balance target once the goal has been reached and the money has been spent? What happens the next month if you want it removed from your budget? Can you delete it or hide it? What do you suggest?

[@YNABofficial]

If you think you'll use the category again, you can hide it. This archives it to a special hidden section at the bottom of the budget where you can unhide it if you'd like to use it again. If you don't think you'll use the category again, you could delete the category instead. In that case, you'll be asked to merge it with another category. Best practice is to merge it with a more general category. For example, if you save and spend money in a "New Phone" category, delete and merge it with a "Technology" category. More details on hiding or deleting categories here: support.ynab.com/en_us/adding-removing-and-customizing-categories-a-guide-HJFO5j909#hide

[@a8lg6p]

Seems like the savings target is missing the obviously needed functionality for completing it. Since from what I've seen in the official website and video, it's specifically for saving up for a one -off purchase, but then you make the purchase, and it wants you to save up for it all over again. You can delete it...but then there's a button suggesting you create a target...for the thing I already have. It just seems like an incomplete feature, unless I'm missing something...

[@YNABofficial]

You don't have to have a Target on every category. Also, once I'm done using the Savings Balance target, I often delete the category too. ~Ernie

[@a8lg6p]

But then I need a new category to assign it to. I guess I can change my "Completed Large Purchases" group to a category. It's fine; it works... It just feels like a somewhat clunky work-around for a super-common use-case that I don't feel like I should need a work-around for. But...ah well. @@YNABofficial

[@MargaretHutz]

All my category groups are based on target types. I would love a function to see the total of targets in a category group and/or the total remaining in a category group or overall. Like what is the total remaining on ALL my targets?

[@YNABofficial]

Looking at the Underfunded number on the right will give you the total remaining on all your Targets (or the ones you currently have selected). ~Ernie

[@vincentapa1376]

For different amounts, budget the higher amount

[@broink99]

Thanks for the great content! I tried to create a target to cover my every other week mortgage payment to accommodate the twice a year 3 payments, but since I have my Mortgage budget linked to my mortgage account, it did not let me create a target. Is there another solution? Or do I need to. unlink my Mortgage budget from my Mortgage account? If so, how do I do that?

[@YNABofficial]

Yes, you can unpair your Mortgage category from your Mortgage account (go into the Account and click the pencil icon at the top). That will allow you to create a Target to accommodate the every other week payment. Or, if you want to keep the two paired, you could create a Scheduled Recurring transaction and that will let you know when you have 3 payments in the month that you have to account for. ~Ernie

[@muhsina_khan]

Can we get an episode on budgeting with variable income please?

[@YNABofficial]

We may tackle this in a future episode, but right now we have a live workshop for this topic (you can also watch a recording if you prefer). www.ynab.com/free-workshops/ ~Ernie

[@ohai_mr_e]

I wished they had discussed the ability to have multiple (across time) targets for the same category in YNAB. For example, you can have a target un July, a different one in November, etc. Why is that?

[@YNABofficial]

Right now there isn't a way to have multiple targets within the same category. In these cases, I generally just make two categories. ~Ernie

[@anthonymartorano]

Hey guys! I have a question. When setting up credit cards that you pay the full statement balance on every month, do you enter the statement balance into that first month of the budget, or the total amount that is on the card? I did the latter and I’m finding I always have a surplus of money assigned in those columns. Wondering how I could change that to make sure I always have enough to pay that months statement balance but not overfund it and use that excess money elsewhere. Hope that makes sense! Thanks!

[@YNABofficial]

If you're a pay-in-full user, you always want to make sure you have enough to pay the card in FULL, not just the statement balance. YNAB is a little ahead of the statement balance, because it includes all your transactions, not just the ones within the time frame of your statement. But that is debt that you owe, so you want to have money to cover it. If you don't use all of the available amount in the credit card payment category, you will use it next month when you pay the card again.

[@anthonymartorano]

@@YNABofficial copy that! That’s what I thought was happening. Always nice to have a buffer😊 thank you!

[@mwedzi]

I wish there was something that told me the total of my targets in a month. Or maybe there's something else that conveys this meaning? I like to give everything I feel like I 'need' to fund (including bills and fun money, but excluding wish farm stuff) a target. The sum of the targets tells me the total funds I need for a month. Well, I haven't finished the video, so maybe I'll find out there's something like this already.

[@lavs23]

If you haven't funded anything yet you can select all categories and see the total amount in the underfunded under auto assigned.

[@lisasachse778]

And if you have already funded some categories you can simply go to the next month where you haven’t. And: if you just want to see the total of certain categories you can either just select those categories or create a focus view to filter those categories out.

[@YNABofficial]

Check the underfunded amount in auto-assign! ~BenB

[@mwedzi]

Thanks @@lisasachse778 and all. This is the workaround I've been doing, going to next month and looking at underfunded. I was worried that somehow missed something, but thinking it through, I guess it does catch everything

[@vincentapa1376]

Buy a years worth of dog medicene

[@jeremysheremy]

I wish ya'll stop getting sidetracked and talking about other things with anecdotes. An example is you were about to give an example of Christmas, budgeting for 600 in total.. then you started giving an example of how some people spend things in July.