You need a budget (YNAB) advice thread

andyfromotley

I had an asset to sell, my lovely vw camper. The remainder won't be quite so easy to get rid of!

I just posted here about my first month or so

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5195085

andyfromotley

As discussed much earlier in the thread i have taken my pre Ynab CC debt off budget. I Much prefer it that way. Instantly makes the numbers easier to read.

Frogletina

I've been away for 2 days and have come back with details of all of my spending, cash and card - and got into the greatest muddle of all times when trying to reconcile in Ynab. And it was nothing to do with the spending I did while I was away!

I've moved money all over the place, from one bank to another, between categories, made new categories - used pen and paper. Then all of a sudden everything balanced - I think that was a fluke.

Anyway, here's an issue I have at the moment if anyone has any advice.

This is regarding cash spending. I budget for my housekeeping from my monthly income and then transfer weekly to cash.

It seems to work out well in Ynab as I have a category for this, but then I realised that by the end of the month it will look as if I budgeted no money for housekeeping as all of it gets transferred to the cash category. Do you think this is an issue which could cause problems? Maybe with reports?

thanks

frogletina

Red-Squirrel_2

Frogletina wrote: »

Anyway, here's an issue I have at the moment if anyone has any advice.

This is regarding cash spending. I budget for my housekeeping from my monthly income and then transfer weekly to cash.

It seems to work out well in Ynab as I have a category for this, but then I realised that by the end of the month it will look as if I budgeted no money for housekeeping as all of it gets transferred to the cash category. Do you think this is an issue which could cause problems? Maybe with reports?

thanks

frogletina

Why not have a master category called 'Cash' and then separate subcategories for the various things you spend that cash on? That would make it easier to keep track.

Frogletina

Red-Squirrel wrote: »

Why not have a master category called 'Cash' and then separate subcategories for the various things you spend that cash on? That would make it easier to keep track.

I am able to keep track as I do have it as a master category already, and I transfer to it each week. I think that is the problem.

I don't want to transfer a month's worth of spending money to cash so I transfer it weekly from my Master monthly spending category. All the other categories (via direct debits) show budgeted amount, outflow and then balance at the end of the month but the spending one shows nil in each column due to it not being shown as an outflow but is being transferred.

frogletina

Eyes_wide_open

I have created a cash account. I transfer money from my current account to the cash account and then when i spend cash i add the transaction and its removed from my cash account.
I did consider just showing a cash withdrawal but it didn't make me accountable for my cash spending which i felt i needed.
hth x

uncreative

Frogletine,

You shoudl have cash as another account set up. Example:

Lets say you have a bank account and a purse.

You start with £100 in the bank account which you will call income for [January] or whatever month you are in. So you have £100 left to budget. Budget the £100 to Household (or whatever your category is). You have now fully budgeted you income, or "given it a job" to use YNAB speak.

How you spend this is technically irrelevant.

If you spend it via debit card you would go into the bank account and add a transaction at which point you would enter the spend againt the Household category.

If you used cash then you need to first transfer £100 between bank and cash account. This will shift the £100 from bank to cash. i.e. you have gone to the ATM ad taken out £100.

Now when you spend cash you add a transaction to the cash account istead of the bank account for household.

Still comes off the Household budget, except its from the cash account rather than the bank account.

If you look at the "how to use credit cards" this explains the principle of spending from different accounts.

Frogletina

Eyes_wide_open wrote: »

I have created a cash account. I transfer money from my current account to the cash account and then when i spend cash i add the transaction and its removed from my cash account.
I did consider just showing a cash withdrawal but it didn't make me accountable for my cash spending which i felt i needed.
hth x

Yes, that is what I do too. I am worrying unduly I think - so long as it makes sense to me that should be ok.

I came back from my few days away with some cash that I didn't take into account when I was trying to reconcile my accounts - I have no idea how they managed to balance correctly in the end. I shall put the excess cash in my sealed pot and let that be an end to it!

(but knowing me, I'll still be trying to ponder over it)

Maybe that explains why I paid for my food at the co-op forgetting I had a newspaper under my arm. You will be pleased to know I went back to the till and paid for it. How on earth would I have accounted for that!

frogletina

Westie983

Frogletina I'm still trying to get my head around my cash category in YNAB, I want the money in my cash account to be available in my budget and when i take it from the cash account to spent it, I allocate it to what i have spent but it just seems to transfer from my cash account to my purse category but it doesn't appear in my budget just swopping between the two.... still trying to work it all out but in only on day 11....

MoneyMission2015

On mine I have 3 on budget accounts which are

Joint account
My account
Cash

Salary goes into joint account at the beginning of the month & I set all my budgets, give every £ a job as they say.

At this point everything is still in the joint account.

If I then withdraw cash I transfer it on YNAB from joint account to Cash. Budget categories are not affected at this point because I've not actually spent the money, I've just moved it so it is still available, just in cash rather than in a bank.

Then if I buy groceries I add a transaction to the Cash account, obviously allocating it against the groceries budget. Then I reconcile to make sure the Cash account on YNAB actually matches what I have in my purse. Same if I buy fuel with cash rather than my debit card, it still comes off the Fuel available balance, but the transaction has come out of my Cash account, not our joint or my own account.