You've made a first big step! On spending, just tackle a category at a time and you'll get there. Theres's 1,000's of tips, but don't try to do them all at once. The easiest wins are things you pay for, but don't use (memberships, subscriptions, extra cable channels) 

It can take time to feel like you are in the swing of using YNAB to the greatest benefit, but like others said, at least you started.  When I first started I needed to hear that it would take a couple months to figure out the best amount to budget in each category and even then things will change and you "roll with the punches". You will have to move money to cover expenses a lot the first couple of months and that's ok. After a couple of months you'll see some averages in things like groceries and be able to make a better plan & start working on spending less. 

Even if you hit bumps don't give up. It's worth it. 

Hi Whitney , 👋

Welcome, you are in the right place.  Might consider moving this over to a journal, instead of "getting started," Believe it's a minor adjustment, if you want to. 

I've been at this a while, and am hooked.  The progress you can make is absolutely amazing, if you work the program and learn the process.  It takes work, and determination.  How much is up to you.  

Will attempt to answer your questions first.

Whitney said:
1. How long did it take for the mild feeling of panic to subside after you began setting up your budget and realized how much you had been stretching yourself financially? 

If I remember correctly, thought I had a decent handle on things my first month. I could see how putting something aside every month, no matter what it's job was, would help.  I had no where near enough income to spread as far as I wanted, so I started making choices, which was most important to me?  After about 6 months, I had a little set aside and my budget was starting to take shape, so it would help me the most, in my situation.  

2. I feel like after setting goals for all monthly bills and basic/necessary true expenses (like fuel, groceries, etc.) I just... don't have much left to work with. Other true expense categories like vet bills, auto maintenance, etc. are left pretty unloved. The conclusion this brings me to is that I'm living beyond my means, which is frustrating because I know I've put myself here. 

      Did you all have this realization? What changes did you make to alleviate this?

I was spending over 80% of my income on debt (mortgage) repayment, and trying to live on the remaining 20%, while supporting a fairly expensive business.  I knew there was no way I was ever going to be financially sound.  I started obsessing over learning the process, and doing the best I could, with the little I had.  It took time.  It took a million different choices.  I boiled it down to a question I asked myself when tempted to "only spend $5" on some "feel good" at the store, "Do I want this more than another goal, or Financial freedom?"  It surprised me how many times I chose to save the money instead.  These choices added up, slowly and surely.

3. How long did it take for you to *feel* like you were successfully digging out? How long did it take to see the fruits of those labors?

This is a good question.  Can’t tell you how long it took to feel successful. Today, looking back five years later, it feels like it only took a month or two.  All I remember is being hooked, almost immediately.  I tried to get some local friends to join me but it didn’t work out as I had hoped.

The best suggestion I can give you is start, learn, and work the process.  It is different than any other budgeting process I have ever learned, and it works. I have fought finances my entire life, without success, before YNAB.  Since YNAB, I am making progress, and living better than I ever have before.  So much so, I’m finding it difficult to believe I am actually worth that much when looking at my net worth.

I made lots of bad choices along the way.  There are glitches in the program, with good work arounds.  Jesse and the crew are working on them and they are complicated.  The program is a work in progress and getting better all the time.

For me, I had to find my why.  My initial why was to pay my monthly bills on time, without stressing.  I have achieved that and so much more.  As one goal, or why, is achieved, it seems there many othersI would like to reach for, and try to limit how many I reach for at one time.

For me it has been like peeling an onion, each layer reveals more and more and things just keep getting better and better.  I am making progress I never dreamed possible, before finding YNAB.  

Wishing you similar success.  All the best.

TJ

Hi Whitney !

Welcome to YNAB (and to the forum)! :)

Getting started can definitely be the hardest part, but having those numbers laid out is the beginning of creating a plan.

When I first started using YNAB, I believe the shock got to me moreso than panic. I couldn't believe I was spending what I was spending - mostly on food. I didn't think we had that amount of money to spare, let alone spend on fast food! 

Once I had figures to work with, it became easier to address. The very next month we halved the Dining Out spending. With those savings we were able to start rearranging things and focusing on our real priorities (like paying off debt). It's amazing how big of a difference $250 can make when properly budgeted.

PS. If you'd like this post to be the start of your journal, I'd be more than happy to move it for you! :)

I can't exactly remember, but I can give some specific examples. Firstly, a month before I started YNAB I had to adopt my sister's cat for medical reasons and pay for an expensive surgery right before Thanksgiving, and this on top of three other cats I already had. I ended up taking out a *lot* of zero interest credit cards right before I started YNAB. I can tell you that I paid the 0% CareCredit surgery off before the usurious interest rate kicked in and paid off the 0% credit card I had been carrying a balance on before its exorbitant interest rate kicked in seven months later. I paid off my car a month early after about 4 months of YNAB (while saving up for those CC payoffs), the same month I paid my annual homeowner's insurance and made a maximal contribution to my IRA for the previous year.  I have a note in the 9th month after I started YNAB that I went to see Suicide Squad as a planned and budgeted family treat and that was a big deal because I almost never spend money on seeing movies in the theater.

I would say any of the first things sounds pretty huge all on its own, and taken as a package I can see it was a vast improvement in my circumstances in about 5 months. But for some reason, that 9th month carefree movie expense stands out to my eyes as when it really started to happen. I had enough trust in myself and YNAB to know I could spend frivolously on something fun as long as it was planned and that I'd be okay.

Your situation sounds a lot like mine...

1. How long did it take for the mild panic to subside after setting up your budget?

      I just started my second year of YNAB. Towards the end of the first month I at least felt like I had a plan. The first couple of months were hard because it was then I realized how far outside my means I was living which caused all of the debt. YNAB made me see my true living expenses and things I hadn't been accounting for in my monthly budget before. I make a good salary and should be able to live very comfortably and this forced me to take a real look at my financial reality.

2.  I feel like after setting goals for all monthly bills and basic/necessary true expenses (like fuel, groceries, etc.) I just... don't have much left to work with. Other true expense categories like vet bills, auto maintenance, etc. are left pretty unloved. The conclusion this brings me to is that I'm living beyond my means, which is frustrating because I know I've put myself here. 

    Yes, this was a real eye opener for me as well.  I had never put money aside for auto maintenance, medical bills, or clothing. Those things always tended to go on a credit card which led me to a financial mess. The first few months you may not be able to contribute a lot to those categories. During that time you can really look at all of the other true expenses and see where you can cut back (Can you live with Netflix and cut cable? Do you need to go to Starbucks every day or can you make your own coffee? Cut down on number of times you eat out during the week. ) Some of these you may not do anyway but they may be things you can do. Eventually, once you pay down some of your debt, you will have more money to put towards these other things.

3. How long did it take for you to *feel* like you were successfully digging out? How long did it take to see the fruits of those labors?

     Probably 5-6 months in I was feeling better about where I was financially. I had made a lot of cuts to things that weren't really necessary for me and things that weren't priority.  I have gone through many revisions of categories and where my money will go so that it works for me.  So far anything that goes on my credit card is something I already have money for so I am paying it off right away (I'm lucky there hasn't been a huge emergency expense although I do have some money in my emergency fund). I'm still paying on old credit card debt but am not accruing any new charges that I can't pay for right now.  I'm seeing debt balances going down and money building up in my categories. My student loans will be paid off by end of November this year and I am really excited about that. The money I pay to those will then be freed up to go to other things. It does take time but I am not stressed about money at this point. I know where all of my money is going. I still have a ways to go to get out of debt but I now have a plan on how to get there.

The first few months are harder (at least in my experience). You will get there though. You may have to just start with the immediate expenses first and slowly start to build your other categories. You are already taking control by setting up your budget. As you pay things off and adjust your priorities, you will get to there.

I still remember 5 years ago the nauseating feeling in my stomach when I put my accounts into YNAB and learned about the credit card float. It took me a couple of months to get over it, and I eventually budgeted it into oblivion by raiding my emergency fund.

It took a good year to get a grip on all the True Expenses that come up throughout the year, even though we had 15 years of transaction history in MS Money that we could review. Of course, it didn't help that we had a cross-country relocation about 5 months after we started using YNAB, so there was a lot of change.

I just started YNAB too! I've been using it for about two weeks and definitely eager to see my finances improve. Waiting is really tough so I know how you feel. I just want to see my spending improvements already!

I noticed that my expenses were a lot higher than I realized when I entered them in YNAB. That's led me to cut down on dining out (my biggest hit by far) and focus on putting the money in an emergency fund. I like the option to set goals to each category. For my car, any extra money I don't spend on monthly cost will gointo that emergency fund so that if I have a big repair come up, I'm not panicking (which has happened more than once in the past). 

I really like being able to plan out any large expenses like loans or rent. I can set aside a little extra in these categories when I can in case something crazy happens or I want to pay my loans off early. Even fun categories are nice to build up. I'm currently working on a vacation fund!

Hi! Our situations when starting YNAB sound so much alike! Financially independent but also living off only  your own income, and debt bc of oopsies and emergencies, and feeling like oh crap I'm living above my means. All while having a salary that *should be* enough (you will find out soon, it is enough!)

For me, I aggressively cut out extra, fun shopping for a few months. I had to, to get extra money for CC debt. I did not renew my amazon prime membership. I realized I want a LOT of things. But most of those things I only want for a short period of time. After the intial "ohh that's an awesome outfit I have to have" - I realized I didn't really need it. I unfollwed fashion bloggers on instagram. I unsubscribed from all marketing emails. I got rid of the temptation! If I wanted something I planned and saved for it and made sure I still wanted it a few weeks later. All was fine until I had to use my CC again for 2 emergencies that I didn't have any cash saved up for. I felt like a failure. But then, I started saving to my true expenses and emergency categories and that was a huge lightbulb for me. I originally thought I had to pay off debt so aggressively, but I ended up setting myself up for inevitable debt in the future! 

Do you have a part time job? Do you get any extra income besides your regular paychecks? Bonuses, birthday money, tax refund, etc. - At first I was counting on my part time job to cover the gaps in between my every other week salaried job. Then I made it a goal to spend only my salary money, and all extra paychecks went straight to debt. Larger amounts such as tax refund were divided between debt and boosting my true expenses categories. Also - have a garage sale and sell stuff on FB marketplace, poshmark, mercari, offerup and letgo! 

You can also adjust your categories to track what needs attention. Food was a huge issue for me as well. So I made categories:

-Planned dining out

-Coffee

-Unplanned dining out

I gave myself a small amount for coffee and unplanned dining out, and planned meals with friends accordingly. This really helped. I felt that I could still have unplanned meals, and quick coffee, I just had to reign it in a bit. For me, being completely restrictive and saying "absolutely not spending" in those areas just wasn't going to work. This gave me more clarity than just lumping everything into one "dining out" category.

Keep at it! It's worth it! 

you have some great replies here! I would love to follow your journal, should you choose to create one! I relate to what you wrote, because I was in this same position when I started on 2/19/19. I didn't think YNAB could work for me, because I was paycheck to paycheck and often relying on credit cards.

Barely a month ago I bought bought bought. If I was stressed, I bought something. If I was tired, I'd buy takeout rather than cooking. If I was bored, I'd buy something. It seemed like all my emotions were intertwined in spending and there was no way a budgeting program could help. BOY was I wrong. If anything, I became the opposite within days. I became STINGY with money, lol! Once it was all categorized and I could see just how many things I need to fund, I didn't think there was any way I could fill all the bubbles. Like, how am I going to save for: car maintenance, xmas, birthday presents, Amazon Prime/YNAB subscriptions, contact lenses, the kids' many needs and on and on AND also spend the exorbitant amount of money my life costs me in mortgage/power/car/etc.

I was shocked. It DID go further than I thought! Sure, I don't have $1k saved for Xmas, but I do have $100 now! And by December it will be $1k! And sure, if something medically happens I only have $90 saved, but a month ago I had NOTHING saved.

So yeah. Hang in there. I swear it gets easier. And my guess is you will feel much freer from the control that money has on people in general.

I started YNAB almost 10 years ago. I bounced a check to my kid's preschool and it freaked me out. At that time we had very low income and low expenses (housing and utilities provided). We were stable, but I felt out of control about how to manage the situation. 2 weeks in, I felt progress on that front. I had a plan and a tool. Probably 6 months in I felt fully confident about using the system and adapting it to our lives. After that it took years to make some life changes, get us both fully employed, and two months ago we were finally in a place to save aggressively for future goals. That's when another big shift happened. Having YNAB for the 8 years of weird circumstances/low income didn't magically give us more money, but it let me handle it effectively. Now that there is more money, I feel prepared to handle it. 

1. How long did it take for the mild feeling of panic to subside after you began setting up your budget and realized how much you had been stretching yourself financially? 

I'm still there. I started YNAB at the end of January.  I'm two months in.  February was a mess of, oh, I need to add that category and that one and....80 plus categories later here I am.  I like it all separated, I like separating the household goods from the Health & Wellness purchases at the grocery store.    We don't have debt beyond a car loan and mortgage so we're admittedly ahead of some people.  On the other hand, we're looking at one of us going to grad school and we are not currently in a position to cash flow that and I don't know that we want to save up for that; I don't want to have to wait until I'm 50 to get the schooling I need.  

2. I feel like after setting goals for all monthly bills and basic/necessary true expenses (like fuel, groceries, etc.) I just... don't have much left to work with. Other true expense categories like vet bills, auto maintenance, etc. are left pretty unloved. The conclusion this brings me to is that I'm living beyond my means, which is frustrating because I know I've put myself here. 

      Did you all have this realization? What changes did you make to alleviate this?

No matter when I started YNAB, I would have started mid-cycle for some of our bills and known recurring expenses.  For example, I will only have a few months to set aside money for my Costco membership and summer related costs.  Next year I will have a whole year to save for those expenses, therefore the amount needed per month will decrease.  Right now I'm choosing to still fund true expenses, although perhaps at a smaller amount than ideal, but I am not buffered nor am I trying to get buffered.  In 6 months things will be a lot easier and I can save more.  We also chose to put off a trip home because trying to save funds specifically for that would have meant that I couldn't save for true expenses.  We will go next year and have longer to save up (and save more).

3. How long did it take for you to *feel* like you were successfully digging out? How long did it take to see the fruits of those labors?

Still in the process.  I think in summer I will be able to increase the amount of money I'm budgeting ahead, increasing the buffer.  As particular expenses/events occur, I will be able to save a smaller amount per month moving forward.  In addition, we have a health care reimbursement account.  I intend to send those reimbursements to our health care fund.    Next year I probably won't have to fund that category as much per month because those reimbursements will hopefully carry over into next year.  Many sinking fund categories have cap amounts, if those caps are met, I don't need to keep funding them until they are used.  However, right now our underfunded categories are more than we make with two pay checks a month.  I am hoping to use the three paycheck months (May and I think November) to build up sinking funds and increase the buffer.

I think in 6 months the worst of it will be over.   I hope.  

Unconventional answer:  I first started using YNAB because I knew I was about to face financial hardship. Starting a new family is incredibly expensive; loss of income due to extended leave-without-pay and part-time salaries combined with huge childcare costs that exceed our mortgage. I knew there was very little chance we'd make progress during those early years -- we were going to be stretched very thin --  but I also knew that I needed to get a lot more organized to maximize every dollar and avoid sinking into debt.

Five years later, we're finally starting to get some relief. We're both back to full-time, our incomes have steadily climbed, the childcare costs have gradually reduced, and we finally have some room in our budget to start tackling some bigger financial goals. So although our cash-based net worth has been rather flat the last five years, I feel pretty good about what I was able to accomplish with YNAB.

TLDR; Sometimes financial progress can't be measured in absolute terms like debt reduction our cash growth. Life brings ups and downs. It's a marathon, not a sprint.