Getting Started With YNAB

[@yonallb]

He undersells the point that you should really get your budget started on a computer, on their website. The phone app will drive you crazy trying to get it setup.

[@jaredwilliams8621]

Definitely! We do all of our category management and assigning on the desktop, and most of our spending tracking from phones. It's not impossible on a phone, but it's a lot of input that phones just aren't well designed for.

[@sonkeschluter3654]

right, the phone app is good to record your spending on the go, but not for setting your budget up

[@MetalSamantha]

Ok but I don’t have a computer 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@tracybuford9243]

Came here because the phone app was driving me bonkers. Headed to laptop to see if it’s better lol.

[@stan4620]

100% the app is awful for anything except logging transactions. Literally every other function on there is super frustrating. I actually almost gave up on ynab because of it. Luckily my friend told me to just do everything on a browser.

[@KatrinaZens]

SO HELPFUL! I highly recommend watching this video in sections. Watch and learn about a section of the video, then return to the website to fill in your spending plan, etc. Great video to watch in segments. I watched the video across 2 days while setting up YNAB. Thanks for the helpful step-by-step tips!

[@sarasayshi]

I’m not a newbie to YNAB but I appreciate all the Budget Nerds videos. So I am here for Ernie. 😂

[@grammadee]

I’ve been using YNAB for years, but glad I listened to this getting started video, because I see a few tips I had forgotten and new tricks I hadn’t learned or thought about! Thanks very much for making all these for us.

[@shelbytaylor5596]

I started watching this video and was delighted to see it was only posted 9 days ago. Staring the new year with YNAB!

[@saulmendez4046]

Same here I am starting today. I cant help but think that I should have been using a budget app like YNAB a looong time ago.

[@tanamorgan3039]

Thank you ! Thank you! I have been using YNAB for years. I get frustrated from time to time and feel like I want to stop using the service. This helped me discover the targeting feature which I never knew existed. I will continue to check out these videos because I hate the support feature now. You used to be able to speak with someone and then they would look at the app screen that you would share so they could tell you what you were doing wrong. Now, They send you a bunch of links to articles you can read which doesn’t help me. I like walking through the process with someone like this. It explains it so much better. Thank you!

[@alexm2024-1]

Thank you Ernie. I’ve been with YNAB since ynab3 or 4? I needed a refresher as I never quite understood aging your money. I do now. Thank you!

[@bokaholic]

Love love love YNAB. I cannot believe how much it changed my life in one year. Awesome, keep it up budget nerds!

[@AD-pk3ve]

The best beginner video yet!

[@greyriverhardy]

Nice job updating this video Ernie! Been with YNAB since 2015 and love it.

[@DigitalExtensions]

The New Roof category issue (around 19 minute mark) deflated me for a little bit, but by the end of the video I was feeling really good about my decision to buy YNAB. I'm eager to use it. Thank you.

[@heathermacneil3074]

Very, very helpful and I’ve been using YNAB since 2016

[@amcgrath1980]

Great tuorial! I had YNAB for a while and couldnt figure it out. Now Im ROCKING my budget. Thanks!

[@robertkeller4406]

YNAB is excellent! Long time subscriber.

[@irisymontalvo]

Very well explained. 👏

[@AnibalMontilla_]

This is the definitive guide of how to master your money on YNAB.

[@pricemanford9203]

Couple questions from a rookie: 1 - aren't the credit card payments duplications of other expenses? If you use your credit card to pay your phone bill, isn't it being recognized twice in your format? 2 - any recommendation on how to attack this as someone that shares some expenses with a partner, but not all expenses? Is there way to automize splitting some expenses in half to show my budget vs. family budget?

[@YNABofficial]

Hi! 1. Yes, it is being recognized twice: once as a credit card transaction (which prompts YNAB to move money to your payment category) and once as a payment (which is reflected by money actually "leaving" YNAB / your bank account). But this doesn't cause any kind of double-counting when it comes to the actual numbers. If you paid $15 on your credit card, YNAB should only count it as $15, not $15 and $15. 2. Great question! I would highly recommend checking out our guide on the topic: www.ynab.com/guide/budgeting-as-a-couple Hope that helps! 🙂 - Ben M 🎨

[@ChellieChelle]

​@YNABofficial I had the same question How is it not counted twice? I put money in the categories, but use my credit card to pay the bills. But then I have to put money towards the credit card payment..so I stashed the money twice.

[@YNABofficial]

@@ChellieChelle if you're still having to put money in the Credit Card Payment category even after spending on the card, it might mean you didn't put enough in when you originally set up the CC account in YNAB. Let us know if you have any other questions about this! ~Ernie

[@wwcycle]

Am I the only one that think YNAB is super confusing? Just getting started and was hoping it would be easier

[@YNABofficial]

It didn't make sense to me either when I started. I found it helpful to forget everything I've learned about traditional "budgeting" and focus on the YNAB Method. We have live workshops if that'd help! www.ynab.com/free-workshops/ ~Ernie

[@skiddilydoo]

Stick with it! One day it will all *click* and you will wonder why you didn't start years ago.

[@ericgarcia4054]

Just keep trying and watch their most basic videos. For me it just clicked after a little while. The video about the envelopes is particularly helpful!

[@MsAlexisMac]

This will sound strange but my name is also Angel and the shout out caught me off guard -lol. Great video!

[@c7042]

I do the opposite. On January. 1st, I put my checks after paying ViSA in my brokerage account to invest. I live on VISA credit (on a budget) totally in January and pay the bill (0 interest) on 1st with Feb checks, put the excess in the brokerage to invest. Wash, rinse, repeat. So I live in my budget a month behind, not a month ahead of my income. I've done this as long as I can remember, I've never been burned. I have $quarter million+ now in my brokerage account. My brokerage is my emerg fund but I've never had to use it. I love VISA credit cards but have never paid interest on a credit card my whole life.

[@philmilner7673]

I use this approach where I can pay for expenses via Credit Card, I also have a an mortgage offset account so having Cash siting in the bank is essentially earning me whatever the home loan interest rate is at the time. ie. if Mortgage is 6% interest then leaving cash in an offset account and living off the Credit Card is like earning 6% from investments (or 12% if your at the top of the tax bracket). This is where YNAB helps .. if I can age my money and leave the cash in the offset account happy days... ultimately I'd like to be debt free and not have a Mortgage so it's horses for courses... 🙂

[@panamericaco]

@@philmilner7673 that's kinda genius, never thought of that.

[@dalesteven1]

Thank you so much, very helpful!

[@allensunstudio]

Love this video & super helpful! However it'll be much easier to follow & understand if using example where people pay all these things with credit card, I mean who pays with debit card everywhere they go nowadays...

[@LBergin84]

I still don't get it.

[@waschosen-]

The budgeting functionality is a major selling point of YNAB, but it is also its biggest drawback. Because the budgeting system is designed too precisely, and accumulates data month by month, even a single incorrect input or omission by the user would make the whole account unreliable. Finding errors and making corrections in it would be a mission impossible. When you are faced with an account that you don’t know whether you can trust, you won’t have the patience to continue using it. If 'ready to assign' displays a negative number, and it becomes increasingly larger, all plans become useless except for thinking of ways to earn more money, because they cannot be implemented. When seeing that ready to assign is a negative number, there is no motivation to even update the budget. Lack of reporting functionality is another issue with the mobile app.

[@juliabrock7096]

Coming to this in July 2024--it is super helpful but needs updating since it seems YNAB has changed the way it structures target assignments.

[@YNABofficial]

Here's a link to the newest version of this video! kzbin.info/www/bejne/rZWqmaV7gNCrqa8si=NAULmq4DCyzLi5GU ~Ernie

[@juliabrock7096]

@@YNABofficial Thank you!

[@alwaysraiders]

If new to YNAB Would you recommend starting at the beginning of the month? What about bank statements would you start your import at Jan 1st? How would you make a clean start?

[@hannah.z]

I have found that the time of the month doesn't matter for starting fresh, although it may be helpful to start right after getting a paycheck so you can immediately start funding your plan!

[@vectorhacker-r2]

You can start at any point, now is the best time.

[@Lilaruthlevy]

I like his pronunciation of the word "roof" as "ruff." Must be from the Upper Midwest.

[@YNABofficial]

I sure am! 🤣 ~Ernie

[@roadracerdave7645]

the part i've always been confused by, and still am - is how to account for expenses that are paid via credit cards each month. most of my expenses are paid via credit card. if i assign $600 to entertainment, $500 to groceries, etc., all to be paid via credit card -- how do these expenses get assigned since the bills aren't usually paid until the following month? wouldn't these expenses be recorded twice? first in the month that they are incurred as "entertainment" and "groceries", and then the following month under their respective credit card bills? i feel this is something extremely common that YNAB fails to cover adequately

[@YNABofficial]

When you spend on the credit card, YNAB automatically moves the assigned money from the spending category (eg groceries or entertainment) to the Credit Card Payment category. Then that money just sits in the payment category until you actually send it as a payment to the CC company (even if they payment is next month). Once you make a payment, it's recorded as a transfer (outflow from cash account, inflow to CC) which ensures that the original CC spending isn't counted twice. Hope that helps! ~Ernie

[@elemeno0pee]

I wish I only had 5 monthly bills 😭 Great video though. Thanks!

[@YNABofficial]

Me too! It's definitely a simplified demo. ~Ernie

[@familybudgeter208]

I want to remove my "Ready to Assign" amount and start at Zero. I have an amount that I manually put in there just to play with the app, but now need to change that amount. I won't link any of my accounts to YNAB. I have no sidebar tools to do anything. This is EXTREMELY frustrating! I am use to Quickbook and having the ability to change A LOT. I can't even delete a starting balance?! Please HELP! I have zero activity, zero assigned, zero available. I just want to change the "Ready To Assign" amount. Or can I at least start a new budget (keep all my categories/subcategories!!!)? The ONLY THING I am allowed to do is "Auto Assign" Or Link a bank account (which, again, I'm not doing). I want to use this app manually. Can this be done? Thank you!!

[@YNABofficial]

Hi there! If you want to COMPLETELY start over (reset account balances, start fresh with transactions, and "unassign" money from categories in order to redistribute), I'd recommend doing a "Fresh Start." On the web app, you can do this by clicking your email in the upper left corner, and clicking "Make a Fresh Start." On the mobile app, select the "Budget" tab in the bottom left, tap the menu (the three dots) in the upper left corner, and tap settings-from here you can select "Make a Fresh Start." Using the Fresh Start feature will keep all of your categories and any targets you've set to them, but will "reset" all your dollars by moving them all back to Ready to Assign at the top of your budget. From here, you can redistribute your dollars anyway you please! You can definitely use YNAB manually without linking any accounts. When setting up an account, choose the "Unlinked" option instead of the "Linked" option. From here, you'll tell YNAB the current cleared balance in that account, and save. If you've already added accounts and you linked them in the moment but now wish to unlink them, simply right-click that account and click "Unlink" in the web app, or select the "Accounts" tab at the bottom of the mobile app, select the account you wish to unlink, tap the menu button (three dots) in the upper right corner, and select "Unlink Account." Once you have your accounts set up the way you like, the combined dollar amount of all of your budgeting accounts (i.e. checking, savings, etc) will show up in Ready to Assign, where you can then distribute your dollars out to your different categories. It also sounds as though you may still be in "onboarding mode." If this is the case, you might see an instruction or a "step" at the bottom of your budget on the web app. Follow these prompts to complete the initial onboarding mode and start your own, fresh budget! Please let me know if you have anymore questions! Sorry this has been frustrating for you! Always feel free to write into our support team as well-they can iron out any problem you got! 🌻 Hannah

[@Ryan-ik2mk]

Bring back the one time payment model. Who wants to pay a subscrip service to save money 🤪

[@nerios.v]

Best way to watch this videos is at 2.x playback speed.

[@domrobin83]

18:29 Kudos on the recovery, Ernie. :)

[@YNABofficial]

Just rollin' with the punches the best I can lol ~Ernie

[@OrascendBiz]

Anyone else think the "add a savings budget category as a temporary placeholder" is a little weird? I just got YNAB, and I think I'm pretty excited to get into it, but this part put me off a little bit. Why doesn't YNAB automatically deduct savings accounts from money ready to assign to budget categories? I understand having active savings accounts where you're actively budgeting a certain amount for an end goal. But we also have a passive savings for emergencies that I never want to consider as money that I'm able to spend. Is there ever going to be a way to "hide" that savings account? Or should I just remove the account from YNAB altogether?

[@YNABofficial]

Good question! The ultimate goal with YNAB is to give EVERY dollar a job, and that includes the dollars in your savings account. So instead of just having savings off to the side, you specifically assign it toward goals like car repairs, medical expenses, vacations, etc. Doing this gives you a lot more clarity, and it can also give you a lot more peace of mind if you need to dip into your savings in an unexpected way. Instead of just saying, "I have $500 less in savings now!" you can say, "OK, I still have my deductible covered, but I have $200 less toward car repairs, and $300 less toward my next laptop." We've found that, for a lot of people, it feels pretty overwhelming to assign all those savings dollars to specific jobs at first. So we recommend the placeholder as a way to set it aside for a moment. But YNAB doesn't do that for you automatically because we want to encourage you to give those dollars specific jobs. Hope that helps! 🙂 - Ben M 🤓

[@Dustincovington]

Thanks Ben. It makes sense and I understand the value. I have a savings for everything you just mentioned. It’s my short term savings account. I have another savings that I’ll just have to remove from YNAB. Disappointing that there isn’t a bypass option so that I can see all of my accounts in one app. 10/10 would recommend a toggle option

[@VanillaBean2023]

@@Dustincovington You can add accounts as tracking accounts, and the money in those don't get added to the budget. Search for "Tracking" on this channel's homepage. Also, Nick True has a video called "YNAB Multi-Account Guide: Updated Savings Tutorial" that covers different was to add accounts (I would link to it but I don't think links are allowed in comments). I was confused about this until I learned about tracking accounts.

[@JWTrexler2011]

I saw, for the first time, he added a "Savings - Don't touch this" category. I thought this was a great idea. He used it as a temporary holder for Savings dollars, but I may keep it there permantly to hold dollars I want to keep separated for emergencies, etc.

[@LayLowStack]

I’m a new user living paycheck to paycheck. How would you recommend I start. I don’t have last month money to use. I feel lost.

[@YNABofficial]

You can start with this month money-the money you have right now. Ask yourself "What does this money need to do before I get paid again?" Assign according to those priorities, track your spending, readjust, and then do it all over again when the next paycheck arrives. Let me know if you have any other questions! ~Ernie

[@DebbieBensonpjc]

@@YNABofficialI am starting at the end of the month and I get paid weekly. I literally have no money to assign since all my bills are paid…it’s hard to see how this is going to work without having a full month ahead to budget and starting at the beginning of the month.

[@jetmty8172]

I am having a lot of trouble starting my budget on the 6th of the month. I have already incurred some expenses and dont understand how to take this into account. Is there any video on managing inputs

[@YNABofficial]

Ignore the expenses that already happened. Just focus on what expenses are ahead of you. The Managing Your Budget video in this list kzbin.info/www/bejne/maHGkqCmfM5miMU might be helpful. ~Ernie

[@Trappasaurus]

I don't need this video at all. Still enjoy your teaching!

[@Logan-jk4go]

My YNAB user interface looks a bit different

[@jinxy1279]

Can we get this same content with Hannah narrating?

[@unknownt5391]

i need examples of going in the red - overspending......

[@YNABofficial]

Hannah has some examples of red overspending in this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/r6mqlYlmZpmtaLMsi=C9XlesUUPimJsThU ~Ernie

[@GameNinja13]

Heya. If I say, set up my electric bill to be 120 a month, but then the actual bill was only, lets say 110. Is there a way to indicate that fun extra cash and move it elsewhere in the plan?

[@YNABofficial]

Just go ahead and move the money to a fun category! If you have a target set up, I'd snooze it once it turns yellow. ~Ernie

[@tbowne05]

I don't understand the difference between his rule 2 example for cat insurance and the example of him saving for a new roof. Aren't they both just saving money over a long period of time?

[@jaredwilliams8621]

They are both part of rule 2. The difference is just size and timeframe.

[@vectorhacker-r2]

Yes, but part of rule 2 is to be specific about what you're saving for and for how long. Think of it as creating sinking funds/categories for things you know you will eventually have to spend money on, be it a new roof, insurance payment, car registration where you know when you will spend it on, or things like new tires, car repairs, home repairs, etc which you don't know when you will have to spend on, but know that eventually you will have to spend money on and you want to be prepared. And you say, well what about an emergency fund? Well for new YNABers, an emergency fund is a true expense, but over time as you dial in your true expenses and get a month or two ahead by aging your money, you find that having an emergency fund category becomes redundant. It's honestly amazing.

[@Gensosan]

Is there a point in using bank transfers to add expenses or should it be done manually? Will the app recognize the same transfer the next month?

[@YNABofficial]

If both accounts are on the budget, bank transfers will only move money between accounts (no category is required). However, the first time transfers import you will have to edit them to set them up as transfers (which is done in the payee field). After that, YNAB should recognize those transactions as transfers. ~Ernie

[@zackplauche]

140 phone bill 💀 Mine's 15

[@XxYNADExX]

Vivement la traduction française !!!

[@tag_of_frank]

How to handle something like 401K which comes from gross income? Same thing for keeping track of HSA

[@vectorhacker-r2]

You can add tracking accounts, which is money that doesn't factor into the budget, but does factor into the net worth calculation the app makes.

[@spacerayg.7382]

$600 for a whole year of car insurance? My mans has a bicycle.

[@paulo123-]

Maybe drives an old car and has liability only

[@mrmuffin5046]

how would it work if i pay my bills with a credit card and then i pay off the credit credit card with my debit.

[@YNABofficial]

CCs work great in YNAB (I use two myself)! As long as you have real money set aside to cover the purchase, YNAB will move that money to your Credit Card Payment category so it can be used to make your CC payment later. More info here kzbin.info/www/bejne/mIvPcp1nqtl9fKssi=8_ozFEB7vTmTKzBz ~Ernie

[@janedoe63214]

Does it actually move the move around or does a person need to initiate the transfer?

[@maxdoes_]

YNAB does not actually move money from one account to another. If you assign money from your checking account to a "savings" category, the money is still in your checking account. The upside is that now that money is assigned-if you stick to your plan that money will stay in your checking account and will not be spent. You can always move the money to a savings account if you want but you have to do that yourself. Either way, you're not spending it.

[@youreinacultcallyourdad395]

This is what I needed from the very beginning!

[@marcusarelius]

It’s a lot of this automated with YNAB tracking both income and transactions from your bank? I just started using this and on the trial. Its a little weird to plan for the entire month when the money you will earn that month isn’t available to fund various expenses until it hits your checking account

[@YNABofficial]

Yes, if you link your bank accounts and credit cards, YNAB will automatically import your spending and paychecks. All you have to do is then categorize those transactions and assign jobs to the new money from the paycheck. ~Ernie

[@marcusarelius]

@@YNABofficial is the categorization automatic? Can you set rules so you don’t have to manually track transactions to budgeted items?

[@pamelaandrison8430]

The background music is distracting. Can you soften it or do away with it?

[@santiagoarteta2993]

I get paId every other week why Ynab does not have a target for every week It could very help to budget Rignt now we target by month and week It to add by every other week thank s 😪

[@aimeesage4614]

Is there a specific category that is giving you trouble? I get paid bi-weekly, and found it helpful to have weekly categories, such as Grocery 1, Grocery 2, Grocery 3, Grocery 4.

[@averyhargrave7343]

lol $6000 monthly take home, I wish

[@daviddoble6312]

The cadence of this presentation is painfully slow.

[@YNABofficial]

Hey there! This video is a recording of one of our live workshops that are always available for signup at www.ynab.com/workshops. Ever wanted to ask someone a question in YNAB and have them just show you the answer right in front of you? These workshops ares a great way to learn with others and get your individual questions answered by a YNAB teacher in real time! However, if you're looking for a faster paced tutorial, feel free to check out our "Start Here" video playlist. I'll link it below! kzbin.info/aero/PLq0_N-XTl2yBC9dGE6VEY1xd1i89ua3JU&si=N0gTG5XX6F8ANJYa Hope this helps! Let me know if there's a more specific topic you're looking to learn about and I can link ya to a helpful video! 🌻 Hannah

[@DelapierceD]

Why is the language used to describe this so non-intuitive? Set Targets, Assign Money? Just call things a budget and label the transactions. Be normal

[@glowing_rectangle]

Lol it's not non-inutitive, you're just being a hater for no reason

[@DelapierceD]

@@glowing_rectangle Oh, I have reasons But if you understand it so well, can you help me: How do I create a monthly budget category that does *not* rollover? Not even the service representatives have a solid answer for me on that one

[@YNABofficial]

Hi! The simple answer is you can't. YNAB categories are designed to always roll over. If you find yourself with extra money available in a category that you would rather put somewhere else, you can select that category and hit "Reduce Overfunding" in the Inspector. That will send the extra money to Ready to Assign where you can divvy it out however you see fit. Or you can do some quick math and just move that amount to another category. Hope that helps! 🙂 - Ben M 🎨

[@tfergieman]

I actually somewhat agree here. In a lot of ways I'm starting to feel like I should just create a spreadsheet. I like how comprehensive it is, and I like that its accounting for money as soon as you have it, and that it connects to accounts, but my brain glitches when I read the categories and titles. It doesn't feel intuitive.

[@DelapierceD]

@@tfergieman I had an intro call with them last week that was super helpful. I recommend it if you can schedule one. It took me a while to realize that their explainers and their website simply have two different frames, which is extremely frustrating. The website, as is, means you need to understand five categories: Ready to Assign, Assigned, Activity, Available, and the different kinds of Targets. I do not see any explainer of theirs that just goes through what these things simply mean. But if you can make sense of those, then you can understand YNAB

[@TheBabypod]

My wife and I are totally friggin lost and don't understand squat. I'm waiting for my one 20 minute phone call (Supposed to be at 1pm. 20 minutes late already. Wonder if Ill get it at all)...But even if I do there is no way 20 minutes is enough tiime to get this. We've watched this video twice and a few others. Guess we just aren't smart enough to figure it out. Likely will drop this and try something else. Sure miss Mint..........................................Well, just saw it was supposed to be a Google Meet call. Did not know that. No one told me that. So forget YNAB. I'm goiing elsewhere.