
Using monthly goals options when paid bi-weekly?
We are paid every 2 weeks and I take set amounts out of each paycheck for come categories (eg $75 for Christmas each paycheck for a total of $150 each month). In fact, most of my budget is set up around twice a month checks with some things coming out just once a month (rent, allowances) and some things being split between checks (groceries, gas).
I'm getting confused about how I would could use the nifty Quick Budget and/or Goals options to make my life easier. And yes, I've been to the class :/
Thank you for your patience!
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Hi Blue Camera !
When it comes to Goals, the amounts needed will adjust as you budget for them. For instance, if you set a goal that requires you to budget $50 a month towards a category, you can budget $25 when you receive your first paycheck of the month. That goal will tell you another $25 is still needed to stay on track and you can add that once you receive your second paycheck.
As for the Quick Budget options, it depends on which ones you're using. If you plan to budget the same amount each month (like the Budgeted Last Month or Spent Last Month) options, you'd want to use those Quick Budget options once you have enough to cover the full amount needed.
The Underfunded option is a favorite because it prompts you to budget for any Scheduled Transactions. If you have a bill due soon and you've entered it as a scheduled transaction, the Underfunded Quick Budget option will budget enough to cover the upcoming expense.
A combination of the two comes down to preference. If you have a moment, take a look at this blog post on How to Create a Budget Template.
I'm hoping some others will weigh in on how they use Goals and the Quick Budget feature, but feel free to mention me if you have any specific questions! :)
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Another option is to change how you handle things. Say you want to put a total of $100 in categories A & B. Currently you put $50 in each on each paycheck. Instead, you could "quick budget" category A with your first check and category B with your second check. You end up with $100 in each category either way.
Personally I would probably go with a dollar amount in the category title and put that there when the first payday happens, then with the second paycheck finish it off with "quick budget," if you want to continue using your current system.
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Blue Camera I get paid every other week. I personally enjoy allocating my funds manually (I like details and flexibility). And for a long time, the options on the right eluded me - though some of these explanations here help make much more sense of them. I just learned what "underfunded" budget means -- and does. While it's pretty neat - I do enjoy that YNAB takes care of the rolling over of funds for me without me having to worry about it. I've been using YNAB for 2 years now, and at first, I was allocating only what I need now, and then some for next month, but that got very confusing. Now I just let it roll over, and it works great for me! I started out a month ahead, when I got YNAB was in between jobs and had an 'extra' paycheck to fill up my categories.
One thing I've noticed is the goals don't always work for me. I spend my money in a category that I'm also using as saving towards bigger or one time purchases - I've thought about breaking them out, but I like having them in the same place. Anyway - one thing we do in our budgets is in the name, we add an amount and a max for the category so that we can manage our goals that way. Here's an example: Groceries (100<300), I'll budget 100 each paycheck, until I get to 300 and then I have TBB for other things. For items you want to split in half if you get paid 2x a month - you can do the half, and you'll always have enough as long as it lines up with your due dates, etc.
I've used this in ALL my categories, and it seems to be pretty magical and useful for me. Let me know if you end up trying it!