It took me about 6 yrs to get a month ahead. I needed about $7k extra saved to make that happen I’d budget $100 every month for 6 yrs. it was a tedious task but I’ve made it!
i dont mean to be so off topic but does anyone know of a tool to get back into an Instagram account..? I stupidly forgot the login password. I would appreciate any tips you can offer me
Hannah's videos have officially made me a budget nerd. I can't get enough of her videos. After learning so much from this channel and using the app, I'm finally two months ahead, fully funded emergency fund, consistently contributing to my IRA, and working on saving for a house.
WOW!! Two months, that's incredible!! That is a HARD feat and does not come easy. Says a lot about your discipline and hard work!! Maybe since you're two months ahead now, you can give yourself a little more fun money each month 🙃🥳🤘🏻 -Hannah 🌻
I never thought I would be excited about a new video being released about a budgeting software, but I suppose 2020 is full of surprises no one could have seen coming!
Hannah, you are my spirit animal. YNAB broke is a real thing, and it feels SO GOOD! It’s currently June 19, and next Wednesday, I will finish budgeting August and move on to budgeting September. In the meantime, I feel the pinch of being lower on grocery money and dining out money than I’d like, but the pinch is *by choice*, and the feeling is not nearly so desperate as having a bit of money left with nothing to back that up. It sucks, but it isn’t stressful at all - it just clarifies the choices I can make over the next 12 days. I can dive into my freezer and cupboard and be creative, because it’s my choice, not my last resort. That’s an incredibly powerful feeling!
Pinch by choice 😂LOVE THAT. That's a good, good place to be Janet. I also love that you identified the clarity it gives! And boy, does scarcity ever spark creativity 😉 Hope you find some new delicacies in your deep freezer dive! Ha!! -Hannah :)
I've been doing exactly this for the last few years (using YNAB). Once I was 3 months ahead, I was just (last week) able to save $8K to put down on a (new to me) 2019 Jeep. My payment is so low that I can afford to make larger payments on months that my side-hustles brings in extra $$. I also already have 2 payments just waiting to be due. Thanks to YNAB, I feel financially secure and I've learned to make smarter financial decisions - knowing what I can and cannot afford.
I can't believe nobody has yet taken Hannah up on her bonus points challenge!? Do people watch the entire videos? I know I do, to get to those juicy outtakes! Number of times during video that Hannah says, "getting a month ahead" is 13 (at 0:09, 0:19, 0:47, 3:38, 3:47, 4:34, 5:03, 6:34, 7:05, 10:51, 12:20, 12:26 and 12:49). Number of times she says, "get a month ahead" is 2 (at 0:56 and 5:35). If you're being literal, it's 13 times... if you're not so picky on getting vs. get, the number is 15. Hannah, can I please have ALL the bonus points?! 😅
Such a great point about paying down debt. You need to save up AND pay down debt at the same time, if at all possible! So that you’re prepared for unexpected events... like, oh, I don’t know, a global pandemic or something
It's hard to find a balance because I really want to pay off my debt. This month I decided to dump a few hundred more dollars to pay off my credit card. I ended up going over my budget=( Lesson learned though.
I have absolutely 100% been there, no joke. Overdrawing in the bank account because you're trying to do a good thing and pay down your debt. It feels so backwards. I learned before I can pay down my debts I need to ensure I can 110% sustain my own life first, and probably be a little padded for those out-of-the-blue, unexpected expenses like an emergency vet visit or my best friends wedding or the AC going out in my car (ALL of which happened in the last two weeks for me. Talk about cha-CHING). Because I'm a month ahead, I was able to borrow from a few future expenses to pay for those things. Ideally I will build an emergency fund next so that I'm NOT borrowing from the future to pay for the present, but it's at least the first true step in preventing new debt accumulation for me! A few months ago, instead of putting any extra money I got toward debt (stimulus check, tax refund, extra income from odd jobs), I built it into my future. NOW if something happens out of the blue I don't go into the red because I was trying to do the right thing and pay off my debt. And the bonus is, now that I'm financially padded, I feel like I can be a lot more aggressive with my debt payoff because I won't ever overdraw or be living the last few days of the month with $17 in the bank. Man, SO many life lessons learned for me this year. Life can really hit hard sometimes, I've learned. I feel ya and wish you the best with your debts and dollars!! You got this you got this you got this!! -Hannah :)
We've tried budgeting categories in the future month before but that strategy didn't work well for categories we had to move money around and sometimes things didn't look like what I expected when we get the to next month. A few weeks ago we created the "next month" category where we put all the income that will be assigned to next month's bills and we're confident this strategy is going to work best for us.
I get paid every 2 weeks but I only budget for receiving 2 paychecks per month. Which means twice a year, I get an "extra" paycheck in that month. I was lucky enough to receive my annual bonus in the same month that I got an extra "bonus" paycheck, and voila! I was able to get a month ahead!
I have started using the comment under the Month heading to announce how much short of Month Ahead I am at the beginning of each month. It's great motivation as I see it every time I check my budget. ("Just $190.93 short of Month Ahead!" for July 1st ;-) )
If you are paid fortnightly, twice in any typical year, there will be a 3 pay month. If you spend within your means, basing your monthly income on 2 fortnights, you will be 2 fortnights (i.e. one month) ahead in a year's time.
Almost true. For many of your variable spending categories ie: gas, groceries, eating out, entertainment etc. you will need to have that money as there are those actual days to live through. You wouldn't need the portion of your seemingly extra checks that would go to fixed expenses because those would be covered within your budget.
Holy Chile!! That's amazing!! I don't need to compare IQ scores to determine that you are a sharper crayon than me. That takes some serious smarts and organization. So glad YNAB is able to make managing multiple currencies a cinch for ya! -Hannah :)
You Need A Budget (YNAB) girl, you are extremely talented and I can’t stop watching you. I’m just a personal finance fan who has found the beauty of budgeting living abroad. I decided to research the best app and YNAB is really amazing. Nothing compared to others (I personally tested some of the biggest ones for a month). Thank you for answering! ❤️🇧🇷🇨🇱
It took me about 6 months. I get paid every other week which means that about every six months you get a third paycheck. I made that 3rd check my first check for next month. So one check arrived the month prior and the 2nd check arrived the first paycheck of the current month budget. That alone gave some relief. Then six months later I had a month with 3 checks again. So First check was the second check budgeted for the month. And checks two and three became the income for the following month. And that's how I got a month ahead without affecting my paying down debt plan.
Oh, that's totally the way to do it. It's so tempting to think of that third paycheck as fun money, but if you keep to the same spending schedule then you'll be a month ahead after a year without lifting a finger or even making any changes! -Hannah 🌻
I am 2.5 months ahead right now and it makes me so happy. Before YNAB I would imagine that I had 3 months worth of rent when I got a big chunk of money but I never actually had a way of tracking and making sure that happened. It gives me so much comfort to know that rent and my basic expenses are fully funded for the next three months and April and May are all budgeted. Still some work to do with getting more realistic with my grocery and eating out budget but progress not perfection.
"Progress, not perfection" is probably one of the greatest budgeting mottos I've ever heard. Also, that's a dang good life motto. We'll never nail anything, but we can ALWAYS grow and improve! Glad to hear you've found some clarity in your money!! That's what we want for everyone ♥️ -Hannah 😊
@@YNABofficial Yay! Thanks Hannah! I'm just so grateful that I finally found a budgeting software that works for both my brain and the reality of my finances as a self-employed person.
Being a month ahead is my favorite things about YNAB. I’ve been going strong since YNAB was a software that you had to purchase and download on your computer. The methods really work!
Theses are wonderful tips! I currently just made it to living a month ahead.and zero out everything monthly. I currently have three checking accounts and 10 savings accounts. I use checking #1 for all of my income to come into. I have a fixed amount of money to spend each month. My budget gets split into 3 categories bills, wants, and needs. The total amount for my bills gets placed into checking #2 on the 1st and I just glance ever so often to make sure something gets cleared on time. My wants get placed into a savings account and I use a specific CC to make personal purchases like haircuts and Sephora. I never go over my monthly budget and pay the CC in full. My needs like groceries gas and Starbucks (yeah! I need it) are split into a weekly budget. This is the hardest to track because Targets RedCard doesn’t clear the bank until almost 4 days later. I have a savings account that holds the future weeks and a savings account that holds all the extra money left over from last weeks budget. It’s hard to stay on budget but so rewarding to move $52.38 of unused money into a savings account for a rainy day and start all over on Sunday hoping I can do it all over again on Saturday. Splitting my accounts helps me see where my money is going. It’s not cluttered with bills. Good luck everyone!!!
Next month would be my first YNAB yearly anniversary. Hooray for me...! Hands down, getting this app is one of the best decisions I have made in my life!!! Four words - Game Changer, Life Changer
Hannah, you are amazing. I LOVE watching your videos. You crack me up. I love YNAB but you are like the icing on the cupcake. Thanks for being awesome!
I have been budgeting paycheck to paycheck for years. The thought getting a month ahead in bills seemed a bit daunting. I am currently aggressively paying off my student loans while there is no interest. We are about to receive a stimulus check that would honestly cover our monthly expenses plus more. I had initially planned to take a good chunk of it and slay more student loan debt. However, coming across your videos intrigued me with the whole idea. So, I am taking some of that stimulus money and making my month ahead expenses.
Sarah-I can't recommend this enough! My instinct is absolutely to do the same. "Extra income? Well let me toss it at my student loans!" BUT my guess is you will feel so much more secure and a little more peace knowing you have some extra buffer money set aside for your future expenses. Give it a shot! Even if you're just 1/3 of a month ahead, you'll feel way more prepared and in control than when you're sending every spare dollar to debt. It's okay to invest in your present before paying off your past. Give yourself security now, then crush that debt when you've got a stronger foundation under you! Best of luck, my friend!! -Hannah :
@@YNABofficial Thank you so much! I am excited to move into a new budget method. I should have added we already have our 1k emergency fund so this would give us great security. We are a family of four on one income! The student loans are the last debt outside our mortgage. So pumped to kick those to the curb. Estimate date of pay off is 2023.
Hannah took us to church today!! Everything was Yes & Amen. Lol. This video had great nuggets to remember on how to get a month ahead. I'm officially 1 month ahead myself and it feels Empowering, like I can aim for 2 months. It's truly a discipline BUT it can be done if you really want it. Thanks YNAB!!!🤗
Hannah, your videos are the only ones I subscribed to on UA-cam. Looking forward to them , every Friday. Thank you for sharing your experience, congralutations for the month ahead.
I get such a kick out of Hannah. I always look for her YNAB videos. I've been trying to use a FUND NEXT MONTH category for a few months, but I don't think it's working as well as funding a future category immediately. I'm going to go back to that practice and see if I do better. Also, I have an emergency fund with just over 1,000 as well as an auto repair fund that just got wiped out. I know I have some upcoming bills from an ER visit that aren't going to be too hefty. I'm just wondering if I should stop adding to the emergency fund until I get a month ahead, leaving it at 1,000? I will continue to add to the auto repair.
Great question! Someone just asked a similar one! If I were in your situation, I would probably keep working toward getting a month ahead and put a pause on building the emergency fund because: (1) You already have a very solid start to your emergency fund. Some people consider a $1,000 emergency fund to be fully funded, so you're in a great spot! And (2) If you DO have a $1,000+ emergency while you're working on getting a month ahead, you can ALWAYS borrow that future "month ahead" money for the emergency-yes, that money was meant for your future rent or utilities, but now it's saving you from accruing any new debt and won't set you back in the current month! Your "month ahead" money can double as a back-up, last-ditch-effort emergency fund until you get where you want to be financially, then you can dive back in to funding that emergency fun. A true win-win! -Hannah :)
Thank you for this video. The advice to get one month ahead does present a need for more information on HOW?!?! How to track it, where to store it, how to think about it... all my initial questions were answered. Now, I need to get YNAB and start to sort things out! Excited to get started. I love how charismatic you are Hannah about a topic that's been very overwhelming to me and not fun to figure out. I plan to return to watch many more of your videos. New subscriber right here!
Natalie, SO GLAD! I'm honestly learning most of this stuff as I go myself, so you can be sure that I'm sharing everything I know! Hope YNAB is a good fit for you! Let me know if you have any content requests I can cover to help you out! -Hannah 🌻
We are 1.3 months ahead, but we are going for three months so this is actually very useful! I think it's especially critical for us as my husband has variable income and sometimes we get two low income months in a row... It's not enough for my peace of mind to only be covered for the following month. We decided to budget out three months ahead and keep three months in an EF. I just think it would be too tedious to budget out six months. We are also trying to save for a house. It's hard to know sometimes what to prioritize.
Another great video. I'm currently at 47 days age of money. I have to admit I'm not Totally believing it, but the numbers don't lie, right? One behavior change I've definitely noticed is that I don't depend on my account balance anymore & I log in much less often.
Setting realistic numbers was a game changer for me. I wanted to spend $200 eating out, but I’m reality is was closer to $400. Before changing it i would just say whatever I’ll cover it. So by increasing my goal I’m actually saving money.
Isn't that fascinating?! Blows my mind. Money psychology definitely plays a big factor in our spending and ability to stick to the budget. I think sometimes we have a hard time admitting to ourselves what our priorities are, but if eating out is important to you, then fund that category accordingly! You're saving money by increasing your eating out because you know how to more realistically divvy out and spend all those other dollars you have leftover. -Hannah :)
As usual, great video! I’m usually drinking my morning coffee when I watch your videos and without fail almost every time I have a “spitting my coffee out to laugh” moment! Thank you!
My rent is due on the 1st of the month, so that is the first thing I had to get ahead on. Now I'm working down through the smaller line items. Hope to get there in a couple of months!
Only problem I’m experiencing when trying to get a month ahead with YNAB is the spending goals you have in the first month aren’t taken into account into the next month. For example, I’m doing really well in my grocery budget and I think $200 dollars are going to roll over into July. When I go to July in June and click fund underfund goals it’s going to put $500 without taking into account rollover money in June. It’s not a huge problem but it does mean you need to do a little bit of math when planning the next month.
This is part of the reason why I decided to go with the "Next Month's Expenses" Category. Say you have $1800 set aside for next month but have some rollover and only need to allocate $1600 to fund the month. That means you only need to add $1600 back for next month and have some extra breathing room to throw money at debt, water your wish farm, or add some extra to your true expenses.
I have the same problem, so this is how I fixed it. Back in May, I budget my June Target and monthly goals with with my May paycheck's. Whatever money was left in the TBB colum sat there until June 1st., then I would do a quick budget for the speading goal. So after the June budget was fully funded, any money left over in the TBB I used for paying debt and my wish farm. My last paycheck, last week, I started to put towards July budget, I still have $0.65 left TBB, and it going to sit there until Friday when I get paid. Then I will budget July monthly and Target goals, and wait until July 1st. and finish fully funding July.
First of all: Amazing videos ! Really instructive and well made, that's brilliant ! Went down the comments to see if I was crazy. Seems that there aren't much people who counted how many times you said "month(s) ahead" but hey, I love a challenge. Counted 20 :D.
Genius!! Seriously this is putting my budgeting in a whole new perspective!!!! I’m literally saying YES GiRL why didn’t I think of this!!!!! So so pumped for my budgeting!!!!!
To help lessen my month ahead YNAB confusion, I future post this months paychecks so they don’t show up in YNAB until the first of the next month. So this months pay (1st and 15th) get added using a future date of July 1. It’s working for me so far! To reconcile with my bank account during the month I just need to add those paychecks to the YNAB balance.
Soooo... if I budget $50 extra to a category that currently needs only $300, next month I appears that I have $350 to spend. How do you keep in mind that you have only $300 to spend? This will have a major compounding effect each month... but I still love the idea of being a month ahead. BTW, I’m 75, am now totally debt free, and that’s in good measure thanks to YNAB.
Hey, if you budget $50 into next month's Dining category, your current month's Dining category still only shows the money you've put in and budgeted for that month, so you won't see that extra $50 until next month
John de St. Germain That’s precisely the issue I’m trying to address... next month shows I have 350 and then tow months out $400... but I still only want to spend $300. How does one keep that original budget amount in mind 7 months out for every category? Or is it just a discipline, and perhaps a printed screen shot of that original budget amount? Loving this.
@@garthwunsch To remember how much you have to spend, the only way I can think of is to put that amount in the heading of the category. Example ( Groceries- $400) . You may have $600 in that category but in the heading for that category will be the max amount you can spend.
Garth, great question! Let's roll with a scenario: if I needed $300 for groceries in August and I had an extra $50 laying around that I wanted to start building September's grocery category with, I would: (1) Enter "$300" in the "Budgeted" column for August's grocery category. (2) Click the arrow at the top to hop over to September (3) Add that extra "$50" to the "Budgeted" column for September's grocery category (4) Click BACK into August and make sure I'm onnnnly budgeting out of the "August" month's view. You can click ahead into a future month annnytime you want to budget extra money into your future months, but always make sure to navigate BACK to the current month before referring to your budget for current spending. This helps you keep that money you've dedicated to your future out of sight and out of mind! I hope this helps!! -Hannah :)
Love this! I’m brand new to YNAB and would love to see a video about budgeting for seasonal workers. I make 80% of my annual income between March and August and have been doing the “line of credit float” where every year I’m paying off my debt from the previous winter… super excited about the possibility of getting six or eight months ahead next crab season, and breaking the cycle! I’d love to hear how other seasonal workers have handled this in YNAB
Oo, cool question! That is not my experience, and I am no YNAB expert, but here is how I would do it: I would try to guess or use past averages to figure out how much I am going to want to have for the non-working months. Then, give it a goal and a date in YNAB and it will calculate how much you should set aside each month to reach your goal. Even if you don't save everything you could dream of, whatever you save is money you don't have to borrow in the off months!
I'm a college student working a 40 hr per week internship from June until August. So I totally get the seasonal worker vibe. That's actually why I chose YNAB... it seemed like the most flexible budget system that would actually work even with me not having regular income (as September-May are all from my savings). I'm not sure how variable vs. predictable income from crabbing is, but my perspective is from a fixed, predictable income situation. For me, my approach is to estimate the total amount of money I will make by the end of my working season at the start of it. Then I calculate how many months I need to be able to pay for (including the months of the working season I'm about to start, not just the off-season). So for me, I work for 3 months and then am in school for 9. I want a 1-month buffer for next summer so I'm not hurting while I wait for that first paycheck, so my money needs to last 13 months. Then I use an income calculator that will tell me my estimated pay after taxes after working for X amount of hours. Let's say it says I'll earn $5,000 this summer, and I have $2,000 already in savings. I'll then take that estimated $7,000 that I'll have at the end of the summer and divide it: so I have a functional "income" of $538 per month to live on, both in the working season and in the off season. (Remember that for this scenario I am a college student and my parents/scholarships cover a lot of my big expenses, so $538 per month is actually a lot to live on when it's mostly wants and small necessities that I'm paying for). Is this forecasting? Yes, technically. Do the YNAB principles hate this? Also yes. But here's why this works: If I think I'm going to make $5,000 after taxes in one summer, that means that each of my bi-weekly paychecks will roughly be $833, or $1,667 per month. That, to me, is a lot of money!! It would be very tempting to overspend that amount and leave myself with less per month in the future (which includes Christmas... scary). So instead I give myself that $538 I calculated and put the rest in a future month category (this is for a purpose. Don't budget ahead just yet). That $538 that I can live on is less than the income I'm bringing in, so I'm not trying to spend (or budget) money I don't have. Then, at the end of the working season, I look at my future month category, which holds all my savings for the off-season. I then recalculate, off of that real, not-forecasted amount, how much I can spend per month. So let's say that I made $1,000 less than I expected to. So now my total anticipated for 13 months is $6,000. I already spent $538 for 3 months thinking I would come out to $7,000 total positive cash flow when I didn't, so now, in the beginning of September, my total money to use over the next 10 months (because 3 have already passed) is $4386. So I can spend $438 per month for the next 10 months, until I work again. Now that I know that, I know how much money to put per month in the future months, thus budgeting ahead correctly, keeping my income levels (mostly) the same even in the off-season. So I move the money from the future month category into each future month until I'm covered for up until the working season returns. The reason we didn't immediately budget ahead is that $538 per month was estimated and could change at any time. Maybe it could go up! That just presents a headache if you have to move a bunch of money around in the future vs. just doing it all at once when you have your real numbers. Also, I budget for true expenses off of the $538 (well, now $438 now that, in this scenario, it's September). Christmas, car repairs, travel, etc all get budgeted off of from the new monthly income I'm giving myself, not the giant lump sums that I'm getting paid. This gives more room for flexibility month by month, in case an expense that I wasn't expecting pops up and I can't put as much toward Christmas, for example. Another resource for seasonal workers and YNAB is Ben & Ernie's Budget Nerds series. They talk about a lot of topics like Hannah does, but they've made at least a couple videos focusing on how to use YNAB when you're seasonal. Hope this helps! Happy budgeting! :)
I'm right there with you on groceries and YNAB-broke! I had $200 budgeted all the time, and I finally just bumped it up to $250! Way more realistic. Thanks for making me laugh with your videos!
Having a reason, a specific future bill to save for, really motivated me to trim the budget and save instead of overspending. Thanks for the idea! It’s been fun to slowly check off each future category until they’re all covered :)
I usually try to budget in next month’s categories, but I’ll often put any odd leftover amounts that don’t fully fund a category in my “Next Month’s Budget” category. The key thing that tripped me up when I first started budgeting a month ahead in YNAB was how it handled overspending. I didn’t realize it would be deducted from next month’s budget without alerting me and I arrived at the next month only to tear out my hair when I realized I had a lot less money than I thought. I now know to keep an eye on the next month whenever overspending might have happened, but it was shocking at first. I still kind of wish there was an alert about future over budgeting that would display on the current month.
I am a newbie here, just started in July...Well, my pay was 3 days ago and I assigned every dollar for the remainder of August and the rest for next month (September). However, I think I messed up because I actually paid several utility bills that weren't due until mid September but paid them in August now my budget looks really wonky. If I understand Hannah, she simply should have budgeted for the next month and paid them when they are actually due, keeping my YNAB budget straight. I think I should keep a mental picture in my head of categories being envelopes and not to spend (pay the bills) until actually due. Does that make sense?? I think I am overthinking the whole concept :(
There is definitely a balance to how important a month-ahead is vs. paying down debt. I really think one important thing is to consider the interest rate of the debt. The MoneyGuy's Financial Order of Operations (FOO) has the keys to this prioritization: make sure your deductibles are covered for things like auto insurance, home insurance, medical insurance. This is priority #1, Deductibles Covered. I'm gong to skip their step #2 (go learn if you want), but then step #3 is high interest debt. Then step #4 is Emergency Reserves which would be getting a month ahead. Again, I'm going to skip the FOO steps #5-7 (investing) and then FOO Step #8 is Pre-Paid Future Expenses (this would be beyond 1 month, and also other long-term things), and the final step is #9 and paying off Low-Interest Debt.
Hey Hanna! First, amazing videos, I am watching them all!! In the practical side... all these money for the next month, or for the true expenses are seating on your regular account? Or maybe saving accounts? Who do you deal with that?
"I'm only one person, I totally only need $200/month for groceries" - I'm definitely guilty of that kind of overly optimistic budgeting myself... Congrats on getting a month ahead. It's been a slow process, and I think I'll actually get there once I'm settled in after an upcoming move (which fortunately, I've been budgeting for!) Also, didn't think to add emojis to my categories. Just implemented that!
Benny Lewis uses Ynab? I am so thankful to you for writing the book Fi3m. Before reading that book I thought I was too stupid to learn a language but now, I have successfully been able to go on a few spanish mission trips and done a lot of good things with it. Thank you so much Sir for your passion for language learning and more importantly, sharing the knowledge on practical ways on how to learn a language as an adult. I am thinking of learning greek now but I am a very intimidated. I really love and thank you for your book. Lola.
I am right with you Court. I know have a category for 6 month emergency. Which is simple the amount I have in savings. Any interest I get in savings goes to that. Then, if I ever lost my job I have a comfortable 6 months savings until I get in my feet.
@@MrMrDbjock it's fantastic knowing I have at least three months paid for. This means mortgage, subscriptions, pet expenses, and so on. I wish I had done this 20 years ago...
Lauren-so glad!! I can't count the number of fresh starts I've done in my YNAB lifetime. It can be a really helpful brain reset and clean slate! You go, girl! -Hannah :)
Hannah; i really enjoy watching your videos as you pack so much personality into budgeting :) Your shave and save method is my primary way of getting ahead (stim check has helped me work towards month 3). I also treat money ahead as money not available which you've also mentioned.
I'm not sure if this will even work, but my strategy is to aim for February 2021 to be when I am one month ahead. I have one more pay cheque for September so starting then and every pay cheque (me and my spouse), I am going to start funding February 2021 (I budgeted $1 in each month so that I have access to February). I will budget $750 every pay to February first, and then budget the rest of the current month. I have no idea if this will work, or if I will need to choose a later month, but I'm inspired to try. Thanks!
@@PeterIsATeacher I have been! I am on track to have February 2021 fully funded before I get there. Will start funding February 2022 next. (Shortest month) ;-)
Totally agree getting a month ahead is the best feeling ever. I'm a substitute teacher therefore there are two months of the year I don't get a paycheck. I've been using YNAB since February and the way I got ahead in the month was by multiplying a category by 12 and then dividing it by 10. For example if I need $500 each month for rent then I will need $6000 for the 12 months then I budget 600 each month. Then the next month I have $100 to build upon. Now for the month of August I will have $500 therefore a month ahead. Its funny I totally agree with being YNAB broke! Last month I was reconciling I saw my savings account and can totally pay off my $5000 car loan if I didn't want to eat, drive, watch netflix, and have a roof over my head for this and next month.
Oooh, I really like that idea-that's brilliant! Living as if there are only ten months of the year so you can have an "accidental paycheck" those two summer months off school... you're hacking time and I love it :P I'm curious about your budget organization, then-do you separate those buildable "fixed" categories (like rent) from your monthly spending categories (like groceries) somehow? I feel like I could easily abstain from spending that extra rent money you've set aside for the summer months, but it might be harder for me to not take advantage of the extra padded grocery category, even though some of that money is meant for your two summer months with now pay. Curious to hear how you make sure that future money stays untouched! Love the idea! Very smart and totally a YNAB move 😎 -Hannah :)
@@YNABofficial The way I've been doing it is by making a note on the category name "Groceries 200 here add40 to Aug". Since I've been doing this method for a few months, I decided to open a Make A Fresh Budget and see if I can finally just be a month ahead. By doing that I was able to redistribute money enough to be budgeting for OCTOBER!!! I will continue to multiply by 12 and divided by ten but it is easier now that I budgeting almost two months ahead.
I don't think I've probably gotten the hang of YNAB to its truest extent, I have quite a lot of money in my TBB category 😅 I shall go ahead and apply these to future months and get my TBB down to £0. I think subconsciously I've not wanted it to be £0 because then I'd be "broke" but in reality it just means I've decided what my money is to be spent on. 💡 moment :)
I basically do this half the year anyways because federal employees are paid every other week so it’s a different day every month and two “extra” checks a year (two months where we technically get paid 3 times that month) so it’s June now but July’s rent is on my June budget for example
I finally got 6 months ahead....at which point I've taken 5 months and a little bit from the Emergency Fund and am paying off my mortgage (It just got to be too much of an ankle-biter for me to put up with it.)
WHOAAAA. That's wild!! But, oh my word, I can't imagine the relief of not having to make that monthly mortgage payment anymore. You'll gain 6 months right back again like THAT! ✨ That's gonna feel like you got a RAISE. Pumped for you! 🌻 Hannah
@@YNABofficial Thanks! I think how much and how fast to pay off your debt depends highly on (1) what you can spare to pay off debt (2) how importance having a strong cash flow is to you, and (3) how much it annoys you. I've noticed I'm perfectly happy to keep nibbling down on a debt until at some point it just turns into the financial equivalent of one of those yappy little dogs biting at my ankles at which point I will try to get rid of it ASAP. It's happened with my medical debts, my car loan, and now with the mortgage.😁
Ha!! Especially when the end suddenly comes more into sight, you just wanna got all in and crush that debt. I totally understand, I'm the same way 😂 🌻Hannah
In YNAB 4, users were encouraged to use a "Buffer" category containing one month's expenses as a way of ensuring you always had one month's worth of money on hand. If you didn't have that much money, you could budget money into the "buffer" category until you had that much money. But this video, like the newer, subscription version of YNAB, doesn't mention that method. Is there any reason why not? Love the videos! I've been watching/listening to these to get ideas on how to use YNAB better after many years getting used to a specific set of habits.
YNAB now enables you to budget into the future, so we encourage users that have fully budgeted for their current month to click into the next month and start funding the future month that way. For example, it's November now, but my husband and I have fully funded December already and are working our way through funding January! This is also a great way to do it because budgeting that money in the future helps to keep it "out of sight, out of mind" so I'm not as tempted to borrow from it or cover overspending with it, like I might with a buffer category in my current month's budget. Hope this helps!! I LOVE budgeting into the future! 🌻 Hannah
@@YNABofficial I do both, actually! I keep a "buffer" category, which I haven't touched in almost a decade, but I also budget paychecks from one month into the next month, and I've done that since I started using YNAB with YNAB 4. I thought that was the intended procedure. As far as I understood, the point of the buffer was to ensure that you always had money for the month's expenses on hand, though fully budgeting ahead of time also accomplished the same thing. I can see why the company might have decided it was redundant, at least for longtime users.
I’m a month ahead, but I’ve always done it by budgeting extra in the current month til I have the full amount covered & using goals to fully fund the category and make sure the balance doesn’t fall. I do like the idea of putting the money into the next month’s budget. Any ideas for how to do this without messing up my current budget? Do you think it would just be easiest to continue my current strategy and use the “budget ahead” strategy to get 2 months ahead?
Ynab used to teach what is called the buffer. Take your monthly income number and start saving that amount. Make a category called buffer. Once you reach that dollar amount on the first of the next month move it from the buffer to To be budgeted. Then budget that money for the entire month. As the next months checks roll in put them in a category called income for next month. Then on the first move that money to the to be budgeted and budget for the month. You are now 1 month ahead and broke the paycheck to paycheck cycle.
One thing YNAB never mentions is like, how to set aside savings, but also invest it. What if I set aside 2k to invest it in some fund? Do I count that? Is that considered a bill?
Great question! I personally have not invested yet (would like to!), so I don't have much to speak to the topic yet. Here's some thoughts I have though! 1. If you have a goal of wanting to make a one-time investment, create a category for it and pitch a little money in there every month until you hit your $2,000 savings balance target! 2. Once you actually make the investment, you can either keep the category and start funding for your next investment, or "hide" it to keep it from cluttering up your budget. "Unhide" it whenever you're ready to starting setting money aside for investments again! 3. Once you've invest the money, if you'd like to track it's growth and have it included in your overall net worth, make sure to add it as a tracking account account (more specifically, as an asset) and not a budgeting account! You aren't going to budget out your dollars in your portfolio to spend on rent or groceries, so we don't want to add it as a budgeting account. 4. If you haven't been budgeting a sum of money to invest and you make a one-time choice to invest $2,000, it'll just be a sticky month for categorization. I would categorize it to a "Miscellaneous" or "Stuff I Forgot to Budget For" category, because it pretty well fits into either of those categories. Then carry on with your regular budgeting, and next month will look a little more normal! I hope this helps! Definitely an under-discussed topic! I'll share an idea for this video with the team! -Hannah 🌻
one thing ive seen from my research - reddit etc - is to make a goal for it. when it transfers out to your investment account it looks liks you paid something so i just categorize that transfer as the investment. same way you'd pay gas / groceries but it can be variable / goal or if its automatic it can be a weekly / monthly bill. im doing mine as an 'eventually' goal because mine is variable (:
Great video. I have been doing YNAB for 2 years and I am consistently 2 months ahead. At the end of the video you mentioned when you are ahead to consider building an emergency fund. I have always gotten the impression from the book and videos like this that an emergency fund is money without a stated purpose. Shouldn't I build my "emergency fund" into categories that I have that may require that (ex. auto repair, home maintenance etc.)?
I've seen two (maybe 3) concepts. 1. Build an emergency fund that could cover a multitude of possible emergencies. 2. Build sinking funds for emergencies that are bound to happen (not if, but when they happen). 3. Do both if it makes you'll feel more secure.
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It took me about 6 yrs to get a month ahead. I needed about $7k extra saved to make that happen I’d budget $100 every month for 6 yrs. it was a tedious task but I’ve made it!
Way to keep at it!
Congratulations!
i dont mean to be so off topic but does anyone know of a tool to get back into an Instagram account..?
I stupidly forgot the login password. I would appreciate any tips you can offer me
Congrats!!
@@emmettlachlan9770lmao wtf
YNAB. videos were good last year. Now with Hannah, they are fantastic.
Totally! I love these!!
YNAB is my favourite. Hannah is my favourite.
Hannah's videos have officially made me a budget nerd. I can't get enough of her videos. After learning so much from this channel and using the app, I'm finally two months ahead, fully funded emergency fund, consistently contributing to my IRA, and working on saving for a house.
WOW!! Two months, that's incredible!! That is a HARD feat and does not come easy. Says a lot about your discipline and hard work!! Maybe since you're two months ahead now, you can give yourself a little more fun money each month 🙃🥳🤘🏻
-Hannah 🌻
I never thought I would be excited about a new video being released about a budgeting software, but I suppose 2020 is full of surprises no one could have seen coming!
Ha! Kirt, best comment!! We're so glad to have you part of the YNAB fam bam!
-Hannah :)
Hannah, you are my spirit animal. YNAB broke is a real thing, and it feels SO GOOD! It’s currently June 19, and next Wednesday, I will finish budgeting August and move on to budgeting September. In the meantime, I feel the pinch of being lower on grocery money and dining out money than I’d like, but the pinch is *by choice*, and the feeling is not nearly so desperate as having a bit of money left with nothing to back that up. It sucks, but it isn’t stressful at all - it just clarifies the choices I can make over the next 12 days. I can dive into my freezer and cupboard and be creative, because it’s my choice, not my last resort. That’s an incredibly powerful feeling!
Pinch by choice 😂LOVE THAT. That's a good, good place to be Janet. I also love that you identified the clarity it gives! And boy, does scarcity ever spark creativity 😉 Hope you find some new delicacies in your deep freezer dive! Ha!!
-Hannah :)
I've been doing exactly this for the last few years (using YNAB). Once I was 3 months ahead, I was just (last week) able to save $8K to put down on a (new to me) 2019 Jeep. My payment is so low that I can afford to make larger payments on months that my side-hustles brings in extra $$. I also already have 2 payments just waiting to be due. Thanks to YNAB, I feel financially secure and I've learned to make smarter financial decisions - knowing what I can and cannot afford.
I can't believe nobody has yet taken Hannah up on her bonus points challenge!? Do people watch the entire videos? I know I do, to get to those juicy outtakes!
Number of times during video that Hannah says, "getting a month ahead" is 13 (at 0:09, 0:19, 0:47, 3:38, 3:47, 4:34, 5:03, 6:34, 7:05, 10:51, 12:20, 12:26 and 12:49).
Number of times she says, "get a month ahead" is 2 (at 0:56 and 5:35).
If you're being literal, it's 13 times... if you're not so picky on getting vs. get, the number is 15.
Hannah, can I please have ALL the bonus points?! 😅
I've just come across this channel and I just want to say I love this woman's personality. Funny and entertaining whilst direct and to the point!
Such a great point about paying down debt. You need to save up AND pay down debt at the same time, if at all possible! So that you’re prepared for unexpected events... like, oh, I don’t know, a global pandemic or something
It's hard to find a balance because I really want to pay off my debt. This month I decided to dump a few hundred more dollars to pay off my credit card. I ended up going over my budget=( Lesson learned though.
I have absolutely 100% been there, no joke. Overdrawing in the bank account because you're trying to do a good thing and pay down your debt. It feels so backwards. I learned before I can pay down my debts I need to ensure I can 110% sustain my own life first, and probably be a little padded for those out-of-the-blue, unexpected expenses like an emergency vet visit or my best friends wedding or the AC going out in my car (ALL of which happened in the last two weeks for me. Talk about cha-CHING). Because I'm a month ahead, I was able to borrow from a few future expenses to pay for those things. Ideally I will build an emergency fund next so that I'm NOT borrowing from the future to pay for the present, but it's at least the first true step in preventing new debt accumulation for me!
A few months ago, instead of putting any extra money I got toward debt (stimulus check, tax refund, extra income from odd jobs), I built it into my future. NOW if something happens out of the blue I don't go into the red because I was trying to do the right thing and pay off my debt. And the bonus is, now that I'm financially padded, I feel like I can be a lot more aggressive with my debt payoff because I won't ever overdraw or be living the last few days of the month with $17 in the bank.
Man, SO many life lessons learned for me this year. Life can really hit hard sometimes, I've learned. I feel ya and wish you the best with your debts and dollars!! You got this you got this you got this!!
-Hannah :)
Tax refund and stimulus totally got me a month ahead too! So much better now!
Hannah!!! You are my new favorite person! 💕 YNAB should give you a raise! 😁
I've been over a month ahead for about two years now. Hannah's video describes my thoughts on the process, word for word!
Ah ha, great minds, Curtis! Great minds.
-Hannah :)
We've tried budgeting categories in the future month before but that strategy didn't work well for categories we had to move money around and sometimes things didn't look like what I expected when we get the to next month. A few weeks ago we created the "next month" category where we put all the income that will be assigned to next month's bills and we're confident this strategy is going to work best for us.
Finally, I broke the pay to pay check cycle ... Yeah ! YNAB , thanks for all the tips
I just love Hannah. Her videos give me the creative energy I need to tackle my budget
I get paid every 2 weeks but I only budget for receiving 2 paychecks per month. Which means twice a year, I get an "extra" paycheck in that month. I was lucky enough to receive my annual bonus in the same month that I got an extra "bonus" paycheck, and voila! I was able to get a month ahead!
Me too! My extra paycheck for July will be the final push to paying off one of our loans!
How timely! Today is payday and I’ve just finished paying for July! For the first time ever I’m a month ahead 😀
I have started using the comment under the Month heading to announce how much short of Month Ahead I am at the beginning of each month. It's great motivation as I see it every time I check my budget. ("Just $190.93 short of Month Ahead!" for July 1st ;-) )
kekawaka is p l the p the
She is so adorbs. I want to buy her coffee in her new mug and chat!!
If you are paid fortnightly, twice in any typical year, there will be a 3 pay month. If you spend within your means, basing your monthly income on 2 fortnights, you will be 2 fortnights (i.e. one month) ahead in a year's time.
Yes, brother! It's like the bonus you didn't even know you were getting. Except you did. Because... well, all the reasons you just said.
-Hannah 😊
Almost true. For many of your variable spending categories ie: gas, groceries, eating out, entertainment etc. you will need to have that money as there are those actual days to live through. You wouldn't need the portion of your seemingly extra checks that would go to fixed expenses because those would be covered within your budget.
I budge in three difference currencies because you guys exist! Thank you and love you, Hannah, from Chile and Brazil!
Holy Chile!! That's amazing!! I don't need to compare IQ scores to determine that you are a sharper crayon than me. That takes some serious smarts and organization. So glad YNAB is able to make managing multiple currencies a cinch for ya!
-Hannah :)
You Need A Budget (YNAB) girl, you are extremely talented and I can’t stop watching you. I’m just a personal finance fan who has found the beauty of budgeting living abroad. I decided to research the best app and YNAB is really amazing. Nothing compared to others (I personally tested some of the biggest ones for a month). Thank you for answering! ❤️🇧🇷🇨🇱
It took me about 6 months. I get paid every other week which means that about every six months you get a third paycheck. I made that 3rd check my first check for next month. So one check arrived the month prior and the 2nd check arrived the first paycheck of the current month budget. That alone gave some relief. Then six months later I had a month with 3 checks again. So First check was the second check budgeted for the month. And checks two and three became the income for the following month. And that's how I got a month ahead without affecting my paying down debt plan.
Oh, that's totally the way to do it. It's so tempting to think of that third paycheck as fun money, but if you keep to the same spending schedule then you'll be a month ahead after a year without lifting a finger or even making any changes!
-Hannah 🌻
I am 2.5 months ahead right now and it makes me so happy. Before YNAB I would imagine that I had 3 months worth of rent when I got a big chunk of money but I never actually had a way of tracking and making sure that happened. It gives me so much comfort to know that rent and my basic expenses are fully funded for the next three months and April and May are all budgeted. Still some work to do with getting more realistic with my grocery and eating out budget but progress not perfection.
"Progress, not perfection" is probably one of the greatest budgeting mottos I've ever heard. Also, that's a dang good life motto. We'll never nail anything, but we can ALWAYS grow and improve! Glad to hear you've found some clarity in your money!! That's what we want for everyone ♥️
-Hannah 😊
@@YNABofficial Yay! Thanks Hannah! I'm just so grateful that I finally found a budgeting software that works for both my brain and the reality of my finances as a self-employed person.
Been banging at that wall for months now...July will be missed by ONLY 3 days, fully funded on the 3rd. August will be my first...BELIEVE IT!!!!
Being a month ahead is my favorite things about YNAB. I’ve been going strong since YNAB was a software that you had to purchase and download on your computer. The methods really work!
Theses are wonderful tips! I currently just made it to living a month ahead.and zero out everything monthly. I currently have three checking accounts and 10 savings accounts. I use checking #1 for all of my income to come into. I have a fixed amount of money to spend each month. My budget gets split into 3 categories bills, wants, and needs. The total amount for my bills gets placed into checking #2 on the 1st and I just glance ever so often to make sure something gets cleared on time. My wants get placed into a savings account and I use a specific CC to make personal purchases like haircuts and Sephora. I never go over my monthly budget and pay the CC in full. My needs like groceries gas and Starbucks (yeah! I need it) are split into a weekly budget. This is the hardest to track because Targets RedCard doesn’t clear the bank until almost 4 days later. I have a savings account that holds the future weeks and a savings account that holds all the extra money left over from last weeks budget. It’s hard to stay on budget but so rewarding to move $52.38 of unused money into a savings account for a rainy day and start all over on Sunday hoping I can do it all over again on Saturday. Splitting my accounts helps me see where my money is going. It’s not cluttered with bills. Good luck everyone!!!
Next month would be my first YNAB yearly anniversary. Hooray for me...! Hands down, getting this app is one of the best decisions I have made in my life!!! Four words - Game Changer, Life Changer
Oh, you know what that means!! 🎉🎉🎉 How are you gonna celebrate?! (Because you 100% should)
-Hannah :)
Well I will have to celebrate, but let me see what my budget has to say about that. I hope I don’t find out that I am “YNAB broke” lol
My trial is ending soon , so I made sure to budget for the year subscription before the trial ends. 😁
Hannah, you are amazing. I LOVE watching your videos. You crack me up. I love YNAB but you are like the icing on the cupcake. Thanks for being awesome!
I have been budgeting paycheck to paycheck for years. The thought getting a month ahead in bills seemed a bit daunting. I am currently aggressively paying off my student loans while there is no interest. We are about to receive a stimulus check that would honestly cover our monthly expenses plus more. I had initially planned to take a good chunk of it and slay more student loan debt. However, coming across your videos intrigued me with the whole idea. So, I am taking some of that stimulus money and making my month ahead expenses.
Sarah-I can't recommend this enough! My instinct is absolutely to do the same. "Extra income? Well let me toss it at my student loans!" BUT my guess is you will feel so much more secure and a little more peace knowing you have some extra buffer money set aside for your future expenses. Give it a shot! Even if you're just 1/3 of a month ahead, you'll feel way more prepared and in control than when you're sending every spare dollar to debt. It's okay to invest in your present before paying off your past. Give yourself security now, then crush that debt when you've got a stronger foundation under you! Best of luck, my friend!!
-Hannah :
@@YNABofficial Thank you so much! I am excited to move into a new budget method. I should have added we already have our 1k emergency fund so this would give us great security. We are a family of four on one income! The student loans are the last debt outside our mortgage. So pumped to kick those to the curb. Estimate date of pay off is 2023.
Well I'm right there with ya! I'm hoping to wrap it up by September of this year!! Best of luck, my friend 🤘🏼
-Hannah 😊
@@YNABofficial That's awesome and so close! Way to Go!
Hannah took us to church today!! Everything was Yes & Amen. Lol. This video had great nuggets to remember on how to get a month ahead. I'm officially 1 month ahead myself and it feels Empowering, like I can aim for 2 months. It's truly a discipline BUT it can be done if you really want it. Thanks YNAB!!!🤗
😂😂 Hallelujah!!
-Hannah :)
Hannah, your videos are the only ones I subscribed to on UA-cam. Looking forward to them , every Friday. Thank you for sharing your experience, congralutations for the month ahead.
Oh my word! I am so honored to hear that!! No worries, I will keep keep keep em comin' :)
-Hannah :)
I get such a kick out of Hannah. I always look for her YNAB videos. I've been trying to use a FUND NEXT MONTH category for a few months, but I don't think it's working as well as funding a future category immediately. I'm going to go back to that practice and see if I do better.
Also, I have an emergency fund with just over 1,000 as well as an auto repair fund that just got wiped out. I know I have some upcoming bills from an ER visit that aren't going to be too hefty. I'm just wondering if I should stop adding to the emergency fund until I get a month ahead, leaving it at 1,000? I will continue to add to the auto repair.
Great question! Someone just asked a similar one! If I were in your situation, I would probably keep working toward getting a month ahead and put a pause on building the emergency fund because: (1) You already have a very solid start to your emergency fund. Some people consider a $1,000 emergency fund to be fully funded, so you're in a great spot! And (2) If you DO have a $1,000+ emergency while you're working on getting a month ahead, you can ALWAYS borrow that future "month ahead" money for the emergency-yes, that money was meant for your future rent or utilities, but now it's saving you from accruing any new debt and won't set you back in the current month! Your "month ahead" money can double as a back-up, last-ditch-effort emergency fund until you get where you want to be financially, then you can dive back in to funding that emergency fun. A true win-win!
-Hannah :)
Thank you for this video. The advice to get one month ahead does present a need for more information on HOW?!?! How to track it, where to store it, how to think about it... all my initial questions were answered. Now, I need to get YNAB and start to sort things out! Excited to get started. I love how charismatic you are Hannah about a topic that's been very overwhelming to me and not fun to figure out. I plan to return to watch many more of your videos. New subscriber right here!
Natalie, SO GLAD! I'm honestly learning most of this stuff as I go myself, so you can be sure that I'm sharing everything I know! Hope YNAB is a good fit for you! Let me know if you have any content requests I can cover to help you out!
-Hannah 🌻
We are 1.3 months ahead, but we are going for three months so this is actually very useful! I think it's especially critical for us as my husband has variable income and sometimes we get two low income months in a row... It's not enough for my peace of mind to only be covered for the following month. We decided to budget out three months ahead and keep three months in an EF. I just think it would be too tedious to budget out six months. We are also trying to save for a house. It's hard to know sometimes what to prioritize.
It's always the groceries and Chipotle that get us!! LOL! I laughed so many times during your video.
LOL Chipotle is good tho so I see why!!! She's hilarious
Another great video. I'm currently at 47 days age of money. I have to admit I'm not Totally believing it, but the numbers don't lie, right? One behavior change I've definitely noticed is that I don't depend on my account balance anymore & I log in much less often.
Setting realistic numbers was a game changer for me. I wanted to spend $200 eating out, but I’m reality is was closer to $400. Before changing it i would just say whatever I’ll cover it. So by increasing my goal I’m actually saving money.
Isn't that fascinating?! Blows my mind. Money psychology definitely plays a big factor in our spending and ability to stick to the budget. I think sometimes we have a hard time admitting to ourselves what our priorities are, but if eating out is important to you, then fund that category accordingly! You're saving money by increasing your eating out because you know how to more realistically divvy out and spend all those other dollars you have leftover.
-Hannah :)
As usual, great video! I’m usually drinking my morning coffee when I watch your videos and without fail almost every time I have a “spitting my coffee out to laugh” moment! Thank you!
Same!
Well said, well done....more in the well! Ok , that was bad, but you are incredible....love your style! Keep 'em coming and CONGRATULATIONS!!!
I refuse to watch anyone other than you from now on. You're the BEST!!
The intro had me laughing hard. These videos are great!
My rent is due on the 1st of the month, so that is the first thing I had to get ahead on. Now I'm working down through the smaller line items. Hope to get there in a couple of months!
The hardest part is done, kekawaka!! Way to go!! Keep up the momentum best as life allows :)
-Hannah :)
Only problem I’m experiencing when trying to get a month ahead with YNAB is the spending goals you have in the first month aren’t taken into account into the next month. For example, I’m doing really well in my grocery budget and I think $200 dollars are going to roll over into July. When I go to July in June and click fund underfund goals it’s going to put $500 without taking into account rollover money in June. It’s not a huge problem but it does mean you need to do a little bit of math when planning the next month.
This is part of the reason why I decided to go with the "Next Month's Expenses" Category. Say you have $1800 set aside for next month but have some rollover and only need to allocate $1600 to fund the month. That means you only need to add $1600 back for next month and have some extra breathing room to throw money at debt, water your wish farm, or add some extra to your true expenses.
I have the same problem, so this is how I fixed it. Back in May, I budget my June Target and monthly goals with with my May paycheck's. Whatever money was left in the TBB colum sat there until June 1st., then I would do a quick budget for the speading goal. So after the June budget was fully funded, any money left over in the TBB I used for paying debt and my wish farm.
My last paycheck, last week, I started to put towards July budget, I still have $0.65 left TBB, and it going to sit there until Friday when I get paid. Then I will budget July monthly and Target goals, and wait until July 1st. and finish fully funding July.
I love your videos Hannah! I love when I put money ahead to the next month and then it becomes that month and it's like a little surprise hahaah
I love these videos. Thank you so much!
First of all: Amazing videos ! Really instructive and well made, that's brilliant !
Went down the comments to see if I was crazy. Seems that there aren't much people who counted how many times you said "month(s) ahead" but hey, I love a challenge. Counted 20 :D.
HA. That's AMAZING!! That sounds about right :P
-Hannah 🌻
Genius!! Seriously this is putting my budgeting in a whole new perspective!!!! I’m literally saying YES GiRL why didn’t I think of this!!!!! So so pumped for my budgeting!!!!!
YAY!! That's the best news we could ever imagine to hear! YES GIRL!! 😂
-Hannah 🌻
Yay!!! I'm YNAB broke, this month.
To help lessen my month ahead YNAB confusion, I future post this months paychecks so they don’t show up in YNAB until the first of the next month. So this months pay (1st and 15th) get added using a future date of July 1. It’s working for me so far! To reconcile with my bank account during the month I just need to add those paychecks to the YNAB balance.
I love this idea! I think this would solve a number of problems for me. Thanks for sharing.
Soooo... if I budget $50 extra to a category that currently needs only $300, next month I appears that I have $350 to spend. How do you keep in mind that you have only $300 to spend? This will have a major compounding effect each month... but I still love the idea of being a month ahead. BTW, I’m 75, am now totally debt free, and that’s in good measure thanks to YNAB.
Hey, if you budget $50 into next month's Dining category, your current month's Dining category still only shows the money you've put in and budgeted for that month, so you won't see that extra $50 until next month
John de St. Germain That’s precisely the issue I’m trying to address... next month shows I have 350 and then tow months out $400... but I still only want to spend $300. How does one keep that original budget amount in mind 7 months out for every category? Or is it just a discipline, and perhaps a printed screen shot of that original budget amount? Loving this.
@@garthwunsch To remember how much you have to spend, the only way I can think of is to put that amount in the heading of the category. Example ( Groceries- $400) . You may have $600 in that category but in the heading for that category will be the max amount you can spend.
One way to address that is to keep pushing the extra money into the next month so that it doesn't show up on your current month.
Garth, great question! Let's roll with a scenario: if I needed $300 for groceries in August and I had an extra $50 laying around that I wanted to start building September's grocery category with, I would:
(1) Enter "$300" in the "Budgeted" column for August's grocery category.
(2) Click the arrow at the top to hop over to September
(3) Add that extra "$50" to the "Budgeted" column for September's grocery category
(4) Click BACK into August and make sure I'm onnnnly budgeting out of the "August" month's view.
You can click ahead into a future month annnytime you want to budget extra money into your future months, but always make sure to navigate BACK to the current month before referring to your budget for current spending. This helps you keep that money you've dedicated to your future out of sight and out of mind! I hope this helps!!
-Hannah :)
Love this! I’m brand new to YNAB and would love to see a video about budgeting for seasonal workers. I make 80% of my annual income between March and August and have been doing the “line of credit float” where every year I’m paying off my debt from the previous winter… super excited about the possibility of getting six or eight months ahead next crab season, and breaking the cycle! I’d love to hear how other seasonal workers have handled this in YNAB
Oo, cool question! That is not my experience, and I am no YNAB expert, but here is how I would do it: I would try to guess or use past averages to figure out how much I am going to want to have for the non-working months. Then, give it a goal and a date in YNAB and it will calculate how much you should set aside each month to reach your goal.
Even if you don't save everything you could dream of, whatever you save is money you don't have to borrow in the off months!
I'm a college student working a 40 hr per week internship from June until August. So I totally get the seasonal worker vibe. That's actually why I chose YNAB... it seemed like the most flexible budget system that would actually work even with me not having regular income (as September-May are all from my savings). I'm not sure how variable vs. predictable income from crabbing is, but my perspective is from a fixed, predictable income situation.
For me, my approach is to estimate the total amount of money I will make by the end of my working season at the start of it. Then I calculate how many months I need to be able to pay for (including the months of the working season I'm about to start, not just the off-season). So for me, I work for 3 months and then am in school for 9. I want a 1-month buffer for next summer so I'm not hurting while I wait for that first paycheck, so my money needs to last 13 months. Then I use an income calculator that will tell me my estimated pay after taxes after working for X amount of hours. Let's say it says I'll earn $5,000 this summer, and I have $2,000 already in savings. I'll then take that estimated $7,000 that I'll have at the end of the summer and divide it: so I have a functional "income" of $538 per month to live on, both in the working season and in the off season. (Remember that for this scenario I am a college student and my parents/scholarships cover a lot of my big expenses, so $538 per month is actually a lot to live on when it's mostly wants and small necessities that I'm paying for).
Is this forecasting? Yes, technically. Do the YNAB principles hate this? Also yes. But here's why this works: If I think I'm going to make $5,000 after taxes in one summer, that means that each of my bi-weekly paychecks will roughly be $833, or $1,667 per month. That, to me, is a lot of money!! It would be very tempting to overspend that amount and leave myself with less per month in the future (which includes Christmas... scary). So instead I give myself that $538 I calculated and put the rest in a future month category (this is for a purpose. Don't budget ahead just yet). That $538 that I can live on is less than the income I'm bringing in, so I'm not trying to spend (or budget) money I don't have.
Then, at the end of the working season, I look at my future month category, which holds all my savings for the off-season. I then recalculate, off of that real, not-forecasted amount, how much I can spend per month. So let's say that I made $1,000 less than I expected to. So now my total anticipated for 13 months is $6,000. I already spent $538 for 3 months thinking I would come out to $7,000 total positive cash flow when I didn't, so now, in the beginning of September, my total money to use over the next 10 months (because 3 have already passed) is $4386. So I can spend $438 per month for the next 10 months, until I work again.
Now that I know that, I know how much money to put per month in the future months, thus budgeting ahead correctly, keeping my income levels (mostly) the same even in the off-season. So I move the money from the future month category into each future month until I'm covered for up until the working season returns. The reason we didn't immediately budget ahead is that $538 per month was estimated and could change at any time. Maybe it could go up! That just presents a headache if you have to move a bunch of money around in the future vs. just doing it all at once when you have your real numbers.
Also, I budget for true expenses off of the $538 (well, now $438 now that, in this scenario, it's September). Christmas, car repairs, travel, etc all get budgeted off of from the new monthly income I'm giving myself, not the giant lump sums that I'm getting paid. This gives more room for flexibility month by month, in case an expense that I wasn't expecting pops up and I can't put as much toward Christmas, for example.
Another resource for seasonal workers and YNAB is Ben & Ernie's Budget Nerds series. They talk about a lot of topics like Hannah does, but they've made at least a couple videos focusing on how to use YNAB when you're seasonal.
Hope this helps! Happy budgeting! :)
I'm right there with you on groceries and YNAB-broke! I had $200 budgeted all the time, and I finally just bumped it up to $250! Way more realistic. Thanks for making me laugh with your videos!
Currently getting paid to feed dogs and sleep in someone’s house. It’s a fun time
how did you do it? I'm an English tutor but with this virus....it's come to halt
HUGE congrats, Hannah! Way to go!
I did not know that you could click over to the next month and fund categories. 💡
Mind blowing, ha? :D
Having a reason, a specific future bill to save for, really motivated me to trim the budget and save instead of overspending.
Thanks for the idea! It’s been fun to slowly check off each future category until they’re all covered :)
I usually try to budget in next month’s categories, but I’ll often put any odd leftover amounts that don’t fully fund a category in my “Next Month’s Budget” category. The key thing that tripped me up when I first started budgeting a month ahead in YNAB was how it handled overspending. I didn’t realize it would be deducted from next month’s budget without alerting me and I arrived at the next month only to tear out my hair when I realized I had a lot less money than I thought. I now know to keep an eye on the next month whenever overspending might have happened, but it was shocking at first. I still kind of wish there was an alert about future over budgeting that would display on the current month.
This is the only feature of YNAB I've found so far that I really hate.
Congrats on getting a month ahead! Milestone!!!
Shave and save so sooooo good!
This month I put nearly half of next month away! Ermagerd! I’m close Hannah!!!
I am a newbie here, just started in July...Well, my pay was 3 days ago and I assigned every dollar for the remainder of August and the rest for next month (September). However, I think I messed up because I actually paid several utility bills that weren't due until mid September but paid them in August now my budget looks really wonky. If I understand Hannah, she simply should have budgeted for the next month and paid them when they are actually due, keeping my YNAB budget straight. I think I should keep a mental picture in my head of categories being envelopes and not to spend (pay the bills) until actually due. Does that make sense?? I think I am overthinking the whole concept :(
To sum up: don't steal from your future self.
Hannah rocks!!!
There is definitely a balance to how important a month-ahead is vs. paying down debt. I really think one important thing is to consider the interest rate of the debt. The MoneyGuy's Financial Order of Operations (FOO) has the keys to this prioritization: make sure your deductibles are covered for things like auto insurance, home insurance, medical insurance. This is priority #1, Deductibles Covered. I'm gong to skip their step #2 (go learn if you want), but then step #3 is high interest debt. Then step #4 is Emergency Reserves which would be getting a month ahead. Again, I'm going to skip the FOO steps #5-7 (investing) and then FOO Step #8 is Pre-Paid Future Expenses (this would be beyond 1 month, and also other long-term things), and the final step is #9 and paying off Low-Interest Debt.
Corona keeps me two month behind 😂
Hey Hanna! First, amazing videos, I am watching them all!!
In the practical side... all these money for the next month, or for the true expenses are seating on your regular account? Or maybe saving accounts? Who do you deal with that?
"I'm only one person, I totally only need $200/month for groceries"
- I'm definitely guilty of that kind of overly optimistic budgeting myself...
Congrats on getting a month ahead. It's been a slow process, and I think I'll actually get there once I'm settled in after an upcoming move (which fortunately, I've been budgeting for!)
Also, didn't think to add emojis to my categories. Just implemented that!
Benny Lewis uses Ynab? I am so thankful to you for writing the book Fi3m. Before reading that book I thought I was too stupid to learn a language but now, I have successfully been able to go on a few spanish mission trips and done a lot of good things with it. Thank you so much Sir for your passion for language learning and more importantly, sharing the knowledge on practical ways on how to learn a language as an adult.
I am thinking of learning greek now but I am a very intimidated. I really love and thank you for your book.
Lola.
Its nice having money at the end of the month😀it gives you peace
I've been using YNAB for a year and a half. My age of money is currently sitting at 99 days. Follow the rules and you'll change your life.
HOLY COW Court, your money could be a great great grandpa.
-Hannah :)
I am right with you Court. I know have a category for 6 month emergency. Which is simple the amount I have in savings. Any interest I get in savings goes to that. Then, if I ever lost my job I have a comfortable 6 months savings until I get in my feet.
@@MrMrDbjock it's fantastic knowing I have at least three months paid for. This means mortgage, subscriptions, pet expenses, and so on. I wish I had done this 20 years ago...
Yesss! Mine is 84 days, and it's revolutionized my life. Our money could play bingo at the senior center together. :)
Your best intro yet! 😂
I'm starting fresh on July so this is great information to work with. Thanks!
Lauren-so glad!! I can't count the number of fresh starts I've done in my YNAB lifetime. It can be a really helpful brain reset and clean slate! You go, girl!
-Hannah :)
Hannah; i really enjoy watching your videos as you pack so much personality into budgeting :) Your shave and save method is my primary way of getting ahead (stim check has helped me work towards month 3). I also treat money ahead as money not available which you've also mentioned.
I'm not sure if this will even work, but my strategy is to aim for February 2021 to be when I am one month ahead. I have one more pay cheque for September so starting then and every pay cheque (me and my spouse), I am going to start funding February 2021 (I budgeted $1 in each month so that I have access to February). I will budget $750 every pay to February first, and then budget the rest of the current month. I have no idea if this will work, or if I will need to choose a later month, but I'm inspired to try. Thanks!
Do it! I believe in you!
@@PeterIsATeacher I have been! I am on track to have February 2021 fully funded before I get there. Will start funding February 2022 next. (Shortest month) ;-)
@@StephanieMaggs Have you made it ? =)
(Why not march after february ? ^^)
@@faydraa I did! I was paid on Friday, February 26 and was funding categories in March and April!!
@@StephanieMaggs WOuhou ! 🥳 congratulations !!! It's inspiring to see other people on their money-YNAB journey
Glad Julep has okay! Thanks for the upbeat videos!!!
Totally agree getting a month ahead is the best feeling ever. I'm a substitute teacher therefore there are two months of the year I don't get a paycheck. I've been using YNAB since February and the way I got ahead in the month was by multiplying a category by 12 and then dividing it by 10. For example if I need $500 each month for rent then I will need $6000 for the 12 months then I budget 600 each month. Then the next month I have $100 to build upon. Now for the month of August I will have $500 therefore a month ahead. Its funny I totally agree with being YNAB broke! Last month I was reconciling I saw my savings account and can totally pay off my $5000 car loan if I didn't want to eat, drive, watch netflix, and have a roof over my head for this and next month.
Oooh, I really like that idea-that's brilliant! Living as if there are only ten months of the year so you can have an "accidental paycheck" those two summer months off school... you're hacking time and I love it :P
I'm curious about your budget organization, then-do you separate those buildable "fixed" categories (like rent) from your monthly spending categories (like groceries) somehow? I feel like I could easily abstain from spending that extra rent money you've set aside for the summer months, but it might be harder for me to not take advantage of the extra padded grocery category, even though some of that money is meant for your two summer months with now pay. Curious to hear how you make sure that future money stays untouched!
Love the idea! Very smart and totally a YNAB move 😎
-Hannah :)
@@YNABofficial The way I've been doing it is by making a note on the category name "Groceries 200 here add40 to Aug". Since I've been doing this method for a few months, I decided to open a Make A Fresh Budget and see if I can finally just be a month ahead. By doing that I was able to redistribute money enough to be budgeting for OCTOBER!!! I will continue to multiply by 12 and divided by ten but it is easier now that I budgeting almost two months ahead.
I don't think I've probably gotten the hang of YNAB to its truest extent, I have quite a lot of money in my TBB category 😅 I shall go ahead and apply these to future months and get my TBB down to £0.
I think subconsciously I've not wanted it to be £0 because then I'd be "broke" but in reality it just means I've decided what my money is to be spent on.
💡 moment :)
We live for the lightbulb moments!!
-Hannah :)
I basically do this half the year anyways because federal employees are paid every other week so it’s a different day every month and two “extra” checks a year (two months where we technically get paid 3 times that month) so it’s June now but July’s rent is on my June budget for example
Soooo gooood! Hannah you are awesome!!
Totally makes sense. Have to have a realistic budgeted # based on previous spending
“Turns out she just thinks it’s fun to throw up or something” 😂😂😂
Man I felt that…
🙄😒😑
🌻 Hannah
always enjoy your videos
You are hysterical. Love watching your videos! You make learning fun. :)
CUTEST INTRO EVER!
I finally got 6 months ahead....at which point I've taken 5 months and a little bit from the Emergency Fund and am paying off my mortgage (It just got to be too much of an ankle-biter for me to put up with it.)
WHOAAAA. That's wild!! But, oh my word, I can't imagine the relief of not having to make that monthly mortgage payment anymore. You'll gain 6 months right back again like THAT! ✨ That's gonna feel like you got a RAISE. Pumped for you!
🌻 Hannah
@@YNABofficial Thanks! I think how much and how fast to pay off your debt depends highly on (1) what you can spare to pay off debt (2) how importance having a strong cash flow is to you, and (3) how much it annoys you. I've noticed I'm perfectly happy to keep nibbling down on a debt until at some point it just turns into the financial equivalent of one of those yappy little dogs biting at my ankles at which point I will try to get rid of it ASAP. It's happened with my medical debts, my car loan, and now with the mortgage.😁
Ha!! Especially when the end suddenly comes more into sight, you just wanna got all in and crush that debt. I totally understand, I'm the same way 😂
🌻Hannah
In YNAB 4, users were encouraged to use a "Buffer" category containing one month's expenses as a way of ensuring you always had one month's worth of money on hand. If you didn't have that much money, you could budget money into the "buffer" category until you had that much money. But this video, like the newer, subscription version of YNAB, doesn't mention that method. Is there any reason why not?
Love the videos! I've been watching/listening to these to get ideas on how to use YNAB better after many years getting used to a specific set of habits.
YNAB now enables you to budget into the future, so we encourage users that have fully budgeted for their current month to click into the next month and start funding the future month that way. For example, it's November now, but my husband and I have fully funded December already and are working our way through funding January! This is also a great way to do it because budgeting that money in the future helps to keep it "out of sight, out of mind" so I'm not as tempted to borrow from it or cover overspending with it, like I might with a buffer category in my current month's budget. Hope this helps!! I LOVE budgeting into the future!
🌻 Hannah
@@YNABofficial I do both, actually! I keep a "buffer" category, which I haven't touched in almost a decade, but I also budget paychecks from one month into the next month, and I've done that since I started using YNAB with YNAB 4. I thought that was the intended procedure. As far as I understood, the point of the buffer was to ensure that you always had money for the month's expenses on hand, though fully budgeting ahead of time also accomplished the same thing. I can see why the company might have decided it was redundant, at least for longtime users.
@@YNABofficial Thank you for that example. I needed that.👍I just started my trial of YNAB. So I'm in research mode.
Omg you are hilarious! I loved this video!!
Yay! Well done!👏 😁
your speech style is exactly like ryanF9 so obviously i have to watch and enjoy
Ha! Well thanks! *goes and googles ryanF9...*
🌻 Hannah
Oh wow there’s a reference I didn’t expect to run into in this comment’s section hahah
I’m a month ahead, but I’ve always done it by budgeting extra in the current month til I have the full amount covered & using goals to fully fund the category and make sure the balance doesn’t fall. I do like the idea of putting the money into the next month’s budget. Any ideas for how to do this without messing up my current budget? Do you think it would just be easiest to continue my current strategy and use the “budget ahead” strategy to get 2 months ahead?
Ynab used to teach what is called the buffer. Take your monthly income number and start saving that amount. Make a category called buffer. Once you reach that dollar amount on the first of the next month move it from the buffer to To be budgeted. Then budget that money for the entire month. As the next months checks roll in put them in a category called income for next month. Then on the first move that money to the to be budgeted and budget for the month. You are now 1 month ahead and broke the paycheck to paycheck cycle.
I wish they still taught it this way. It's more relatable, more accurate, and safer (no stealing from the future).
This. All of this. 🙌🏼
Dude. How am I just now seeing the use of emojis done so well within the budget? I need to start doing that!
Try adding them on your phone app by editing the budget names. It's far easier than on the computer.
It's life-changing, isn't it?
@@kndrkaye1 On Windows, you can press Win+; or Win+. to bring up the emoji picker.
This is a great video. I wish you can introduce the reconciliation feature in IOS and the ability to access desktop site from IOS
Love your videos😀
One thing YNAB never mentions is like, how to set aside savings, but also invest it. What if I set aside 2k to invest it in some fund? Do I count that? Is that considered a bill?
Great question! I personally have not invested yet (would like to!), so I don't have much to speak to the topic yet. Here's some thoughts I have though!
1. If you have a goal of wanting to make a one-time investment, create a category for it and pitch a little money in there every month until you hit your $2,000 savings balance target!
2. Once you actually make the investment, you can either keep the category and start funding for your next investment, or "hide" it to keep it from cluttering up your budget. "Unhide" it whenever you're ready to starting setting money aside for investments again!
3. Once you've invest the money, if you'd like to track it's growth and have it included in your overall net worth, make sure to add it as a tracking account account (more specifically, as an asset) and not a budgeting account! You aren't going to budget out your dollars in your portfolio to spend on rent or groceries, so we don't want to add it as a budgeting account.
4. If you haven't been budgeting a sum of money to invest and you make a one-time choice to invest $2,000, it'll just be a sticky month for categorization. I would categorize it to a "Miscellaneous" or "Stuff I Forgot to Budget For" category, because it pretty well fits into either of those categories. Then carry on with your regular budgeting, and next month will look a little more normal!
I hope this helps! Definitely an under-discussed topic! I'll share an idea for this video with the team!
-Hannah 🌻
one thing ive seen from my research - reddit etc - is to make a goal for it. when it transfers out to your investment account it looks liks you paid something so i just categorize that transfer as the investment. same way you'd pay gas / groceries but it can be variable / goal or if its automatic it can be a weekly / monthly bill. im doing mine as an 'eventually' goal because mine is variable (:
This was really helpful. Thank you
I tired of being real broke, I wanna be YNAB broke. lol
First video of yours! Nice job!
Hannah's videos are always cool. You sound like a new YNAB-er. Welcome to a fantastic app.
Great video. I have been doing YNAB for 2 years and I am consistently 2 months ahead. At the end of the video you mentioned when you are ahead to consider building an emergency fund. I have always gotten the impression from the book and videos like this that an emergency fund is money without a stated purpose. Shouldn't I build my "emergency fund" into categories that I have that may require that (ex. auto repair, home maintenance etc.)?
I've seen two (maybe 3) concepts. 1. Build an emergency fund that could cover a multitude of possible emergencies. 2. Build sinking funds for emergencies that are bound to happen (not if, but when they happen). 3. Do both if it makes you'll feel more secure.
Seriously, you and Jesse are so financially funny I'd think you guys are related.