And to go a step deeper on this; my tech category is funded monthly based on the cost and length of lifespan for my items. So, for example, it seems I can get a laptop I'll like for around $1200, and I want to be able to buy one every 4 years or so. So that makes it $300/yr, or $25/mo. Phones I'll probably spend $600, but I want to be in a position to replace them every 3 years, so that's $16/mo. I add those together and fund the category $41/mo. Repeat for each tech item. Since I can always eke by a little longer, buy a cheaper item, or substitute with some money from another part of the budget, this category is a little bit flexible, but that math gives me a good starting point. For instance, my work gave me a tiny bonus this year for taking a class on teaching online, and I used the bonus to replace my ipad, which was otherwise due this year, so now I have excess in the tech category that I'll probably let just sit and buy a fancier phone or laptop when those come up. 

ukimagic209 I buy all tech out of my tech category. Since there are some options on the back end, like buying a refurbished item or delaying the purchase, I don’t worry too much if I spend $100 on earbuds on sale or something like that. The savings math just ensures I’m well in the ballpark when it comes time to replace one of the critical tech devices. 

FWIW, I also have dedicated computer replacement and phone replacement categories. It's important to me that this money be there when I need it (based on estimated lifespan), regardless of whatever other household goods I might buy.

dakinemaui For me the reason tech gets its own category is that there's a predictable lifespan I can expect. I don't plan to replace my chairs or my pans every three years, or even every ten, but three years after I buy a new phone, I'd like to be in a position to at least have the option of upgrading it. 

WordTenor I did something similar, although I may break out phone replacement and computer replacement...  Not sure yet.  I looked into the future, and said, my wife's laptop will probably need to be replaced in about 4 years ($700), my laptop will probably need to be replaced in 5 years ($1000ish) my phones will be replaced in 2 or 3 years (probably $200/$300 each...  I simply can't stomach paying more than that for a phone, even if I've saved up for it...  And you can get decent enough ones for that much.  Either mid range, or older flagships.) And probably get a laptop for the boys when they go to high school (they're on chromebooks  now, not sure if I'll get a better one for them, or go with actual laptop computer) one will be in HS next year, and the other follows the next year.

So I put all that in, and got a pretty reasonable monthly payment to cover all that in the future.

WordTenor Yeah, I guess the union of my computer and phone replacement categories are effectively a "high priority tech" category for the same reasons you cite.

ukimagic209 categories exist to protect funds from being spent on other things. If you want to ensure money for a laptop is there when you need it, make a dedicated category (and fund it, of course).

From past discussions, I believe the average number of categories is around 75, but lots of folks have more than a hundred. With goals filling in budget entries, the effort is the same regardless of quantity.

ukimagic209 You can select multiple categories using the left hand checkboxes, until the "underfunded" value is as close to your paycheck/TBB as possible without going over, then hit the "Underfunded" button and it will fund just those selected categories.

Edit: this is assuming you are fully funding the most urgent categories ("what jobs does this money need to do before I get paid again?") vs partially filling categories from the first check and topping off with the second. 

ukimagic209 Good point. Things do get easier when you can budget in month-sized chunks. When paid bi-weekly, you would need to get ahead enough that the entirety of your checks fund categories in next months area. (You can then just queue them up in a holding category until you've received all your income.)

ukimagic209 If you have an income replacement or emergency fund, you might consider using some of that to cover expenses between your 1st check and the end of the month. This would allow you to switch to budgeting in month-sized chunks and avoid the partial-filling of categories.

If you later need those funds, you could easily reallocate back (and switch back to paycheck-sized chunks). In the meantime, however, your budgeting process is far more convenient.

(Personally, I've grown my Income Replacement so I'm not likely to lose the ability to use month-sized chunks during a job loss. I value the increased clarity and convenience from the larger chunks.)

ukimagic209 The amount you would need to reallocate depends on your expenses after your first check (in 2-check months). (You already have the first part of the month covered with the previous month's income.) The idea is to provide enough funds to allow you to not have to budget either of your checks in the current month's area.

Since your bi-weekly paydays shift relative to expenses throughout the month, an opportune time to switch is in the 3-check month. You only need to cover expenses in the last two weeks of the month from the EF, allowing you to push 2 checks into next month's area (your 2nd and 3rd checks).

For most people, the major expenses occur in the first part of the month, greatly reducing the amount needed to reallocate (or save) to allow the transition.

ukimagic209 I wouldn't use Gas1/Gas2 categories. It doesn't work well with data entry (the default category is the one previously used), reports aren't consolidated, etc. I have done the partial-fill approach and it only took me a few minutes to rip down the list of around 80 categories. (That was with the old version of YNAB, so I didn't even have goals to make budgeting the second check a one-click endeavor.)  TIP: put the per-check increment right in the category name. 

ukimagic209 I did as dakinemaui suggests and it really brought clarity 😊

budgetting is so easy now.

HappyDance My furtherest (?) horizon is 2039. The sooner you start saving, the less you notice the impact.

(Although this one still sucks up $100 per month. If I waited until closer, I'm certain I'd have to pay interest for my lack of foresight.)

dakinemaui curious for your 2039 goal... 😊

Tech (split up into different phones and computers) is my most far away specific horizon in the budget I think. I hope “loss of income” won’t be spent (and it doesn’t need more money at the moment) and “house” receives a percentage each month, but I don’t have a clear picture what it will be spent on yet.

So your specific horizon pekkend my curiosity 😊. 

Powder Blue Pony my guess its a roof replacement?  it's the only thing I can think of with a 20-year time horizon.  I'd definitely be interested in finding out if I'm right though.

Powder Blue Pony peaked, not pekkend 🙄

TheTabby it might well be.

Powder Blue Pony Nothing terribly exciting... a new roof. (Great deduction, TheTabby !) 🙂 

Powder Blue Pony piqued... 😛 

dakinemaui and TheTabby . Thanks! Of course. Silly of me. But glad I learned something again today.

TheTabby 

TheTabby said:
though your post makes me realize I may want to create specific computer, cell phone, and a general everything else category.

 I'm thinking the same thing.  I have a "Computer Supplies" (laser jet toner, paper, etc.) and a "Phone/Computer Replacement" category.  But after I laid out my future purchases above in this thread yesterday, I'm thinking I might make an Electronics Category Group and put each individual item in there as a category with its own goal.  If one thing needs to be purchased before its time, I can pull from another one that still (hopefully) has a couple years left.  'cause there's 4 computers, and 3 phones, not to mention a couple fitbit/garmin watches...  I think things could easily get lost/unaccounted for in one big category.