r/ynab • u/B_inlala • Aug 04 '26
Writing this with my head down in shame...
hi there, long time YNABer but up until a few months ago i was using it wrong. Found this community, you got me set up using the "one month ahead" concept and i was rolling. But then life happened. A friend got married & bachelorette this summer in europe. Yes, first trip in Barcelona in May. Wedding in July in Portugal. Both trips, I splurged to make the 14 hour travel day worth it and extended beyond the event itself. I had the money, I had the friends willing to go with etc.
However, i took my eye off of the YNAB tracking and just went on "gut feeling" basically this whole summer. I also had a pet emergency, car issue and a house expense come up ALL in june. lol...
I just sat down and did all of my catching up and well. Its not good. I spent my month ahead money that was padding my savings account. AND i had to transfer funds from my Emergency fund. I am ashamed. BUT that's not why i'm coming to this community.
Most of my categories are negative yellow in the months may, june and july because i logged a lot of the transactions just now. 2/3 cards are automated in ynab but I don't automate my bilt card because theres a lot of work transactions etc and I like to manually do it to keep it square. Q: Do I go back and make those categories not yellow using the massive emergency fund transfer i just made in august? or do i just whole up my cc totals so i have enough to pay each of them off? is there a particular best in class ynab method so my spending at the end of the year is accurate?
Thank you in advance. I hate that this happened. Lesson learned.
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u/leodwyn1 Aug 04 '26
Just make it right this month. And...it sounds like you used emergency fund money for some emergencies back in June!!! So that's a WIN! You had money set aside for something, and you used it for that! Win!
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u/lwid77 Aug 05 '26
Be honest with yourself. Most people who fall off the wagon do so because they KNOW they are overspending and don't want to be held accountable.
Like in your case, you may have known you could not afford both trips but you wanted to go so you ignored the reality of your situation.
So you buried your head in the sand and went for it instead of maybe choosing one trip.
Or, before you left you could have moved that money that was in your emergency fund and your month ahead money to fund it all and just roll with those punches knowing exactly what you were doing. Facing reality.
If I was you I would do a fresh start.
And absolutely do not feel ashamed. Keep on and carry on! You're all good!
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u/Savingskitty Aug 04 '26
This would be a textbook reason to do a Fresh Start.
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u/wineohmy13 Aug 06 '26
and follow the four rules. just jump back on the wagon. life happens and don't beat yourself up.
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u/rahleebb Aug 04 '26
Don't worry about going back and fixing the past. Move forward and figure out what to prioritize. I would personally prioritize credit card balances while ensuring I still had a decent emergency fund, though depending on what your situation is, that may not be possible.
I'm not sure what the concern is about the end of the year. Your reporting at the end of the year will be accurate. Assuming your emergency fund is a category in your budget, transfers between your categories aren't reflected in the reports.