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StormDrain posted:I never record cash unless it's a significant chunk like 300 or more. Withdrawals just come up as spending money, and if I use it for groceries or takeout or whatever category I'm actually tracking them it's just a little treat when I come in under budget on those. I think this is the same method YNAB even suggests for this, even though everywhere else on the site they encourage tracking every dollar. The example they use is getting $50 from grandma for your birthday, they say something like "just consider that a bonus and spend it how you will", but in a way that makes it sound like not even putting it in YNAB is the way to go. I have a cash account but also do what StormDrain recommended, just log big cash purchases but don't sweat the small stuff. It all evens out. Anyway I started using YNAB this year because of this thread. I was confused at first but luckily the support team they have answered my help requests with novel-length replies with custom video demonstrations so I was able to get into the groove. I don't know if they're known for really good customer service or if I just got lucky but they were fantastic. I remember there were a lot of evangelists on this forum going back many years and I wish I had listened. It pains me to think of all the money I wasted over time. I already feel like I was a different person "back in the day" (autumn 2020 lol) where I would spend $50-$150 like it was meaningless pocket change. Watching those dollars vanish in real time and also seeing what they *could* be doing in my goals section really flipped a switch in my brain.
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Dec 31, 2020 15:05
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I give any petty cash I receive to my wife for guilt free treats, but I like tracking every dollar and am a tedious gently caress about making sure things come out of the correct category. My justification when using YNAB4 was that it's for reporting purposes but nynab reporting is such complete garbage that I'm questioning that behaviour lately.
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Jan 1, 2021 00:20
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gamer roomie is 41 posted:I don't know if they're known for really good customer service or if I just got lucky but they were fantastic. They are for sure known for their customer service in the context of understanding their method and software. For me it's real weird though, objectively ynab has made such a hugely positive change to my life on a scale that no other knowledge or software really comes close to, but the cult-like level of customer service and community that surrounds it actually feels quite gross.
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Jan 1, 2021 00:35
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Xik posted:I give any petty cash I receive to my wife for guilt free treats, but I like tracking every dollar and am a tedious gently caress about making sure things come out of the correct category. You've posted plenty in this thread so you're probably aware of it, but the YNAB Toolkit unofficial browser extension has a lot of additional report styles & options. (Net worth time chart, Inflow/Outflow time chart, Spending By Category donut chart, Spending By Payee donut chart, Income vs. Expense table, Income Breakdown ribbon chart (not sure what to call this one really), Balance Over Time line chart) uvar fucked around with this message at 03:12 on Jan 1, 2021 |
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Jan 1, 2021 03:08
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uvar posted:You've posted plenty in this thread so you're probably aware of it, but the YNAB Toolkit unofficial browser extension has a lot of additional report styles & options. I did know about it but never used it since I didn't switch over to nynab untill after reports and some other missing features were added. But yeah thanks for reminding me, I had a quick look and it provides some more decent report options. The one I'm most interested in is probably payee spend over time. Also my literal day job is developer working in the fancial integration space so I'm mostly just bitching for the hell of it. If I was less of a lazy poo poo I could probably just use their api to do exactly what I wanted 
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Jan 1, 2021 04:30
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So I redid our whole budget and actually made use of the goal function now. Much, much better. I have one question though. In the past I only used the goal function on our savings, and then transfered from that post to a tracking account (i.e the tracking of money on our investment accounts), but that seemed to always reset the goal as if we didn't save the money (as indicated by the "$ needed to reach goal" getting larger and larger). This time though I did a test transaction and it didn't seem to mess with it, and it still said I was on track etc. With these goal functions, am I supposed to just leave it and transfer it without doing it in YNAB, or am I supposed to do a transfer to something like a tracking account?
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Jan 1, 2021 11:38
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You should never need a tracking account. With a savings goal you could just delete the goal when you hit it, if you are done contributing to it. If it's your final destination bucket for extra money it probably doesn't need a goal though. I use them for things with dates, like birthdays, Christmas etc. PS, is anyone planning on doing a clean slate for new years? I never used to but was planning on doing it every year now
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Jan 1, 2021 12:49
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FateFree posted:You should never need a tracking account. With a savings goal you could just delete the goal when you hit it, if you are done contributing to it. If it's your final destination bucket for extra money it probably doesn't need a goal though. I use them for things with dates, like birthdays, Christmas etc. I have like 18 months of data showing me kicking my CC debts rear end, hell no. Maybe when I go fully positive I'll do a reset.
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Jan 1, 2021 13:10
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MrOnBicycle posted:So I redid our whole budget and actually made use of the goal function now. Much, much better. I have one question though. In the past I only used the goal function on our savings, and then transfered from that post to a tracking account (i.e the tracking of money on our investment accounts), but that seemed to always reset the goal as if we didn't save the money (as indicated by the "$ needed to reach goal" getting larger and larger). This time though I did a test transaction and it didn't seem to mess with it, and it still said I was on track etc. There's more than one type of goal, and I feel like they altered how they work a few months back (maybe longer). The "Needed for spending" goal cares about the total you've budgeted towards it, the "Target savings balance" cares about what's currently available (and the "Monthly Savings builder" is just a simple endless reminder thing). It looks like Needed For Spending is the default. Alternatively, I think most of the versions where you can set an end date include the target month in their calculation, so it might have been complaining that you were moving/spending the money before it considered the goal completed. Oh jeez, it was changed in June. Anyway, here's their explanation of the "new" system. https://www.youneedabudget.com/introducing-ynabs-new-and-improved-goals/ and the more detailed help article https://docs.youneedabudget.com/article/128-goals
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Jan 1, 2021 13:26
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Ah! That explains a lot. I have the "Needed to spend" for all recurring costs, and it was indeed a "Target savings balance" that I was referring to. I never noticed that they changed it, and it makes much more sense now as it was likely a problem that went away with the update. I'll skip the hassle of tracking accounts as well as I don't really need it and it's just one more think to keep track of (hah) and update manually. Thanks for the help. 
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Jan 1, 2021 14:08
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gamer roomie is 41 posted:It pains me to think of all the money I wasted over time. I already feel like I was a different person "back in the day" (autumn 2020 lol) where I would spend $50-$150 like it was meaningless pocket change. Watching those dollars vanish in real time and also seeing what they *could* be doing in my goals section really flipped a switch in my brain.
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Jan 1, 2021 16:13
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FateFree posted:You should never need a tracking account. With a savings goal you could just delete the goal when you hit it, if you are done contributing to it. If it's your final destination bucket for extra money it probably doesn't need a goal though. I use them for things with dates, like birthdays, Christmas etc. I’m still rolling with the same budget since I moved over to nYNAB in 2016 (at least that’s when I assume I did since that’s the history I have and didn’t bother importing the full YNAB history to 2011). I find it very useful to pull up old transactions from time to time. Like when was the last time I changed the brakes on my car, or what I paid for my roof, etc. as those questions come up. Plus reports are nicer with more data and history! I don’t see a compelling reason to reset, although my budget is fine tuned and humming along so it may be different for those that is more in flux.
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Jan 1, 2021 16:33
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Those YNAB dipshits ought to finally add more comprehensive reports to very least the iPad app. It's still just net worth and age of money. (--edit: I realize the website works just fine, but getting it in app likely gets it on the iPhone version, too.)
Combat Pretzel fucked around with this message at 17:12 on Jan 1, 2021 |
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Jan 1, 2021 17:09
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Hell, I’d at least like to reconcile on my iPad, then I could do everything that I use the desktop for aside from running reports / exporting.
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Jan 1, 2021 17:14
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I've got data going back to Jan 1, 2015 in my YNAB4 and I'll probably never do a fresh start. Love seeing that net worth graph going up, and every now and then I have a need to look up a transaction from years back. Spent much of my morning so far sipping tea and reconciling all my accounts. So satisfying to update the balance of off-budget retirement accounts with a year of market gains. And apparently they're already depositing the $600 stimulus checks.
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Jan 1, 2021 17:18
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Xik posted:They are for sure known for their customer service in the context of understanding their method and software. Ya I got that feeling too. I was just looking for some help docs and was mostly ending up on blog posts where learning to use the software is pitched as a journey to enlightenment and living the YNAB lifestyle. I basically just need a fancy spreadsheet skinned for the web, so the cult stuff is off-putting to me. But I can imagine people in severe financial trouble appreciate it being so heavy on being financially reborn in control and having goals. Those long helpdesk replies I got had a motivational speaker vibe - again, kinda weird to me - but I guess their marketing people found out it hits the right buttons for people who really can't stop spending.
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Jan 1, 2021 18:29
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gamer roomie is 41 posted:Ya I got that feeling too. I was just looking for some help docs and was mostly ending up on blog posts where learning to use the software is pitched as a journey to enlightenment and living the YNAB lifestyle. I basically just need a fancy spreadsheet skinned for the web, so the cult stuff is off-putting to me. But I can imagine people in severe financial trouble appreciate it being so heavy on being financially reborn in control and having goals. Those long helpdesk replies I got had a motivational speaker vibe - again, kinda weird to me - but I guess their marketing people found out it hits the right buttons for people who really can't stop spending. Never go on the YNAB reddit. So much unsolicited advice on there. I remember when people were posting about tax returns. I just remember one woman using that tax return to pay off a small credit card debt. She wanted to share how proud of herself for being responsible, small victories and how much YNAB changed her. Yes she even talked about lifestyle changes thanks to YNAB. Which usually YNABers wank over. NOT THIS TIME. Instead they lectured her about paying too much towards to the government. This drove me nuts. 1. In other countries, it is common to overpay on taxes. Don't assume said person is in the USA. 2. We have ZERO idea what her taxes were like and why/how she got a return. Yet there was endless comments with passive aggressive "Great job. Your next goal is look into not over paying your taxes." One even added "then you use extra money to pay off your yearly subscription with YNAB".
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Jan 1, 2021 19:15
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I've always overpaid on my taxes. All it takes is having a couple of months where I decide to take out money instead of saving the hours after being on call. If I could be bothered you can have the tax people do the calculations and compensate for it well before it's time to do the taxes. I have never bothered and sure it's not optimal to give the government an interest free loan when the money could have been in an index fund. But depending on how much work that is, the potential gain might not be worth it. What YNAB has done for us is to not have money disappear into a void, and instead we know where everything is going. I hated the feeling of "Oh it feels like we did good... oh wait where did all the money go?". Especially if we worked more hours etc and then the money just disappeared into said void. Always made me very sad and felt like I was just wasting my time.
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Jan 1, 2021 19:44
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DrNewton posted:Never go on the YNAB reddit.
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Jan 1, 2021 21:05
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Combat Pretzel posted:Try to suggest forecasting tools for planning ahead. That'll get you a handful over there. Oh gosh, you are so right. I swear some of those posts were off the wall bonkers.
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Jan 1, 2021 21:23
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Combat Pretzel posted:Try to suggest forecasting tools for planning ahead. That'll get you a handful over there. What kind of response does it get?
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Jan 1, 2021 21:29
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All sorts of mental gymnastics as to why you shouldn't plan with money you don't have yet. I have a fix salary and all my one-off costs scheduled, extrapolate the rest from existing history and tell me how my situation looks like 9 months in the future. I don't know, for the car I might want to finance, or the kid that's on the way, or the gently caress whatever. Let me do that poo poo. If I have to Excel it, I don't need a budgeting tool. --edit: Anyone here ever tried Lunch Money? It's yet another budgeting web app. Combat Pretzel fucked around with this message at 21:34 on Jan 1, 2021 |
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Jan 1, 2021 21:32
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That's an interesting topic - one thing I do that YNAB doesn't recommend is put my paychecks in for the whole month on the first of the month, and distribute the money as if I have it. This way I can see what my savings will be if I stay on budget. I have a 10x emergency fund so my account has enough money in it that it doesn't matter when bills come in. I prefer this because I like to see the projected outcome of each month. Outside of YNAB, I have a Google spreadsheet that I use to extrapolate this for the whole year, using my average monthly expenses. Every month I reconcile the balance so I get a general idea of how much money I can save over the year. Like ynab, I adjust it and don't consider it set in stone, but I find value in projecting things, it helps me plan better.
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Jan 1, 2021 23:14
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FateFree posted:That's an interesting topic - one thing I do that YNAB doesn't recommend is put my paychecks in for the whole month on the first of the month, and distribute the money as if I have it. This way I can see what my savings will be if I stay on budget. I have a 10x emergency fund so my account has enough money in it that it doesn't matter when bills come in. If you have a 10x emergency fund anyway, why not make it a 9x emergency fund, use the 1x for the month, and then deposit your paychecks into the emergency fund as they come in? You still have the ease of being able to budget for an entire month, and you're not doing it with money you don't have yet. (I know, with a 10x emergency fund it doesn't really matter, but it's the principle of the thing.)
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Jan 1, 2021 23:28
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I love 10x because if can eliminate an expense, I can take 10x that expense out of the fund. Hypothetically if I was paying 1k /month for a car, I would only have to pay the balance down to 10k and then I can payoff the rest with the 10k I'd no longer need in the fund. Conversely if I'm adding an expense I have to think if it's worth needing to save 10x the amount to justify it. But if you aren't living paycheck to paycheck it doesn't really matter. I could do a 9x 1x but it's all the same in the end, this just makes it easier. I consider it a bonus for having the fund in the first place.
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Jan 1, 2021 23:53
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DrNewton posted:Never go on the YNAB reddit. I disagree. Go to YNAB reddit exactly one time each month to copy/paste your referral link in their Promo chain thread. I've gotten 7 months free by doing this.
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Jan 2, 2021 00:36
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Combat Pretzel posted:All sorts of mental gymnastics as to why you shouldn't plan with money you don't have yet. One of the reasons I still use YNAB is because of the simplicity. I did switch to some other budgeting app/site for a while (not Lunch Money... Pocketsmith?) because it had extra features, with a focus on non-monthly recurring events and forecasting, but it felt like I was spending a lot more time on my finances for very little actual benefit. Oh, and manual importing and entries seemed far less convenient than YNAB, but my dislike of direct feeds is a different debate.
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Jan 2, 2021 01:11
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Combat Pretzel posted:All sorts of mental gymnastics as to why you shouldn't plan with money you don't have yet. Weird because what are goals if not things that you put into the system based on your forecasts? I mostly like the YNAB Reddit because the toplevel posts are people getting ahead and getting so excited about reaching goals. I guess I pay less attention to the comments.
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Jan 2, 2021 02:10
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uvar posted:One of the reasons I still use YNAB is because of the simplicity. I did switch to some other budgeting app/site for a while (not Lunch Money... Pocketsmith?) because it had extra features, with a focus on non-monthly recurring events and forecasting, but it felt like I was spending a lot more time on my finances for very little actual benefit. Oh, and manual importing and entries seemed far less convenient than YNAB, but my dislike of direct feeds is a different debate. I tried Pocketsmith, it basically only works with auto-import from your bank and it auto-categorises everything for you. Seemed really hard if not impossible to split transactions. It's more of a tracking app than YNAB for day to day but it seemed like their forecasting was pretty interesting. My bank doesn't offer auto-import though so it wouldn't work at all for me.
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Jan 2, 2021 02:20
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I do annual Fresh Starts. I think I have for 3 years now, and this is my 2nd one in nYNAB. I like it. It feels like I took the garbage out or something. It's not simpler than doing nothing, true. There's a little flipping back and forth when I get started. I dump an export of last years expenses for a big picture spreadsheet I keep, and then I almost never go back to an old budget. Generally, if there's some historic expense I have to refer to, I'm looking in email or on the vendor website, anyway. I like that they push their philosophy. I think it's a good one and it differentiates their product. It does something that I appreciate in a business, too: takes something that's seen as annoying and awkward and fiddly and puts a friendly human face on it. I get that there are people who don't need it at all, don't need it anymore or whatever, but it shows an investment in their overall product. edit: having spent some of my career in Software as a Service, I can also say I have a healthy degree of suspicion that their impetus for Fresh Start evangelism is keeping data fresh and small and new, and so changes to the platform don't wreck the ancient accounting spiderwebs of their oldest customers. bort fucked around with this message at 13:28 on Jan 3, 2021 |
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Jan 3, 2021 13:00
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Just learned a fun way a human error can cascade silently through the software. I put in a transaction for Jan 2020 instead of 2021 and didn’t notice. This manifested as a mysterious shortfall on my credit card with no clear reasons. With support’s help we tracked it down to “overspending” in the summer which was very weird since I hadn’t overspent when it was the summer but easily “fixed”. It was only after I tried to reconcile the CC and had an unreconciled amount despite no visible line items that a search led me to find the errant 2020 Jan transaction, which had ate through the surplus in the category every month until it ran out in June. So! If your budget suddenly goes funny when it was balanced before, check you put the right date on your newly added transactions.
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Jan 3, 2021 14:27
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Modern era’s version of writing the previous year on your checks.
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Jan 3, 2021 15:32
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uvar posted:Oh, and manual importing and entries seemed far less convenient than YNAB, but my dislike of direct feeds is a different debate.  , in that there's no connection between the two transactions in the respective accounts.doingitwrong posted:Weird because what are goals if not things that you put into the system based on your forecasts?
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Jan 3, 2021 16:43
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i find the newer implementation of nynab's goals don't function as described, especially with repeating goals - but this usually becomes clear when you are doing budgeting or reconciliation. i also file bugs with support and they have been really good
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Jan 3, 2021 17:21
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Sirotan posted:I've got data going back to Jan 1, 2015 in my YNAB4 and I'll probably never do a fresh start. Love seeing that net worth graph going up, and every now and then I have a need to look up a transaction from years back. Fwiw I do annual fresh starts, mostly to keep nynab loading quickly, but I also keep a “long term” budget, in which I just update my monthly balances for all my accounts at the same time I pay off my credit cards and reconcile my accounts for the month in my regular budget, just so I can look at my net worth long term I spent a whole fuckin like six hours digging through account statements and such so I could back date it all the way to when I graduated college (seemed like a reasonable start date tbh), so right now I’ve got 7 full years of net worth, and staring at the graph and seeing a timeline of where my spending habits got better or I got a better job or when I moved or bought a car or bought my house... man having that graph is just a really neat way to visualize my life. E: I do still hate nynab’s “age of money” vs the old “months ahead” because I’m budgeted four months ahead right now but my age of money is like... 90? Oh wait, fresh start, my age of money is “2” Sockser fucked around with this message at 19:04 on Jan 3, 2021 |
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Jan 3, 2021 18:54
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Age of money is a pretty dumb measure to begin with. The Days of Buffering the toolkit gives you has more meaning.
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Jan 3, 2021 21:05
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Sockser posted:Fwiw I do annual fresh starts, mostly to keep nynab loading quickly, but I also keep a “long term” budget, in which I just update my monthly balances for all my accounts at the same time I pay off my credit cards and reconcile my accounts for the month in my regular budget, just so I can look at my net worth long term YNAB being able to have some sort of referral/linking system to other budgets (like maybe have it as a tracking account or whatever) would be a Godsend for more than one reason but I would just settle for it being loving possible to import loving categories, what the gently caress. Or being able to duplicate an existing budget so I can try something out without loving over 2 years of transactions in mysterious ways. Again, what the gently caress.
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Jan 4, 2021 00:43
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nm
Vinz Clortho fucked around with this message at 07:03 on Jan 4, 2021 |
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Jan 4, 2021 06:55
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So I just tried a fresh start on my account and it is saying I have a ton of left over money that is not set aside somewhere and this is after I set aside similar amounts to what I had in my old budget. I am confused.
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Jan 5, 2021 16:34
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If you had any goals you were slowly building up, their history might be wiped out and reset. Like if you had a 900/1000 goal for Christmas and it was November, the goal would suggest you put 500 now and 500 next month, 'freeing up' 400 dollars in the current month.
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Jan 5, 2021 16:46
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