Jason Standiford 

Jason Standiford said:
worrying that I'm gonna end up shorting us somewhere

 Make a category called "Undecided" or "Stuff I Forgot to Budget for" and put the money in there until you're happy with that amount. If you don't need it one month, it will roll over. You can then add to it or leave it alone.  You'll also know right away how much can go to fun things while also maintaining peace of mind.

Jason Standiford said:
getting us behind if I'm not checking the balance

 You do need to check your account balance (so you don't overdraft or max your account), but that should be secondary to checking your category balances.

The process of making a purchase is as follows:

1. Check category. If there's not enough money, identify the category that is less important to move money from.

2. Check the payment method to ensure it has enough of your money in the same place to give to the vendor.

Here's a tip to feel a bit more secure for not overdrafting:

Use scheduled transactions for monthly/annual bills and even paychecks, if they're regular. Turn on the Running Balance in your YNAB register. If you have something that repeats twice a month, make two transactions that repeat monthly, offset by two weeks (ish).

I schedule credit card payments as soon as I get the statement so I can see the effect on my checking account in a few weeks.  All purchases were already budgeted for, so this has nothing to do with the budget.  If most spending happens on a credit card, you'll be insulated from daily movement in the checking account. 

Many people calculate a number that they don't want their checking to dip below. Some options:

1. Regular monthly spending + any large expenses coming up + $1000 at the beginning/end of the month

2. Right before a paycheck (lowest anticipated Running Balance - works well for the scenario without daily checking activity) = $X.

Then, you'll just scan ahead and know if you need to move money from savings or if you can earn better interest by moving excess to savings. 

Jason Standiford I also don't know what you mean by "getting us behind." I guessed it was overdraft because I couldn't think of anything else right away. 

On the contrary, you can know you're getting ahead by having true expenses funded ahead of time, being able to contribute to savings priorities, and I would recommend you look into the Classic YNAB Buffer, which is a workflow that allows you to budget the entire month at a time using last month's money. 

It requires a bit of saving, but you can simulate the process on paper/spreadsheet as well to provide clarity.

Perhaps you are feeling unsettled because you're budgeting piecemeal instead of looking at the whole picture? Being buffered can help.  Then you'll KNOW exactly what your month can support. 

Depending on when you get paid, it can also buy you time to make decisions with a clear head if your income situation changes suddenly. 

Jason Standiford

First, read https://www.youneedabudget.com/the-relationship-between-your-budget-your-accounts-its-complicated/ Then reread it.

The way I take care of that is to make sure I have as much accurate data in YNAB, and keep it accurate. Some ways that I do that

1. manually every transaction as they happen. Also, if you over spend, deal with it on the spot.
2. use automatic importing to know when something clears. YNAB will link the transactions if they are the same amount, same account and within 10 days of each other
3. One and two together means I should not have any surprises. The only transactions that i don't schedule or manually input is interest accruals.
4. put in as many of your bills as reoccurring transactions as possible, with as much accuracy as possible.
5. also have your paycheck as scheduled transactions. Since I get paid every two weeks, I use two repeating transactions, each one repeats every 4 weeks, and the two are 2 weeks apart. Paycheck A hits weeks 1 and 5, Paycheck B hits weeks 3 and 7. This helps with step 8.
6. for things like the power bill, i use what i paid last month, and once i get the bill, I update the future transaction. All my credit card payments are entered as well.
7. reconcile often. Reconciling is simply confirming what YNAB thinks is your account balances is correct. Once thats done, transactions at that point will have a Lock icon next to them. If there is something awry, you have fewer things to check. Plus, step 3 helps keep mistakes and surprises at bay
8. Turn on running balances in the account view. This will give you a look ahead. If you're not comfortable with the balance before your next pay;  you're going to have to move money between accounts or make the transactions smaller
9. I have one checking account, and one saving account, and they're at the same bank, so i can move money quickly between the two.
10. I use a paid in full credit card that put as much I can, and when my payment is due, I just pay off the full account balance that day.  Been doing that since August, and racked up $120 in rewards and paid $0.00 in interest on that card.

I know it sounds like a bit much, but once its set up, it takes me 5 to 10 minutes a day to maintain... usually during the first conference call I mentally check out on. But, as a result of the effort, I have a crystal clear picture of the my money, and complete confidence that I'm working with the best possible data.

Remember, future transactions are not set in stone. Everything is about them can be changed.

Jason Standiford if you are "not funding the Things I Forgot to Budget For category ahead of time," then you are misunderstanding its purpose. You shouldn't be categorizing any transactions to that category, it's for holding a little extra money that you then move to the category where it's needed.  

Vibrant Jason Standiford i am anti “stuff I forgot to budget for” category. Obviously in the beginning there will be more of these things but that’s what roll with the punches is for. If I forget to budget something then I need to reprioritize my spending.

MXMOM That's funny, I'm the opposite!  We started without it because there just wasn't enough to put there.  When something came up, we'd pull from another savings category. :(

However, now it's useful because we can maintain our savings goals.  It's like a cushion for the unexpected future.  We only take from it if discretionary categories are empty.  Otherwise, we try to minimize its use.

So far, we haven't had money sit there too long, but we can always cap it and treat the extra like a windfall if we ever get to that point.

MXMOM It wasn't the type of category I used from the start, plus I hate that name.  I don't think I ever totally "forget" to budget for something because my categories reflect my spending.  But when I set up very generous and realistic goals for all my spending categories, and still have money undecided from the last month's income, I hesitate to make an immediate plan for it.  Knowing from experience, purchases get made that might have happened before the savings goal was reached (big sale!) or I *thought* I had a good car repair cushion but holy &@*#! this one really did it in.  I've punished (and sometimes still punish) myself enough, so I now let myself just move unmarked money from that current month so that I don't have to dig down and start taking money from vacation, etc. again.  

I was mulling over a new TV purchase for the bedroom, and did a little research.  I asked my husband when he was at Costco today to do a price check for me, in case it was lower than online.  Well, he brought home the damn TV.  Shoulda seen that one coming, right??  Considering we also finally bought a new fridge and range this month (11 yr old fridge has broken more times than I care to repair anymore, and 20 yr old stove just won't freaken die so I gave in and traded up), appliances is a big gray $0.00.  Holding category will come to the rescue for that $300 TV, whew!

MXMOM I don't use it myself but I wanted to make sure Jason understood how it is intended to be used, if he uses it. 

I have renamed my Stuff I forgot to Budget for as Budget Wiggle Room.  I keep put just a little bit there if the amount of something is a few dollars higher. Sometimes, I also put small amounts over from other categories there. 

Move Light Sound Life I'm probably totally overcomplicating things, so I'm not offering this as advice, but I have a category called "Holding" which is my SIFTBF category.  Since I'm finally freaken fully buffered (only took 10 years and a new job and raise), I put this month's income into the Next Month category.  And then I still have a "Buffer" category from the olden days.  All 3 are currently in use (not to categorize of course).  After I hit all my categories for the month, anything left over I put in the "Holding" and grab from it when something comes up.  About 4 months ago I actually started ending up with money left in it at the end of the month, so I started sweeping it into the Buffer.  Then doing the INM release rigamarole and repeat.

Does this sound nuts? 

Annieland Everything makes sense, except the purpose of your Buffer.  I thought that the Buffer and INM were the same thing?  Is yours like a cash cushion?  That's what I would expect from the Holding category.

I have had a few Holding categories in the past.  Usually if I get some unexpected money (gift, gift cards) until I decide what to do with them.

I only recently started using an Unexpected category (because I don't actually like the SIFTBF name).

Move Light Sound Life Bingo, no purpose for the buffer.  That's probably my problem, including the name heh.  Over a year ago I put some inherited cash into YNAB and very specifically put it into important YNAB categories, and what was left over went into that Buffer.  Then I had a plan (I make lots of weird/arbitrary plans/challenges with YNAB, do not judge) to move from that Buffer every month the average spent to the Vacations category.  And I also pulled for a couple of large-ish one-off expenses and a vet emergency.  It eventually went to zero and I attempted to continue my little average spent on vacation experiment from regular income.  Now the average spent on vacation is.... about $147 bahahah.  Thanks, Covid.  And money is back in the Buffer.

Although I have LOTS of Wishes, I've never been able to mentally embrace the Wish Farm strategy.  Basically, while I cannot say I have "too much money" as I will cop to being little Miss Lifestyle Creep extraordinaire, I am no longer "YNAB broke" which is something I'm still trying to wrap my head around.  Perhaps right now I just like seeing that I actually have money I'm not spending which gives me a sense of accomplishment.  

 I expected the inherited cash (the obvious jump last year) to be spent down, hopefully slowly, but I actually managed to reverse that!  The larger debt is because I started paying CC's on due dates instead of closing dates so balances are all doubled now.  Our cash flow was just so pathetic for so long, even with religious YNAB use, that I just don't want to wreck it, ya know? I dunno. Sigh.  

Annieland Sounds to me like you have one two many. I would combine it with your Holding category and then change the name. Sounds similar to my Freedom Fund. I continue to grow it but I take from it as needed/wanted.

Superbone I probably do, but I like that the Holding category shows me that for the current month, I'm not being forced to WAM like I did so much in the past, and still am adhering to my category goals.  Holding is just for the current month.  If I was lucky, a year ago it used to have about $86 in it after I budgeted to zero and then commence WAMming from gifts, vacation, recreation, etc.  I literally only started being able to have a balance in it at the end of the month this past June.  So I guess it's just a new thing that I will work out going forward...

Annieland Congrats on your newfound big positive net worth. It has to feel good after all those years of things being so tight. I would want to keep that margin too. Do you have a full 6 month income fund? I never embraced the Wish Farm strategy either.

Superbone Yeah, with the Wish Farm, it's like, either I buy the damn thing or I don't.  One decision. 

When I got the inheritance I filled the Emergency Fund to my modest goal (Yes, poorly named, but I know it's Inc. Replacement) to roughly 3 months.  But being like, 260-280 days buffered and knowing I have some cash and investments off budget that I can tap, I leave it alone.  But sure, I can just beef up that category for S&G.

Annieland On the Wish Farm, right?! And it's not like I have a ton of things I want or need.

Your Emergency Fund is poorly named? Hey, thanks a lot. 😉That's what mine is called too. 

Superbone  I personally have two "flexible" categories.  One is Misc, that gets capped at $25/month,  That's for all those little expenses that I don't want to categorize:  buying stamps, the occasional parking meter, that sort of thing.  The other is my "One-Off" category, which is where I save up for big expenses (furniture, new TV, computer, etc.)  I don't want to have to create a new category for every new big purchase, fund it for several months, spend the money, and then just have that now-useless category hang around forever.  I add a note to the category to document what the new One-Off item is, the expected date to have all the money saved up, and how much per month to add.  It seemed like a reasonable compromise on balancing the number of categories and the functionality of the budget.

Aquamarine Unicorn Yes, I agree and follow the same philosophy. I didn’t mean to imply that all categories have to be really specific. Just that you have somewhere that makes sense to categorize everything. I have a couple of misc type categrories. Under Housing after all my main categories I have an Other category and under my Personal category I have a Miscellaneous catch all category. If something doesn’t fit in my more specific categories then it goes in those.

In fact, you just gave me an idea. Under Housing I have Appliances but nothing for furniture. I just changed my Appliances category to Appliances & Furniture.  I have a Gadgets category that covers new phones, TVs, and things like that.