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You need a budget (YNAB) advice thread

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  • Pixie5740
    Pixie5740 Posts: 14,515 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Eighth Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic
    Pixie - how do you delete and start again? I kniw you can 'start over' but I want to completely start from scratch.

    First I exported my old budget into a spreadsheet so that I could make sure I remembered to include everything I pay out and save for and the amounts for the new budget by going:

    File > Export > Export Budget to CSV

    Then to create a new budget I went:

    File > Create New Budget
  • Red-Squirrel_2
    Red-Squirrel_2 Posts: 4,341 Forumite
    Payday for me today, and every penny already budgeted for by 8am, I must be losing the plot!

    Its really satisfying allocating it all and putting some towards debts, but I think YNAB means the end of that 'flush' feeling I used to get on payday as though I had loads of money and could relax for a bit. That is almost definitely a good thing though!
  • Pixie5740
    Pixie5740 Posts: 14,515 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Eighth Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic
    I know what you mean Red-Squirrel. I earn a fair whack but I don't have anywhere near as much disposable income as people might think. By the time I've allocated money for bills (monthly and annual like my car insurance), have put money towards my savings goals, and put money away for a rainy day (new car tyres, new washing machine, etc), I don't have that much left.
  • FireWyrm
    FireWyrm Posts: 6,557 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker Debt-free and Proud!
    edited 27 March 2015 at 3:48PM
    Payday for me today, and every penny already budgeted for by 8am, I must be losing the plot!

    Its really satisfying allocating it all and putting some towards debts, but I think YNAB means the end of that 'flush' feeling I used to get on payday as though I had loads of money and could relax for a bit. That is almost definitely a good thing though!

    One small thing I've learned is to do a final reconcile just before payday. If you have a complicated setup that requires lots of transfers between accounts, it can make it much easier to see what is happening and limits the scope for confusion when all the money rolls around. As for the 'flush' feeling, yeah, that's generally a thing of the past, but it is replaced with the feeling of control which can be every bit as addictive and satisfying. You know for sure and certain that you have all the money to cover every normal circumstance for at least the next month. As the months roll on and you accrue your buffer, the 'flush' feeling returns in that you can see money populating your categories properly and know that barring something truly unforseen, you are safe to spend whatever you want from those categories. The issue then becomes one of planning those spends wisely rather than simply spending for the hell of it. If you have money in a clothing budget, that is what it is for, and you can, at some point, rock up to a shop and spend it as you please without having to worry%
    Debt Free! Long road, but we did it
    Meet my best friend : YNAB (you need a budget)
    My other best friend is a filofax.
    Do or do not, there is no try....Yoda.

    [/COLOR]
  • I Love YNAB however i am feeling slightly despondent. I was in the past happily saving money and thinking wow this is fantastic I've saved x amount this month and feeling chuffed with myself for saving money.

    Roll on YNAB and every £ has a purpose and although my bank balance is increasing my savings are not going up as the money in the account is all accountable under other categories.

    I know previously birthdays, holidays, christmas, shiny toy fund, spending would have been withdrawn from my savings - so its swings and roundabouts.

    I do feel much more in control and know exactly where my money is going. However because i don't look at my bank balance and only concentrate on the categories I am think I've only saved this much this month which really isn't a lot.

    I am sure in time i will get use to this and my mindset will change but at the moment i am thinking is that all you've managed to save !!
    Save £12k in 2014 #080 £0/£8,000.
    £2 savers club #53
    £365 in 365 days # 101 £1/£365


    Sugar free days 0/365
  • Red-Squirrel_2
    Red-Squirrel_2 Posts: 4,341 Forumite
    Look at your net worth and watch that increase!
  • Ciaerda
    Ciaerda Posts: 60 Forumite
    I love the net worth report and hate it if the arrow is red and not green.

    Love YNAB it makes you feel completely in control of your money.

    In the past I would have been frightened to look at my bank balance and it was always a surprise to me that I didn't have as much as I thought I had.

    I have been using YNAB for a year and am no longer frightened of looking as I know exactly where it is all going and I still love playing with it.

    I have been watching the Whiteboard Wednesdays video that Jesse has been doing on the YNAB Blog site which goes through his 4 steps in a bit more detail.

    I recommend YNAB to everyone :rotfl:
    Ciaerda:T
  • katejo
    katejo Posts: 4,266 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Ciaerda wrote: »
    I love the net worth report and hate it if the arrow is red and not green.

    Love YNAB it makes you feel completely in control of your money.

    In the past I would have been frightened to look at my bank balance and it was always a surprise to me that I didn't have as much as I thought I had.

    I have been using YNAB for a year and am no longer frightened of looking as I know exactly where it is all going and I still love playing with it.

    I have been watching the Whiteboard Wednesdays video that Jesse has been doing on the YNAB Blog site which goes through his 4 steps in a bit more detail.

    I recommend YNAB to everyone :rotfl:

    A red net value arrow won't always be negative. If you are paid at the end of the calendar month and so use that money for the next month's expenses, the arrow will point down until you get paid at the end of the month. Overall my net value is increasing but it will point down after April 1st as I start using my end of March pay.
  • Hockeynut
    Hockeynut Posts: 81 Forumite
    The only annoyance that I've found so far is that once I tweak a budget amount, by moving some from elsewhere to cover an overspend. Then there is nothing to show what my initial amount was. Which means that the next month, I need to try to find what I originally budgeted again.
  • cazmanian_minx
    cazmanian_minx Posts: 4,048 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Debt-free and Proud!
    Hockeynut wrote: »
    The only annoyance that I've found so far is that once I tweak a budget amount, by moving some from elsewhere to cover an overspend. Then there is nothing to show what my initial amount was. Which means that the next month, I need to try to find what I originally budgeted again.

    You could always edit the category name? I stick my 'normal' amount in brackets after the name, so 'Car maintenance (£20)', 'Gifts (£30)' etc. etc.
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