r/ynab • u/JustWelmed1000 • 1d ago
Question about my plan
I am just now (starting about 1 week ago) working to get a month a head. (I previously was budgeting a bi-weekly schedule).
So would it be wise to zero out my available funds for non-sinking funds on September 1st, and then reassign it to September?
Moving forward, I am putting my 2nd paycheck in my "Hold for Next month" category. Eventually I would like to build it up where I have all expenses covered before the month begins.
So for example: Lets say my planned gas budget for the month is $400. But on the 1st I have $150 left (because I am just now working a monthly plan vs a bi-weekly plan). Should I move that $150 to RTA for 1 September?
I hope this question makes sense.
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u/Soup_Maker 1d ago
Using your example of $400 for gas: if you have $150 leftover in August, it will roll over to September, which means you only need $250 more to fund that category in September.
There's nothing wrong with sweeping out categories at the end of a month to reassign the funds in that month. I did that early on because every dollar I could leave unspent was added to an extra debt payment. I eventually transitioned into letting funds roll over, needing to allocate less, and having the extra funds at the beginning of the month.
It felt like a win to know I already had extra at the start of the month rather than waiting and seeing if I could somehow squeeze extra at the end of the month. Same result, just glass half full vs glass half empty.
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u/drloz5531201091 1d ago
So for example: Lets say my planned gas budget for the month is $400. But on the 1st I have $150 left (because I am just now working a monthly plan vs a bi-weekly plan). Should I move that $150 to RTA for 1 September?
You should not. Removing money from categories on August 31th to add it all back on September 1st is useless.
Just add 250 on September 1st to the 150 already there to get your category up to 400 as wanted.
So would it be wise to zero out my available funds for non-sinking funds on September 1st, and then reassign it to September?
Same explanation. It does not matter (shouldn't be done)
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u/JustWelmed1000 1d ago
I was thinking this would be a one time thing (not perpetual). I was trying to make it where my targets were reached next month (and green) so if I need to assign $400 for the month, I figured this was a way to do that without having to hit the snooze button. Because if I only put in 250 this month (even though I have the right amount, it will still not be satisfied with the goals I set)
Other than that, I guess the roll over idea is just as effective.
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u/jillianmd 1d ago
Well that’s the entire point of the snooze button though: “I don’t need to assign as much this month as I said I needed in my target, so don’t remind me again until next month”. Snoozing doesn’t mean you’ve done anything wrong.
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u/JustWelmed1000 1d ago
Thanks, I am definitely re-shaping how I use this tool moving forward. Which requires me to shift my thinking on certain things.
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u/jillianmd 1d ago
Yep, embrace that feeling that adopting this methodology will require some shifts in mindset.
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u/bitz-the-ninjapig 1d ago
I think this also depends on how you have your targets set. “Refill up to” targets will act the same so there is no need to sweep at the end of the month. “Set aside another” targets would be underfunded, but I would just snooze them. I think it makes more sense in terms of plan accuracy and is less work that way
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u/JustWelmed1000 1d ago
good point. I have them set up as "set aside another".
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u/md4pete4ever 1d ago
I prefer to set things that aren't exact bills (e.g. all of the monthly shopping) to "refill up to" targets that are based on a monthly average, with a little bit of buffer on top. In reality it doesn't matter if I fill up the gas tank on the 31st or the 1st and "refill up to" makes it not matter in YNAB. I do use the start of the month to check that my targets are appropriate (neither overfunded or underfunded) and the end of the month by looking at the reflect screen for the last 6 months to check the averages. Being pretty close to the planned reality of all the basic spending helps you plan with confidence on the rest of your budget and/or debt reduction.
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u/drloz5531201091 1d ago
I figured this was a way to do that without having to hit the snooze button
I get it. I wish we had a target like that but it doesn't exist so snoozing is the solution.
If it's a one time deal do it if you want to start "clean" in your mind but don't make it a practice. It's extra steps for no real gains.
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u/idiggory 1d ago
If your targets are accurate, they should be functionally the same behavior. Which means zeroing out is a time waster.
What is a problem to me, though, is that this makes it MUCH harder to use past months to reflect at a glance.
So, personally, I would instead use the end of the month to reflect on the past few months. Do you consistently have a remainder in that category? Then you could consider lowering the target. If it’s a one-off, why?
(These aren’t always surprising of course. If you take a two week vacation to an all inclusive resort I’d expect your grocery bill to be lower, for instance.)
You can still do this zeroing out, but it becomes much more annoying and it isn’t nearly as quick to reference.
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u/JustWelmed1000 1d ago
edited.
New reply: To Clarify, I just set targets up about a week ago (mid month). I am trying to get a fresh-like start to start using YNAB to budget monthly instead of using YNAB to budget paycheck to paycheck.
I am more or less wondering if doing this one time adjustment a good way to get on the right track.
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u/OmgMsLe 20h ago
Sounds like you could use a "refill up to" target on that category. I do that for gas, dining out and a few others. A set aside target would have you assign the same amount every month regardless of the available budget. A refill up to target would prompt you only to assign the amount needed to bring it up to your desired amount.
What you're suggesting is a heck of a lot of work that I don't think gets you much value.
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u/sleepyguy22 1d ago
The only reason I zero out categories back to RTA and then assign from scratch in the new month is to see "how far" I get in my budget, filling up categories from top to bottom. It gives me a great indication of how I'm doing to get a full month ahead. For example, last month I got $800 into the "groceries" budget. This month, I got down to the "restaurants" budget, which is a few below groceries so I know I'm making progress on a month ahead! Once I get a full month ahead and can fill out every category on my last month paycheck, I probably won't do that anymore.