Right now, you probably don’t have enough money to fill up all your categories. If you are changing your budget throughout the month, you’re doing it right! So what do you have to lose? The answer is, “Absolutely yes!”—because we’re going to walk you through it right now. ( Log Out /  Well, to You Need a Budget, of course! Put your phone on silent. Before you can decide what categories you’ll need or how much money to assign to each category, we need to know how much we’re working with! Now we want to get you up and running with your shiny, new budget, quick-like. The platform’s financial software is free to use, but the wealth management service is a paid offering. I started 2020 with roughly $6000 in debt and $200 in savings. YNAB encourages the most to think differently about money. I started 2020 with roughly $6000 in debt and $200 in savings. Which bills are due now? (Bonus points if you know the due dates of your individual bills! You’ll quickly become a believer! I love walking people through it, step by step, so that they not only learn how and why to use this magical, life changing money management tool, but … There is also a 34-day free trial, after which you’ll … Why YNAB is the best budget app for 2020 We know it isn’t easy, but try and forget everything you think you know about budgeting. Today, I want to share how I've organized it. Category groups are also arranged based on where the money lives (i.e. ), follow these same steps, and add all of those accounts/balances now. My 2020 snapshot. You should be aware that getting the hang of You Need a Budget will take some time and be a little uncomfortable. YNAB creates a special category for your credit card to keep track of what’s available for your next payment, so you have an accurate picture of your spending overall. If you don’t have exact figures—no big deal—but the closer the better! Once you get through your first month (Congrats, by the way!) Every time you get paid, you’ll go through the exercise of thinking through your priorities and giving your dollars jobs. When a bill comes in, you’ll just pay it. Your data is only held for a limited time, and all account-pairing technology is of the highest standard. Use your budget to make spending decisions. To neaten things up, drag all the bill categories into due date order. You have the option to connect to your bank, which allows YNAB to automatically pull in your transactions. You might even get frustrated and tempted to … Now it’s time for the main event—let’s assign those dollars! : Budget and spend up to this amount each month. Go crazy! Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. You won’t be spending less, you’ll be spending right. The current balance of money from your checking account (and any accounts you add) will show up in your budget as “To Be Budgeted”—the number in green, at the very top. You might not know exactly when they will happen or exactly how much they will cost—but you know they are coming. If the category is a bill, click on the name of the category and add the due date. Today, I want to share how I’ve organized it. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. For example, set a goal to have $20,000 budgeted for a house down payment and YNAB will help you track your progress. When you start using YNAB, they pre-populate your budget with a selection of recommended categories. Now, I use You Need a Budget (YNAB) and have used it for several years. This one is important! My name is Andrea, and I love all things technology - although mainly Apple products. This (and you know, your bills) will help you get crystal clear on where to put your dollars to work first. That gas transaction that you entered on your phone while standing at the pump? Adjusting your budget, shuffling the numbers around, reprioritizing—that’s budgeting! You budgeted for this! A month is the perfect amount of time to see if the YNAB system works for you. Everyone is welcome to join in on this challenge, regardless of the size of your goal or the date you get started. It’s pretty easy to tabulate your monthly expenses (shelter, food, internet), but when you don’t consider—and more importantly, plan for—the things you’ll need to pay for in the future, you will be perpetually stressed, living paycheck-to-paycheck, and always on the verge of going into (more) debt. This will give you a visual reminder of when it’s due. YNAB stands for You Need A Budget. YNAB is a small, privately held company that offers personal budgeting software. The longer you have a dollar before you need to spend it, the more secure you are. With the new edition, YNAB has been rebuilt from the ground up. So, build it into your budget—little by little, every month—and then, when you need it, it’s not an emergency. ), Once you feel pretty good about your categories, you might be ready to add a goal. But where’s an eager budgeter to go? You are being proactive. Follow YNAB to get support and lots of great ideas on budgeting. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. You have a budget! Budget for those things first. (Thanks, COVID!) If you had red overspending from the previous month that wasn’t covered, that amount will be subtracted from To Be Budgeted in the new month. Since my husband and I married, I have been the budgeter. YNAB Review. Now that I am budgeting for the year 2020 I see that all months beyond March 2020 are grayed out? Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Ask yourself, “What do these dollars need to do before I get paid again?” Assign each dollar to a category until the “To Be Budgeted” number is zero. This is completely optional. Change ). Process Flow For Using YNAB. Within each category group, categories are named with and listed in order of their due date. This is completely normal. Any time you need to add a new category or group you can also do that by tapping “Edit”. This is why I continue to use YNAB despite being in one of the most debilitating financial states since I was 20 and literally starving. (Not required but it feels good every now and then, doesn’t it?) What to do ( before you go to the cash category your budget represent my account! Fill in your budget make a reality by treating them like monthly expenses set an to! Don ’ t have that info or aren ’ t waste any energy about! To spend ( and you will get ahead like monthly expenses reflection of your individual!... The CIA, moving forward is a paid offering this had been an issue for numerous months this... Spent, and now you need a budget 100 for groceries each week by Friday but wealth. 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