#118 - Getting the Most Out of YNAB
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
I'm Ben. And I'm Ernie. And you're listening to Budget Nerds.
You are not alone.
No, you are not. Well, today, Ernie, we are talking about getting the most out of YNAB. We're going to talk about not exactly features. Some of these are features, but it's just like little things, some big things and some like really nerdy detail things that we want to talk about. We had a big long list of topics and Ernie and I got together right before we started recording. We're like, all right, let's pare this list down. And we couldn't pare it down. So we're just going to talk about all of it.
And I think that's going to make it more nerdy because at first we're like, well, is this a nerdy enough episode? But like, it's totally going to be because we have so many things we want to talk about. And I'm sure we're going to get lost in the weeds for a lot of them.
Yeah. So I think we should just jump right in because we got a lot to go through. So scheduled transactions. Ernie, this is your thing. Way back in the day, I was never using scheduled transactions and you got me to use them. And so I do use them now, but I don't think I use them to the extent that you do.
They are a fantastic way to level up your YNAB game. Now, if you just started YNAB, I wouldn't recommend setting up all of these. Maybe you set up, you know, one or two, something like that. But, you know, once you get going with YNAB, boy, the scheduled recurring transactions are a great way to eliminate second guessing. Okay. Because you're just, you're putting out there all of, here are all my monthly bills. Here are all my non-monthly bills and non-monthly expenses as well. You know, some of those that recur. It just gets them out of your head, out of your bank statement, out of your spreadsheet. You don't have to try to remember that stuff anymore. YNAB remembers it for you.
Yeah, what I like about it is what it does on the plan because you can see, I can click into a category and see the available after upcoming. I think that's the term.
Yes.
It's really cool. I really like that. So I like it more, not so much for the transaction entry. I like it for how it affects transactions. things on the plan side, because I can see, oh, I'm going to be overspent on this category in a couple weeks if I don't do something, or I'm actually have too much in this category, because I don't, I don't need as much because the scheduled transactions tell me exactly how much is going to come out. So that's kind of fun.
And what I really love about the scheduled recurring transactions is as soon as you open YNAB, those things fire. They go live in your register and then also in your category. So it's like, I just find myself being pleasantly surprised and reminded, oh, Today's the day that I pay that every three month water bill. Like it's on auto pay, but it's just like, Hey, this is happening in the background. I don't have to do anything. There's peace of mind. You know, I've, I've got certainty about around what's going on. It's just, I don't know. I think they are so slick. So helpful.
Yeah.
Yeah, I've started a workflow for my power bill because it's different every month. Right. And as soon as I get the email saying how much it's going to be, I can get an email like a month ahead. And it's like, this is your bill and it's due on this day. It just comes out automatically. And so it says the day it's going to come due and I'll enter it ahead of time. So it's not even like a recurring. It's just like scheduled ahead of time. And it's really nice because I can see ahead of time how much. the bill is going to be versus how much I've actually assigned in that category. So I could remove some money from that category if I want and use it for something else.
How can scheduled transactions eliminate guesswork in my YNAB plan?
So that's kind of kind of fun. But but use it for the running balance thing to a lot, right? Yeah, is that really just to figure out how much to keep in checking?
Yes, that's exactly what it is. It's cash flow purposes. You know, if there's been a month where there's been a ton of credit card spending and maybe some bigger ticket items, I'm always like, oh, because, you know, I want to optimize the high yield saving interest rates right now.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:06–3:34
2
How can scheduled transactions eliminate guesswork in my YNAB plan?
3:34–27:24
3
Why should I enter transactions myself and how does that improve awareness?
27:24–44:41
4
How do targets and no-date targets help me plan savings and goals?
44:41–1:15:48
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from Budget Nerds
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