You need a budget (YNAB) advice thread

hiddenshadow

copperjar wrote: »

I'm now contemplating paying for the new version. Can I use the version just through a phone app?

I don't know how fully featured they have the phone apps yet - you can view the budget, and move money between categories in the budget, so that's certainly an improvement on the Classic phone apps. They only recently allowed you to sign up from a phone, though, so they're still working on the phone features (and the web features, too, to be fair).

remote_control

Hi

I have read loads of great things about YNAB and I really do need a budget.

One question: does it import from your bank account and credit card accounts? Or do I have to enter into YNAB every time I spend something?

Thanks

hiddenshadow

The new version has direct import, but it's not officially supported for UK banks. Some people have had it work with Natwest and Barclays accounts, I believe, but it seems hit or miss.

In the Classic version you could import a statement that you downloaded from your bank (manual process), they're working on adding this in to the new version.

FWIW, depending on how your finances go I find scheduled transactions to work for 90% of our budget. Then the transaction automatically triggers on the date you set (monthly on the 1st, weekly on a Thursday, etc) and you just have to verify that it happened. We have all our direct debits and transport things as scheduled transactions, just leaving food and personal spending for manual entry. YMMV though.

copperjar

Just wanted to say thanks hiddenshadow. I wouldn't really thought of emailing them because I bought my copy via Steam for about £8 but did following your post. They asked for proof of purchase which I managed to find in all my undeleted emails and then gave me a new activation key. Downloaded a new copy of YNAB4 and got my budget up and running again! So thank you

MandM90

remote_control wrote: »

Hi

I have read loads of great things about YNAB and I really do need a budget.

One question: does it import from your bank account and credit card accounts? Or do I have to enter into YNAB every time I spend something?

Thanks

Hi remote_control, whilst UK banks aren't currently supported I actually find it more beneficial to count every penny, log on daily to keep track of things and stay aware of my spending. I actually enjoy adding new transactions manually :rotfl:

greensalad

I'm trying to get stuck into nYNAB again and am getting stuck, again.

I had money in my current account. I wanted to transfer £13.50 from my current account balance to my savings account for holiday money. I did so.

I've marked down a transaction, moving 13.50 from current acc to holiday savings acc on YNAB.

My question is, how do I do this on my budget? I've created "savings" master category and have added "holiday" as one of the sub-cats and put "13.50" in the budget. Now how do I associate that savings sub-cat with my transaction? I can't put a category down on the transaction for internal budget transfers.

Also why isn't the full £83 odd that I have in my holiday category available to budget? Surely it should be available to budget and use, it's just that I won't budget it and will roll it over until I actually go on holiday.

lambda

greensalad wrote: »

I'm trying to get stuck into nYNAB again and am getting stuck, again.

I had money in my current account. I wanted to transfer £13.50 from my current account balance to my savings account for holiday money. I did so.

I've marked down a transaction, moving 13.50 from current acc to holiday savings acc on YNAB.

My question is, how do I do this on my budget? I've created "savings" master category and have added "holiday" as one of the sub-cats and put "13.50" in the budget. Now how do I associate that savings sub-cat with my transaction? I can't put a category down on the transaction for internal budget transfers.

Also why isn't the full £83 odd that I have in my holiday category available to budget? Surely it should be available to budget and use, it's just that I won't budget it and will roll it over until I actually go on holiday.

Hi There,

The point is that you don't need to record the transaction as you haven't spent anything against the category. When you allocate budget to a category, you are keeping money available to spend in that category. It doesn't actually matter where the money lives (in the current account, savings account or purse). Until you actually spend the money it doesn't need to be logged. So if you put £10 in the 'savings' budget, say, YNAB then takes that £10 off your budget so you can't spend it on other things.

Does this make sense?

andyfromotley

What you need to remeber is that when looking at your BUDGET ynab does not care where you have the money. In one account, 10 accounts or your old sock drawer. All it is telling you is what you have not where it is.

The accounts tell you what money you have in each account.

So in your case, you get paid and are putting it all into catagories, just allocate £20 to your holiday category. thats fine you could just leave it like this and leave the money in your bank account. However you like me want to have it in a savings account (there relly is no reason to do this but it just makes us feel safe to have our money in there..Go figure) so you ring your bank and move £20 from your bank account to your savings account.
On ynab you must now TRANSFER £20 from your bank account to your savings acount. TRANSFER is the key. The ampunt in your catagory will remain unchanged, your bank account will go down by £20 and your savings account will rise by £20.
If you do not have a savings account on ynab just set it up as an 'on budget account'

greensalad

andyfromotley wrote: »

What you need to remeber is that when looking at your BUDGET ynab does not care where you have the money. In one account, 10 accounts or your old sock drawer. All it is telling you is what you have not where it is.

The accounts tell you what money you have in each account.

So in your case, you get paid and are putting it all into catagories, just allocate £20 to your holiday category. thats fine you could just leave it like this and leave the money in your bank account. However you like me want to have it in a savings account (there relly is no reason to do this but it just makes us feel safe to have our money in there..Go figure) so you ring your bank and move £20 from your bank account to your savings account.
On ynab you must now TRANSFER £20 from your bank account to your savings acount. TRANSFER is the key. The ampunt in your catagory will remain unchanged, your bank account will go down by £20 and your savings account will rise by £20.
If you do not have a savings account on ynab just set it up as an 'on budget account'

OK, I understand that lot. I have done so.

My issue is that the transaction doesn't tie in with my budget. Is that because it's not been spent, just transferred? I guess I'm not spending anything from the holiday account so that bit makes sense...

As usual, whenever I start with YNAB it just doesn't add up with what money I actually have, despite me outlaying everything I have. Right now I'm down £125 which my bank account disagrees with (and yes, I've tracked spends that haven't yet decreased from my balance).

What happens when I WANT to spend that £83? If it's not on my budget, it can't be spent.

I don't know this never works for me. I'm considering giving up again. I wish nYNAB let you have off-budget accounts! It used to work so well!

lambda

It hasn't been spent, that's right.

Think of you 'budget' as the 'plan' - you are telling your money where to go; you are giving it a job. So that £10 was given a 'job' - it was put into savings. You marked the job by making a new category and recording the £10 against it. Now that £10 is already assigned a job. You have simply just put it away in the box, but it is effectively 'spoken for'. Now, when you spend from your savings, that is when you put what you have spent against the 'savings category'. If you put £10 in savings, and budget the £10, and then you spend, say, £5 on something, you record the £5. You still have £5 left in the budget. Make sense?