Ok, I'm gonna do mine.  I have a lot of categories, and many are old YNAB3/4 throwbacks that I keep for posterity as they're still so familiar to me.  I somehow find a need to tweak something a few times a year even though in my mind, my categories are very simple compared to others'.  Yesterday I split up the "Doctor/Dentist" category to two separate line items, plus added a Vision category as I now have an HSA and LPFSA and want to know for next year how much more I'm spending out of pocket on the LPFSA expenses.

I never did the "True Expense" type breakdown, but I later added an I or T tag to some categories to help prioritize, but I really rarely look at it.  I don't break anything out by time.  If I made a category for every single recurring transaction my budget would be a mess.  I schedule them all on mostly one credit card, and just "budget for upcoming."  If it's something annual and big, like HOA dues, I use a goal by date.  

I have 11 CC Payment categories showing, and 7 hidden, so I'll just skip those.  Wish I could hide them from the account view!!

I use the yellow and blue (toolkit) warnings to initially fill out the budget.  My eyes are well-trained on how to jump around priorizing after 10+ years of this.  I use a lot of goals, upcoming, and category notes to help guide me.  

Business - not major businesses, just for tracking

• Business Expense (husband's reimbursables)
• eBay Biz
• Italian Ice
• Thirty-One

Clothing

• Adults
• Kids
• Shoes & Accessories

Charity

• Tithing (I'm not Mormon, but it sounds cooler than Church)
• Other

Education

• Tuition
• School
• Tutoring

Food

• Coffee
• Groceries
• Restaurants
• Diet
• Supplements
• Gum (throwback from nicotine-gum days, now keep for Orbit :))

Housing

• Rent/Mortgage (never paid rent while using YNAB, but it's an old YNAB category I keep)
• Property Taxes (self-escrow, always!)
• Services (house cleaners, lawn guy, snow removal, etc.)
• Household Needs (mostly consumables, and small items)
• Association Dues
• Furniture & Appliances (big stuff)
• Improvements & Repairs
• Pest Control (used to have a subscription, now just keep an amount for emergencies)

Kids  (Allowances)

• Kid 1
• Kid 2
• Kid 3

Medical

• Doctor
• Prescriptions
• Dental
• Vision
• Other
• HSA Funds (ONLY category that matches to an account. I budget for upcoming medical expenses normally, then cover with this category when I make a charge or withdrawal. Auto deposits with each paycheck), and I reconcile monthly, interest goes straight to category.) 

Personal

• Personal Care (toiletries, beauty, haircuts, etc.)
• Gifts
• Holidays & Celebrations
• Subscriptions & Dues (YNAB, Prime, Costco, newspaper, magazines, etc. All scheduled in future on a card)
• Mom Stuff (she just passed away so this will be retired soon, after I finish closing out her trust)
• Legal (thanks, mom :))
• Loans (I use to track money I am owed by others, rare occurrence)
• Child Care (babysitting, seldom now, yay!)

Pet Care

• Food
• Supplies (treats, other items, grooming)
• Vet

Recreation (These are the ones that get raided constantly)

• Computer & Technology
• Entertainment (family fun stuff, movies, etc.)
• Hers
• His
• Kids
• Vacation

Savings (general financial categories, not always in service)

• RSU (release fixed amount monthly for income smoothing)
• ESPP (same as above)
• Future Income (currently used for next month buffer, even though oddly named :))
• Taxes & Fees
• Retirement (was for Roth transfers, but not used right now, maybe in future)
• Investments (used once to exercise stock options, maybe in future when I get there)
• Buffer (catch-all for money I haven't quite figured out yet but will soon)
• Emergency Fund (truly Income Replacement, but not renaming yet)

Spending Money (any small ATM withdrawal that probably won't be tracked)

• Annie
• [Husband]

Transportation

• Gas & Oil
• Insurance
• Repairs & Tires (really a catch-all for most car expenses, including licenses & registration)
• Parking & Rides

Utilities

• Cable TV (monthly bundled Comcast bill, separate pay tv subscriptions, tivo charges - these are all scheduled on a single credit card. Much easier when a CC inevitably gets compromised and closed)
• Cellular Phone
• Life Insurance
• Gas & Electricity
• Water
• Trash Collection

Rental Property (this is new)

• Property Tax
• Water
• Landlord Insurance

Monthly Expenses: Mortgage, Home/car insurance, Charitable donations, YMCA, Life insurance, Cell phones, Hydro (electric for other people), Groceries, Gas, Interest/Fees, Internet & Phone, Melaleuca Order.

 

Debt Payments: Details not relevant to anyone but me

 

Less Frequent expenses: Personal care, Car maintenance, Home maintenance, CPA Membership, website registration, YNAB subscription, Clothing & School Supplies, Gifts, Christmas Gifts, Birthday Gifts, Vacation

 

Fun Stuff: Netflix, Family fun & dining out, Rebecca misc money, André misc money

 

Wish list: Currently only active thing is remote starters for our vehicles, but it won't be funded for ages I don't think.

Always interesting to see these. Mine have changed over time, from dealing-with-debt to stop living paycheck-to-paycheck, to FIRE (although i'm more FI than RE), so I'd really agree with the comment about what you want your budget to tell you. That changes, and so do the categories.

For me, i'm looking at the FI part of FIRE at the moment, so want to know how much I need to have coming in to meet the essentials. So my categories are setup from must do and should do through to can live without or nice to have. Strictly i've hit FI if I can fill the essentials, but in reality I need to hit most of the nice to have's as well for it to be sustainable long-term. So master categories are

• MUST - Bills (Monthly). Mortgage, utility bills, council tax ... any bill I must pay each month
• MUST - Bills (Annual). Similar, but budgeting for bills that are annual (car insurance, road tax, etc.)
• MUST - Food and Supplies. We need to eat, and fill up various things round the house :)
• SHOULD - Credit Card Payments. Obviously cards are best paid in full each month, but could slip to next month in an emergency so not quite a MUST
• SHOULD - Savings (Emergency Funds). These should always be topped up in full, whenever possible.
• SHOULD - Healthcare. Again, a little flex here if I have to, e.g. postpone a routine dentist check-up a month or two. But should be fully budgeted whenever possible.
• MEDIUM - Savings (Monthly). Long term savings, which are important for FI(RE) but could be reduced or paused if needed
• MEDIUM - Transportation. Includes petrol and maintenance, but could cycle to work if I had to!
• LOW - Birthdays and Christmas. Nice to do, but can always write a card if I was broke.
• LOW - Clothing. Have enough in the wardrobe to get me by for a long while
• LOW - Giving. Always want to each month. Don't have to.
• LOW - Household. Maintenance work, gardening, furnishing. Nothing major needs doing at the moment, so could be deferred if needed. Emergency fund will cover emergencies.
• LOW - Miscellaneous. The bucket'o'stuff that doesn't fit elsewhere.
• NICE TO HAVE - Recreation and Holidays. Again, would like to, don't need to. A 'staycation' isn't terrible where I live

So I budget from top to bottom, based on what's available. My salary is predictable, so everything is usually covered in full each month, but any major outlay (e.g. household repairs) means the LOW categories may be paused for a bit.

Mine is pretty simple and each item under the category heading is arranged by it's due date with the fixed amount that's due. Makes it easy to know exactly when each is due and for how much. I do have a bunch of hidden categories that I've either combined or eliminated as I tweak the budget.

FIXED MONTHLY EXPENSES

• Rent
• T Mobile
• USAA Insurance
• iTunes
• Direct TV Now
• HP Instant Ink
• NY Times
• Hulu
• Fax.com
• iTunes-Robo Killer

VARIABLE MONTHLY EXPENSES

• Electricity
• Cleaning Service
• Cash/Spending Money
• Uber/Lyft
• Household Misc Items
• Ventra Card Reload
• Gifts
• Giving
• Stuff I Forgot to Budget For
• Extra Money for Hannah

GROCERIES

• Week 1-7
• Week 8-15
• Week 16-23
• Week 24-31
• Groceries When Having Guests

MEDICAL

• Express Scripts
• Medicare Plan G
• Prescription Drugs
• Unanticipated Health Expenses
• Doctor/Dentist Visits

AUTO EXPENSES

• Gas
• Lease Payment
• Illinois Tollway
• Chicago Parking App
• Auto Maintenance & Repairs

PET EXPENSES

• Food
• Vet
• Equipment/Supplies
• Cat Sitter

PERSONAL STUFF

• Toiletries
• Contact Lens Supplies
• Clothing
• Manicures/Pedicures
• Cosmetics
• Dry Cleaning
• Hair
• Splurging

FUN STUFF

• Books
• Movies
• Knitting
• Restaurants

ONE TIME EVENTS

• Michelle's Wedding
• Attorney Fee for Divorce

SAVINGS

• Life Happens
• Retirement/General Savings

YEARLY ITEMS

• Jack's Birthday
• Hannah's Birthday
• Danny's Birthday
• VPN
• Costco
• YNAB
• Skidmore Donation
• Amex Yearly Membership
• 1Password
• Amazon Prime
• Dropbox
• Lyrics
• City of Chicago Auto Sticker
• Car Registration Renewal
• Magazine Subscriptions
• Christmas
• Professional Fees
• Taxes
• New Scleral Lenses

VACATIONS

• Thanksgiving
• Christmas
• Plucky Pop Up
• Montreal
• Iceland

WISH LIST

• Desk & Chair
• Living Room Shelf
• New LR Sectional
• Entry Hallway Mirror
• Outdoor Furniture for Balcony
• Car Lease Buyout
• New Cell Phone
• New Laptop
• New Eyeglasses

Mine are split into Monthly fixed and variable which I fund with my checking account (I buy everything on my rewards card and pay it off each month) and Sinking fixed and variable that I fund with my savings account.

Hi! Here are mine:

Basic 🏡

• Rent 1st
• Groceries
• Medical
• Phone 10th
• Gas/Electric 13th
• Internet 21st
• Renters' Insurance
• Taxes

Saving 🔑

• Emergency Fund

Flex - Me 🧘‍♀️

• Food
• Travel
• Apartment
• Fitness 6th
• Clothes
• Haircuts
• News
• Entertainment
• Other

Flex - Others 💫

• Charity
• Visiting Family
• Family Birthdays
• Hosting Visitors
• Weddings
• Other Gifts

Flex - Non-Monthly 🗓️

• Annual subscription categories

Holidays 🕯️

• Travel, food and gift categories

Partner 🙋‍♂️

• Their share of the Basics, News and Entertainment categories, which they transfer to me monthly for me to pay

Extra Income (e.g., bonus, tax refund) 🌵

• 10% Charity
• 10% Fun

I try to roughly follow the 50% basics, 20% savings, 30% flex breakdown from Elizabeth Warren's "All Your Worth." I count my retirement savings toward the 20% (including my employer match, in both my income and savings, per AYW), but don't have my retirement account in YNAB, so calculating the breakdown requires doing a little bit of math in a spreadsheet outside of YNAB.

I'm able to be a month ahead now, so one month's "total inflows" should equal the following month's budgeted amount.

I keep my emergency fund in a high-yield savings account, and everything else in checking. I'm shooting for 6 months of after-tax pay—eek—have been working on it for a long time, and am on track to be done in 2020.  🎉

I set up goals and/or scheduled transactions for as many categories as possible (including scheduling estimated transactions, with an "estimate" note in the memo line, when that's the best I can do), so that the "underfunded" amount (under Quick Budget) gives me a good sense at a glance of how realistic my budget is.

I started using YNAB around June 2018 and it took me a long time to get the hang of it, and longer still to find a setup that I'm pretty happy with. Happy to try to answer questions! 

Couple days ago, I went and redid my entire budget. Quite happy with how I have it now. Currently living with my parents for another year so don't have many expenses but I do pay rent to help them out.

 

Bills:

• Transit Passes 1st
• Bank 9th
• Rent 25th
• Phone 26th

Subscriptions:

• Patreon 1st
• Spotify 15th
• Backblaze 19th
• Adobe 28th
• Netflix 30th
• Flickr 1st (January)
• Amazon 1st (January)
• YNAB 15th (January)

Variable Expenses:

• Personal Spendings
• Entertainment
• Restaurants
• Transit & Rideshare

Periodic Expenses:

• Dental
• Birthdays
• Christmas

Saving Goals:

• TFSA / Emergency Funds
• RRSP

 

Overall I feel it to be quite simple and organized. Originally I grouped both bills and subscriptions under the same category group but decided to separate them to get a better look at how much I'm actually spending on just the subscriptions that are less important.

 

My variable expenses are expenses that will be different every month. I start each month with a starting amount in each category that I plan to aim for but will end up moving money around to cover overspending when it occurs.

 

My periodic expenses are the same as YNAB's "True Expenses". I put a bit of money each month into these categories so I'll be prepared when the time comes.

 

Saving Goals are where I keep my TFSA and RRSP contributions and any large purchase or vacation I plan to save up for.

When I started out, I used the suggested categories to keep track of when things were due, so I didn't miss any bills. I've done major category Group reorganizations since then about once per year, but I've settled out pretty much with Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs as my Group organization. Your mileage may vary.

Here are ours. We have 134 categories, varying depending on time of year. 

FOOD

Groceries

Restaurant

Restaurant 2nd half (we split the month in half with the Restaurant category)

On-the-Go Snacks

Work Lunches

Coffee Out

 

CHILD

Toys/Games

Arts & Crafts

Activities

Piggy Bank

Allowance

Gifts

Savings

 

CHILD EDUCATION

Curriculum

Supp’tl Books & Materials

School Supplies

Education Projects

Lessons/Classes

Special Events

Field Trips

Educational Sub’s

Homeschool Orgs

 

HOUSEHOLD EXPENSES

Health & Beauty

Consumable Goods

Durable Goods

Electronics

Batteries

Emergency Supplies

Dry Cleaners

Haircuts

Office Supplies

Professional Services

Tickets & Fines

 

CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES

Child Clothing

Mrs. Clothing

Mr. Clothing

 

RECREATION

Recreation Misc

Family Fun

Date Nights

Movies & Shows

Games, Media, & Apps

Arts & Crafts

Books

Mrs. Fun Money

Mr. Fun Money

 

ENTERTAINMENT SUB’S & PASSES

Media Sub’s

Annual Passes

 

PETS

Pet Food

Pet Products

Boarding

Vet/Meds

 

HOME & PROPERTY

Mortgage Principal

Mortgage Interest

Mortgage Escrow

Home Repairs

Home Improve

Furniture

Large Appliance

Small Appliance

Security

Law & Garden

Tools & Fixit Supplies

 

TRANSPORTATION

Fuel

Car Payment

Car Maintenance

Car Repairs

Tire Replacement

Car Insurance

Property Tax

Tolls & Parking

Reg/Tag/License

Car Replacement

 

HEALTH & MEDICAL

Insurance

Pharmacy OTC

Vitamins/Supplements

Prescriptions

Doctor Visits

Alt. Tx

Dental

Vision

Life Insurance

Hospital/Lab

 

UTILITIES & BILLS

Electricity

Sewer/Trash

Cable

Cell

Water

Internet

 

CELEBRATION & GIVING

Christmas

Anniversary

Mrs. Birthday

Mr. Birthday

Child Birthday

Child Friends’ Birthday

Family Birthdays

Holiday/Special Occasions

Wedding/Hospital/Funeral

Giving Other

Tithe

 

VACATION & TRAVEL

Travel

Vacation

PTO

 

EDUCATION & STUDENT LOAN

Student Loan

Student Loan Interest

Student Loan Snowball

Educ. Expenses

INVESTMENTS

[Misc. Investment Accounts]

 

TAXES

Qtr 1 Taxes

Qtr 2 Taxes

Qtr 3 Taxes

Qtr 4 Taxes

Taxes Buffer

For Reimbursement

Tax Return

 

RESERVES

Dental Savings

Vision Savings

Child Education Savings

Fun Money Savings

Auto Deductible

House Deductible

Medical Deductible

Salary Buffer

Salary Replacement

Other Emergency Fund

 

FINANCIAL

Contingencies

Deferred Income

Refunds

Disputed

Account Corrections

Reimbursements

 

PRAYER FARM

Landscaping

Bathroom Remodel

Europe Trip

Child College

Here's my current setup.

Debt Payments
- Auto Loan - 2018 Crosstrek Anniversary Edition

The Buffers
- Income for Next Month
- The Buffer

Stayin Alive
- Meds
- Covered Medical
- Uncovered Medical
- Covered Medical Next Year

Monthly Expenses
- Cell Phone
- Funding Subscriptions
- Gas
- Giving - Monthly
- Groceries
- Streaming/Entertainment - Monthly
- Subscription Boxes
- Voip Services - Monthly
- VPS Hosting

Yearly Expenses
- January - Auto Registration
- January - Mail Services
- January, August, October, November, December - Streaming Services
- January - Vestalink (2 Yr)
- April - Taxes
- July - Auto Insurance
- June, September, November - Software Subscriptions

Immediate Obligations
- Backup Services
- VOIP Services

True Expenses
- Auto Maintenance - March, September
- Auto Insurance Deductible
- Gifts
- Giving
- Clothing
- Legal
- Personal Care
- Car Replacement Fund
- Purchases for Others
- Purchases for Clients

Investing/Retirement
- Automated Investing/Retirement Funding
- Manual Investing/Retirement Funding
- Investing for Interest/Dividends

Quality of Life Goals
- Armory Supplies and Upgrades
- Education
- Family Trips
- Home Improvement
- House/Land/Range/Studio
- Vacation

Just for Fun
- Entertainment
- Gaming

Wish Farm: S(<$101), M(<$501), L(>$500)
- 0-Wish Buffer
- <a few S/M/L goals>

Wish List: S(<$101), M(<$501), L(>$500)
- <Bunch of goals>

Account Minimums to Keep
- CapOne Savings
- TFCU Checking
- TFCU Savings
- ST Checking

Completed/No Longer Used
- <Bunch of categories like the completed student loan and completed wish farm items>
 

casner said:
I've settled out pretty much with Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs as my Group organization

see. We can use stuff we learned in school in real life. 

Category Group	Category
Income for Next Month	Income for January
Income for Next Month	Income for February
Income for Next Month	Income for March
Income for Next Month	Income for April
Giving	Giving
Giving	Giving (tax deductible)
Savings	Cash 12%
Savings	Vacation Money 8%
Savings	Car Replacement
Home	Mortgage
Home	Excess
Home	Moving Costs
Home	Insurance
Home	Maintenance
Home	Yard
Home	Tools
Home	Deck
Home	Appliances
Home	Pool
Utilities	Rates
Utilities	Septic
Utilities	Gas
Utilities	Internet
Utilities	Phone
Utilities	Electric
Utilities	Water
Household	Tolls (deductible)
Household	YNAB
Household	Haircut
Household	Groceries
Household	School Fees
Household	Health
Household	Clothes - Kids
Household	Animals
Household	Bank Fees
Household	Postage
Household	Stamp Annual
Household	Kids dollar a day
Household	Youtube
Household	Microsoft Account
Household	Apple Account
Household	Google Account
Household	Budget Feeder
Household	Newspaper
Household	Netflix
Household	Stan
Household	Spotify
Household	Movies
Household	Gifts
Household	Christmas
Household	Birthdays
Household	Restaurant
Toyota1	Purchasing Costs
Toyota1	Insurance
Toyota1	Services
Toyota1	Tyres
Toyota1	Rego
Toyota1	Battery
Toyota1	Fuel
Toyota1	Excess
Toyota2	Excess
Toyota2	Fuel
Toyota2	Battery
Toyota2	Rego
Toyota2	Tyres
Toyota2	Services
Toyota2	Insurance
Work	University
Work	Expenses Reimburseable
Work	Expenses (Deductible)

Right now I follow the budget moms template but I'm also looking for other creative budget templates for ynab.

After many reorganizations, I think I'm happy with what I have - it's worked for about 3 months without a hiccup.

This Month's Obligations: Everything due this month, sorted by due date. Includes monthly as well as occasional items which are due this month; as well as a note about how they payment is made. Bills that are paid by mail are listed by the date they need to be mailed, not the date they are due. I end up with long category names, but all the information I need is right there. Examples: 10 HOA dues (mail for 15); 18 Storage unit (automatic); 26 Property taxes (mail for 1). 

Credit cards and debt: Also arranged by due date. Includes 2 credit cards, 2 old debts which have target debts to pay them off; and 2 old medical bills which I'm on a payment plan for. Examples: 6 Old Hospital Bill (Mail for 11); 26 Credit Card #1 (Mail for 1); Old Vet Bill.

Future Obligations: Anything due in future months, with next month at the top and then continuing in chronological order. Each of these have goals attached, so that I am saving for each of them as I go. Every month, I move things to "This Month's Obligations" as needed, and change the category name to fit that format. So 04-12 Mobile will move to "This Month's Obligations" in April, and be renamed 12 Mobile (Automatic). Other examples in this group: 05 Summer Camp; 09 YNAB; 01 Dashlane.

Quality of Life: The stuff we need. Some have goals, especially the ones we're trying to reduce spending on. Gifts are here, and as I become aware of gifts that are going to be needed, I add a note and a goal, like Jimmy 04-10 $40, with a goal to save $40 by April. Other examples: Groceries, Clothing, Medical.

Eating Out: Gets its own section because it has historically been out of control in my family. This lets me track our total eating out spending, as well as track our family dinners out, my husband's breakfasts that he buys on the way to work, and the lunches I buy at work.

Fun Stuff: Some of these have goals, mainly the ones we're trying to reduce. Examples: Alcohol, Going Out, Buying Stuff.

Kid's Money: To track the child's money; she gets an allowance, but has to set some of it aside for savings and donations. What's left is hers to spend, but she usually wants us to hold it for her until she wants to use it. So: Donation fund; Savings; Spending.

General Fund: This includes a category just called General Fund, which has an undated target goal of $5,000. Then it has other categories, which get paid from the General Fund. Examples: Car repairs and maintenance; Child Care; Home repairs.

Wish List: Basically a wish farm, except none of the items are getting any funding yet because we don't have that money :( But we'll get there.