Silly question about credit cards
I am always getting tripped up inYNAB with my credit cards. I know basically how they work as you spend. We Pay our credit cards off every month so that part isnt a problem. What is the difference between statement balance and current balance. ?? For some reason I get mixed up with this. I just want to know what I owe on what day. Don’t show two different amounts please LOL. I have over paid on some credit cards because of this. And my available to be budgeted on my credit cards never match the balances in my YNAB register. I have taken the workshops before so I do have a bit of knowledge there.
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Your statement balance is what normally needs to be paid.
At the end of your billing cycle, when the card provider sends the bill for X amount, that is your statement balance.
Your current balance will include that X amount, plus anything you've spent since, so it will be the total owed.Did you budget for your starting balance when you set the cards up first?
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wench yes I went through chat support and set up a new budget in regards to this.
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YNAB doesn't show two different amounts. It shows you two pieces of separate, but related information.
Your credit card company tells you what the statement balance is because they are the ones that generate the statement. YNAB will never tell you this information.
The credit card payment category available balance tells you how much you have allocated in your budget to pay your credit card.
The credit card account balance in YNAB tells you how much you owe on your credit card. That may or may not be different than the statement balance because the YNAB account balance will display charges that happened after the statement closed.
Ideally the credit card payment category available balance will match that YNAB credit category balance except the category balance will be positive and the account balance will be negative.
In order to avoid paying interest, you must pay at least the statement balance on or before the due date.
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I agree CC are SUPER frustrating in YNAB. Every month it's a different issue with a different credit card.
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Irene O I had some trouble in the first couple of months transitioning from the old YNAB, but after that I've almost ever had an error and I maintain at least 8 CC balances at any given time. The Toolkit extension has a helpful feature that will highlight any time a CC payment category doesn't match the balance on the card, so you can catch anything off right away.
But in general, any budgeted purchase WILL go straight to the payment available category and that will always be the amount in your budget you are able to pay at any chosen (or required) time.
As long as all your CC accounts are regularly maintained and reconciled, and any yellow overspending is knocked out immediately, you should never even have to move any money to or from the payment available category. I never have, except month one. Returns and credits that cross months can be pesky, but that's another story.
Give it another month and I bet everything will be seamless going forward! :)
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Annieland i can't use the extension kit on my iPad.
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Lee2lee I understand, I use an iPad too with YNAB, but mostly the browser as my old eyes and brain feel I have more visibility that way.
To further answer your original questions if the previous replies haven't yet clarified:
According to the CC company, your statement balance posts monthly, with a minimum due, any accrued interest, rebates, etc. THAT is the exact amount you pay by the due date. I used to pay that amount on the closing date, now I schedule it for the due date. If you pay in full every month (yay!), just pay that amount between the closing date and the due date. Nothing more, nothing less, you keep the rest of your money for next month's statement balance.
After you pay it, whenever that is, you will STILL have money available in your payment category in YNAB. That's money budgeted for the NEXT month's CC statement. The amount up there reflects your current balance on the CC and what budgeted expenditures you've made this month.
YNAB will simply show a combination of what you've manually entered, what has been posted and cleared by your bank, and as of recent, pending charges as well. It may or may not always match your current balance at the bank at any given moment, so if you want it always matchy matchy you can "reconcile" it yourself, but using the web app.
Hope that clarifies a little more!
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Lee2lee You'll have to look at those two numbers (account and category balances) periodically to verify they match.
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Irene O YNAB automatically keeps up with CC transactions that are against categories with available funds. If you have any other type of transaction, then it is on you to adjust the CC Payment category.
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Lee2lee said:
What is the difference between statement balance and current balance. ??The entire statement (including the statement balance) is just a snapshot of the account *as of the closing date*. The account balance, of course, will change as you make additional purchases.
Two things to remember:
1. Pay the statement balance by the due date to avoid interest.
2. Keep the YNAB CC Payment category Available equal with opposite sign to the current account balance to maintain paid-in-full status.
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dakinemaui i always pay my cards in full each month.
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Lee2lee Your call, of course. There are numerous advantages to not paying more than what they've requested.
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dakinemaui of course I made the overpayment in error. As I have said it all works out in the end
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Lee2lee I'm trying to address any misunderstanding that led you to blame YNAB for that overpayment error. I don't know if this is the case here, but some people automatically send in whatever is in the category. I simply want to impress upon you that is not the best approach, since it can lead to overpayment (and underpayment) errors.
Nothing in YNAB tells you what you *should* pay. It only tells you how much is reserved for the payment. Ideally those are the same number, but they might not be. If they are not, you should figure out why they differ before making the payment.
Hope it helps!
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Lee2lee said:
I have over paid on some credit cards because of thisThey sent you a bill. Why are you paying them anything other than what they requested? You don't always give the grocery store the entire contents of the Grocery category, do you? 😉
