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Happy with your budget categories? Please share!
I'm curious to know how people organize their budget categories. Thinking of making some changes for 2018 and would love to see what people use (and don't use). What are your budget categories?
- Ryan Oakley
- Side-Hustler
- oakley
- 3 yrs ago
- 154 replies
- 30,082
- 31
- Navy Blue Stallion4 wk ago
- Tips & Tricks
Immediate Obligations vs. True Expenses
Hello. I think I understand the difference between these two preset YNAB category groups, but I'm not quite sure what can qualify something as one or the other.…
- ukimagic209
- ukimagic209
- 3 yrs ago
- 29 replies
- 17,034
- 5
- Sky Blue Harp1 yr ago
- Tips & Tricks
What is Your Budget's Name?
Hi everyone! I've always had a difficult time naming my budget in YNAB and I've been wondering what other people name their budgets. And now I have a place to ask!…
- Kate
- Joyful Technical Writer 🌴
- sweet_sunshine
- 3 yrs ago
- 108 replies
- 10,163
- 7
- Mamba2 mths ago
- Tips & Tricks
Bi-weekly Budgeting
How do y'all handle non-monthly budgeting items? I mean, I get the YNAB system when it comes to budgeting stuff like mortgage and energy bills and creating sinking funds and stuff - but for us,…
- Troy Miller
- Budgeter, FPU Leader, Programmer, Dad, Husband
- yort
- 3 yrs ago
- 77 replies
- 8,649
- Cornflower Blue Filly (35a9d699c640)2 yrs ago
- Tips & Tricks
Negative amount in Budgeted column-Why?
I have been using YNAB for a few months now and have noticed that when I need to move money from one category to another to cover overspending or maybe rethinking my amounts for things,…
- Slate Gray Sound (11dc3b5c9d37)
- Slate_Gray_Sound_11dc3b
- 3 yrs ago
- 51 replies
- 7,994
- 6
- WordTenor1 yr ago
- Tips & Tricks
Can we talk about the buffer?
The cash buffer is a huge part of why YNAB is a great way to manage your finances. Reading other posts, I think I see a couple of different ways that people handle that buffer.…
- All About the Numbers
- Hot_Pink_Mill_f9e491b4d
- 3 yrs ago
- 69 replies
- 7,246
- 5
- Move Light Sound Life1 yr ago
- Tips & Tricks
- jmsidhu
- jmsidhu
- 1 yr ago
- Reported - view
Judging from the discussion and debate in this thread there is still a great deal of confusion in my mind on the efficacy of creating a "Buffer" category or "Income for Next Month" category in my…
Thinking about leaving YNAB
My husband and I have been active YNAB users for more than five years. We finally switched to the new version after our computer died a couple months ago.…
- JD Gil
- jd_gil
- 3 yrs ago
- 70 replies
- 6,910
- 5
- Beige Banjo2 yrs ago
- Tips & Tricks
How to budget reimbursed work expenses
I just recently switched over to the new ynab and am struggling with how to get it to work with work expenses which get reimbursed. In the old ynab I would just allow that category to go in the red…
- Coral Memory
- Coral_Memory
- 2 yrs ago
- 19 replies
- 6,631
- 5
- dakinemaui1 yr ago
- Tips & Tricks
To Fresh Start or not to Fresh Start...
...that is the question and I know it's been discussed before on the old forum and here. But it seems like a good time of year to start the discussion again.…
- ChicagoFlyer
- chicgoflyr
- 3 yrs ago
- 31 replies
- 6,582
- 2
- Nina Giraffe2 mths ago
- Tips & Tricks
- Answered
- Answered
One Bank Account to Rule Them All?
I am interested to find out how many bank accounts people maintain once they have been using YNAB for a while. And the reasons why.
- Six Hats
- monkeychicken
- 2 yrs ago
- 45 replies
- 6,386
- 2
- MacGsMom1 yr ago
- Tips & Tricks
Rolling over overspent amounts
Hi, We are wondering if it is possible to roll over the overages in categories vs having it automatically come from To Be Budgeted. Specifically, our electric bill varies greatly month to month,…
- Slate Gray Lion
- Slate_Gray_Lion
- 2 yrs ago
- 29 replies
- 5,222
- 3
- Violet Lobster9 mths ago
- Tips & Tricks
The Power of the Monthly Funding Goal
. New YNABber and new budgeter here. I was having a hard time meshing YNAB's budget-what-you-have approach with my old-school training of entering the full forecasted amount for each month,…
- Forest Green Guitar (09d39a7ed921)
- Drowning in debt, but learning to swim
- Forest_Green_Guitar_09d
- 3 yrs ago
- 8 replies
- 5,114
- 7
- Violet Drill3 yrs ago
- Tips & Tricks
Workaround for lack of "Income for Next Month" in YNAB
Why is this gone?!?! I have a one month buffer. In other words, all of the money I am spending this February, I actually earned in January. But with the latest version of YNAB,…
- Matt Tanner
- Khaki_Sidewinder
- 2 yrs ago
- 36 replies
- 5,022
- 10
- dakinemaui1 yr ago
- Tips & Tricks
Trick to "skip" funding a Goal in the Current Month (remove the orange warning while keeping the future goal!)
I recently accidentally stumbled upon this handy trick and posted about it in my journal, and it seems it's likely of use to others, so I figured I'd make a separate post to share! SCENARIO :…
- Resistant Punch Roller
- Back to YNAB 10 years later!
- resistantpunchroller
- 2 yrs ago
- 21 replies
- 4,890
- 19
- ynaber26132 yrs ago
- Tips & Tricks
Budgeting for annual or one time expenses
I've been using YNAB for a few months now and it has really improved my ability to manage my money. However, I'm having a hard time figuring out how to use the software to account for one time…
- D Thomas
- dthomas929
- 1 yr ago
- 33 replies
- 4,276
- 1
- Move Light Sound Life2 days ago
- Tips & Tricks
What (in your opinion) is your weirdest/most unique budget category?
I thought of this question last night as I was adding a "$2 Bill" line to my Savings category. I end up with $2 bills more frequently than expected; I don't like to spend them,…
- latiajacquise
- 4th Level Budget Wizard
- powerwordbudget
- 3 yrs ago
- 36 replies
- 3,916
- 4
- pepperpat2 yrs ago
- Tips & Tricks
Keeping track of credit card payment due dates
After forgetting to pay a credit card bill one month 😞 , I first called the company to credit the fee 🙌 and then came up with a system to make sure that I will never forget again.…
- Coral Foal (ff1b63999cea)
- Coral_Foal_ff1b63999cea
- 3 yrs ago
- 41 replies
- 3,720
- 2
- Superbone1 yr ago
- Tips & Tricks
My nYNAB feedback
Giving nYNAB a whirl for a second time two years later... With that said, I started using YNAB Pro way back in 2007 when there wasn’t even multiple account registers,…
- Joel
- Joel
- 3 yrs ago
- 43 replies
- 3,635
- 30
- Superbone8 mths ago
- Tips & Tricks
Healthy Budget Breakdown for Any Salary?
Hi guys, So YNAB takes care of all budgeting and tracking mechanics - great! As I started using YNAB, I can now track all my spending, as well as all my passive accounts, very well.…
- Turquoise Pony (da415ea2ba0b)
- Turquoise_Pony_da415ea2
- 3 yrs ago
- 16 replies
- 3,115
- 3
- PhysicsGal6 mths ago
- Tips & Tricks
Budgeting & Quarterly Taxes
I'm new to YNAB and am in my first month. I own a small business and pay estimated quarterly taxes of around $1000/month. Since they are due quarterly, in one month I will have $3000 come due.…
- Baileys Brew
- baileysbrew
- 3 yrs ago
- 26 replies
- 3,066
- 1
- Baileys Brew2 yrs ago
- Tips & Tricks
Budgeting While Single
I think one of my biggest challenges when it comes to YNAB is accountability. I'm a singleton with no one but my two pets to ever know that I spend too much money on things I don't need and not…
- blondeambition
- damn millennial.
- blondeambition
- 3 yrs ago
- 17 replies
- 3,063
- 6
- Magenta Motherboard1 yr ago
- Tips & Tricks
Category Names
I find myself wishing I had better names for my categories. Right now I have Bills (things due on a certain date with a set amount), Necessary Expenses (things I need every month but doesn't have a…
- Emma Catherine
- Civil engineer getting back on track
- emmacatherine
- 10 mths ago
- 58 replies
- 2,977
- 3
- Ivory Rain2 wk ago
- Tips & Tricks
Please explain: $600 savings
"On average, new budgeters save $600 by month two and more than $6,000 the first year!" What does this actually mean? How does YNAB get this data?
- Navy Blue Cyborg
- Navy_Blue_Cyborg.1
- 2 yrs ago
- 42 replies
- 2,969
- 1
- Saturna1 yr ago
- Tips & Tricks
Food budgeting
RIght now I have one food category, but I have trouble getting the money to last. Have anyone tried to make four categories, one for each week to make it easier to keep the weekly food budget?…
- Tropico
- tropico
- 2 yrs ago
- 27 replies
- 2,886
- 1
- Slate Blue Grizzly1 yr ago
- Tips & Tricks
What do you use payee for?
I pretty much always leave the Payee field empty when entering transactions since I don't see any use for it, but I am sure there must be a reason it's there, I just don't know it yet.…
- Maurycy Zarzycki
- Programmer
- maurycy
- 1 yr ago
- 55 replies
- 2,865
- Voracious Reader1 yr ago
- Tips & Tricks

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