Balancing not just the budget

RosaBernicia

hign10pines wrote: »

just finished reading the whole, thread. Your job(s) are fascinating me and I'm dying to know what you do or at least in what industry.

Hi hign10pines, welcome! :hello:

I try not to say anything too specific about what I do because this forum is public - and I think many people here do the same as I've just realised I don't know exactly what most of my forum friends do! I work for a large health related organisation, which is public sector focused.

If you're asking because you're thinking of a career switch or looking for info I might be able to help with, you're welcome to private message me.


Rosa xx

RosaBernicia

Well, I've updated YNAB and done a bit of tweaking and so far I think it might still be possible to clear the Last Card on payday. I have given myself the usual budgets and since I am trying to be careful with the grocery shopping (can't fit anything more in the freezer after stocking up in case of Christmas disasters!), and am not likely to use my full social budget this month, there will probably be a bit spare. I think I've remembered everything that needs to go in before then, including coaching costs. Because it's my first month with the new system and I haven't got money pulling through to next month, I have sketched out everything that needs to come out of the January paycheque in Excel and am keeping that updated too. Hopefully that will not be so necessary as I get used to the new system and 'age my money!'.

I've got a little more than I thought due in expenses and have made about £30 with an Am45on book sale. So will see how it goes. I would really like to be able to do this as it looks like I could clear all the cards for the space of about a week before I will have to put college fees on one of them - but that will only be til the next payday, so still interest free. Fingers crossed.


Rosa xx

Tinkerbelle2000

Thanks Rosa. I'm going to stick with the old one then as I restarted in ready for January.

I'm glad I don't have to pay for it again.

Tink xx

moneyonmymindsam

Hi Rosa

You are so focused so early on in January :-) it does feel like payday is a long way away! Im the same planning what to do with January pay. about 22 days to go lol
Xxxx

RosaBernicia

Sam, I think I'm focused because I feel really close to my goals now and there will be so many other changes for me this year, I really want to make it all happen together so that I can have a fresh new chapter. If I can get the cards gone in January, and my last college fees paid off in February, I can go away at the end of March guilt free and get rid of the car loan by end of June.

In fact, I think I might make that my intention - that would mean I can be DF within the first half of the year, and I think it would leave me enough flexibility. It will have to be the end of the month rather than the summer solstice, because that payday falls on the 24th June, but I think that's close enough


Rosa xx

hign10pines

RosaBernicia wrote: »

I have no idea how I came to this so late, but there's a new YNAB :j.

I only realised this yesterday when I looked at my phone app and it suddenly had a sash saying 'Classic' - so I went to have a look at the website. I've got the trial version for free for 34 days, but I can't find any pricing info yet, so am hoping it won't be much different from the old version cost. However, I notice that it's now a web app and includes a default category called 'software subscriptions'... so the model may have changed .

I now have a whole new budget set up in the new version :T which took a bit of swearing yesterday as it turns out that
1) if you put a savings account in, it assumes you can use that money for anything - I can't find an option to take the account outside of budget like you could in YNAB 4. This is no good to me, as the accounts are for family debt repayment and an ISA - they would only be used in a real emergency. I've now deleted the accounts, and used the new category Goals function (love it! love it! :j) to track that money in categories instead.
2) you now can't allocate money that hasn't come in yet at all. Even if it's in the same month. This got me confused because in YNAB 4, I would put in my pay in late January and split it between the remainder of January, and use most of it to fund February. For me, in practice this only meant the rent payment coming out of the same month's paycheque, as the rent falls due 2 days after I get paid, and so far I have prioritised paying off debts rather than getting a month ahead with the rent. In the new version, it refuses to count my January paycheque until it hits the bank, and will only let me allocate the balance I brought in from December - so I can't budget my rent payment without looking very overspent right through til I get paid. However, because I have also set up recurring payments, YNAB can 'see' that I have the payment due this month, and is flagging that category as underfunded so far. I will revisit it when my pay comes in, and budget February then too. I suspect this new way of working will keep me stricter with allocating and mean that I keep revisiting the budget, which of course is the intention.
3) Credit card payments are now shown as categories to budget to - I'm still figuring out quite how this works. Hopefully it will make it more straightforward as this was something I got muddled with a couple of times in YNAB 4 - including when I was working out the amounts to go in categories in the new version budget, and realised I'd budgeted for something I'd bought on a store card in both the clothes category and the cards one. Was very pleased to get that money back again :rotfl:


I do like the new version as it seems rather simpler, and it's been great timing for me. I had a huge number of categories in the old version and was already thinking of tidying them up, but putting it off. I've now cut the number of categories right down - so eg the cat's insurance and vet plan and food all goes in under Pet Care, rather than being separate. I've also revisited all my recurring payments, as I'd been putting off sorting them out and adjusting them so had been editing the amounts every month. One shiny new budget sorted and I am still hoping it might just be possible to clear the Last Card on payday - even if I have to put college fees on the other one for clearing in Feb. Me controlling the cards, not vice versa

I'm off to make bacon sarnies and spend some time with my Desire Map planner, which will hopefully be just as exciting as New YNAB . No, I am not sad , these are tools that help build my dream life :j


Rosa xx

I don't see the need to change to the online version just yet, will wait till my banks & credit cards can b linked to.

hign10pines

RosaBernicia wrote: »

Hi hign10pines, welcome! :hello:

I try not to say anything too specific about what I do because this forum is public - and I think many people here do the same as I've just realised I don't know exactly what most of my forum friends do! I work for a large health related organisation, which is public sector focused.

If you're asking because you're thinking of a career switch or looking for info I might be able to help with, you're welcome to private message me.


Rosa xx

I too work for a large health organisation, which is public sector, I'm not office based though

RosaBernicia

hign10pines wrote: »

I don't see the need to change to the online version just yet, will wait till my banks & credit cards can b linked to.

I don't think I can pretend that need had much to do with it :rotfl: I just got a bit carried away with having a new version to play with!

I am liking the online access though, particularly as the app is now limited to adding new transactions and editing current ones - I can't input or change future date ones. I know that's not really the way they suggest working, but at least for the moment it helps me track when things are due. So it was quite helpful to be able to just log on at work and tweak when my Ama70n payment should come in.

RosaBernicia

hign10pines wrote: »

I too work for a large health organisation, which is public sector, I'm not office based though

Haha, offices aren't so bad - it all depends on who you're stuck working with, I guess that's the same as anywhere else!

moneyonmymindsam

Evening darling


How are the moggies ...only asking as my feet are cold ...lol


Hope all is good ...I so need to loan some of your focus
Here's to us being debt free in 2016 !!




MMSam xxxxx