Savings Account
In addition to my checking account, I have a savings account linked to my YNAB. In my monthly budget I have an amount for "Savings", that I actually transfer to my savings account from my checking account.
But when I make transfers to my savings account it says "category not needed", but if there is no category then there is no activity. If there is no activity then there is no "use" of that money in a month. So where is that money in my budget?
Does this mean that by budgeting a savings category and having no activity, when I'm at $0 to be budgeted I'm actually over budgeted by the amount of my savings?
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You save money by budgeting it to a category and not spending it. What accounts you hold your money in are a separate decision.
Why Doesn't My Category Balance Match My Account Balance? - YNAB Help
The Relationship Between Your Budget & Your Accounts: It’s Complicated
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Ok, so then the fact that there is no activity means that the savings category is doing it's job?
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nobody'sbody Yes. Activity is typically spending, which is money leaving the budget... which hasn't happened yet.
I find it helpful to adopt the viewpoint that ALL categories are "savings". It's just that funds might stay in some categories longer than others.
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nobody'sbody Transferring funds from checking to savings has no effect on your budget. The funds are already in your budget. You're just moving them around. The main job of a savings account is to gain you more interest on those funds. The way you save using YNAB is by assigning funds from To be Budgeted to savings categories. Your savings categories hold your savings.
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