Follow up question
Started with $2,000 credit card balance which shows as Pre YNAB CC
Shows in the budget as something that needs to be budgeted for...we'll get to that later
Added to that CC balance for a while until it reached $5,000
Paid off the balance of $5,000 with a transfer from savings temporarily.
Everything else is categorized where I spent it, and budgeted acfordingly
The transfer payment shows up under Savings and I adjusted that accordingly from $10,000 to $5,000.
The only thing that's hanging out there un-accounted for is $2,000 in Pre YNAB CC.
Is it as simple as budgeting for the $2,000 starting balance of Pre YNAB debt?
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It actually is that simple, yes. :)
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Hi Sea Green Hammer !
Yes, it should be that easy. :)
If you have an outstanding balance on a credit card when you set it up in YNAB, and you plan to pay that in full, you’ll need to budget for it. That’s what lets the budget know you plan to take some of the money you have and use it to pay off that existing balance. Here’s a video explaining how this works.
It sounds like once you budget for that starting balance, you'll be good to go!
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I watched the video, but I am still using the old YNAB. So...when I set the credit card up it starts with a balance of $2,000 and a single transaction with Category of Pre-YNAB debt. It also shows as an outflow in the Budget. I think the part I'm getting stuck on is this...
The balance grew to $5,000 with payments categorized as different things. Those payments were budgeted. The only thing that was not really budgeted per se was the pre YNAB debt...except with that category of per YNAB debt. Doesn;t matter that I paid it off from a tx from savings....except that I need to budget the savings accordingly, since it's part of the budget.
The only thing I need to do is budget for that $2,000 and it balances. Right?
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Sea Green Hammer Yes! Go ahead and budget $2,000 right into the CC Payments category for that account, and you're good to go!
If you'll be paying off the balance from here on out, here's a little trick:
Just make sure that the amount in your available column matches the balance of the corresponding CC, and make a payment for that amount! You can pay off your CC balance whenever you fancy. 😊
If some purchases weren't budgeted for, etc. the balance and available amounts may not always match, but you can move money or budget more to get it back in line!
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Sea Green Hammer Recategorize your starting balance as Income for This month. That will eliminate the Pre-YNAB debt confusion, and your budget will have automatically reserved the cash for payoff in YNAB4.
As long as you don't have any overspent categories in your budget, you know you can safely pay the full balance of the card at any time.
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