Approve transactions on tracking accounts?
Hi YNABers! Quick question: I've set up my retirement accounts as tracking accounts. I want to have a basic sense of what they are doing and my net worth, but beyond that I'm all about set it and forget it. Yet YNAB just showed me a batch of transactions to approve: you know, like my TIAA sold off some small cap equity funds and bought some real estate or whatever. I don't care: I don't need or want to see this or approve this; I've set up my asset allocations and beyond that I want it to work in the background. Is there some way I can get the system to NOT ask me to approve these things? It's stress-inducing and unhelpful.
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don't link the account and keep track of what you want manually???
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Thank you! That must have been a super obvious question. I had thought that's what it meant to just be "tracking"! I've unlinked it now. (So: what IS the difference between a tracking account and an on-budget account?)
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Yes, don't link these type of accounts. You can just do a monthly or quarterly (or whatever you're comfortable with) adjustment. I just replace the balance with the new balance and add a memo, "Market changes + Contributions".
Tracking accounts don't affect your budget. (Unless you transfer funds to a budget account.) They're mostly for net worth tracking or tracking a loan. They are accounts that you don't spend from.
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On-budget participates in the budget, which is the plan for your future spending. Tracking just provides a balance. FYI, these used to be called "Off-Budget" accounts in the previous version. I'm not sure the new name is an improvement.
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The "unlink it and update the balance periodically" approach is definitely what we recommend.
- Set up the account as an Unlinked Tracking account, if you haven't already (Tracking > Asset or Liability).
- Create a Scheduled Transaction to show your regular contributions or payments. (optional)
- Update the balance like this as it changes, or frequently as you wish.
I like having my investment account balances in YNAB, and this is how I keep them updated, once every month or two.
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Thanks so much!
