How to Use YNAB's 8 Auto Assign Buttons

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  • Опубліковано 27 гру 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 102

  • @YNABofficial
    @YNABofficial  8 місяців тому +4

    Howdy friends! Slight edit to 0:38: the Auto Assign buttons "unlock" for new users once you have completed your initial *onboarding tutorial.*

  • @madhats13
    @madhats13 8 місяців тому +93

    Listen here, YNAB, I get unreasonably excited about manually giving my dollars a job every time I get paid, I'm not letting you take that away from me with your fancy auto assignments! 😤

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  8 місяців тому +11

      😂😂 You sound like our kinda people 😂
      🌻 Hannah

    • @TornadoBarrage
      @TornadoBarrage 8 місяців тому

      I do both lol

  • @darkphoenix6807
    @darkphoenix6807 8 місяців тому +17

    Undo!? We need that button for the phone app :)

    • @steviemadison2127
      @steviemadison2127 8 місяців тому +1

      Yes yes yes please!!!

    • @stop08it
      @stop08it 8 місяців тому +1

      YES!! I’ve been saying that for years!!

  • @Bagley2014
    @Bagley2014 8 місяців тому +27

    I didn't expect to learn anything from this video, but I actually didn't know why sometimes "Underfunded" would throw me into the red and why sometimes it wouldn't. Thanks Hannah!

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  8 місяців тому +6

      YAY! I love that! And oh my word, I've been using YNAB for so long and worked here for almost six years, and EVERYTIME I make a video, I'm like, "huh... I didn't know YNAB could do that. Cool." 😂🤦‍♀️ #themoreyouknow 🌈
      🌻 Hannah

    • @Mini-TOutdoorsMedia
      @Mini-TOutdoorsMedia 8 місяців тому +1

      I don't understand why it works this way. I should work the same no matter how many categories are selected

    • @notawildthingy
      @notawildthingy 8 місяців тому

      @@Mini-TOutdoorsMediaThe algorithm only works slightly differently, but predictably, when selecting 1 category vs. selecting multiple categories (any number; 2 or more).
      Here's a scenario for example: Say you have 5 categories that are underfunded by $100 each (i.e. a total of $500 is needed). You currently have $450 'Ready to Assign'. You select all categories and hit 'Underfunded'. YNAB cannot fully satisfy all of the selected categories because you are still missing another $50. So how should the money be divvied in this case? As it stands today, YNAB doesn't have any context to order your categories by an arbitrary priority and will not then dictate which category or categories to short. Instead, it will simply overspend and show a negative balance in 'Ready To Assign' to grab your attention to follow up and fix.
      Alternatively, if you were auto assigning just one category at a time, there is no ambiguity as to what to do with the remainder. YNAB either satisfies the target, leaving additional money alone in 'Ready To Assign' or applies the 'Ready To Assign' balance to the category even if it's still underfunded by some amount.
      Hope this helps.

  • @claudiuionus506
    @claudiuionus506 8 місяців тому +39

    Why nobody talks about the UNDO button. It says: “Undo the last thing you did (in YNAB, not in life).”😅🤣🤣. That why it deserves a video of its own.

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  8 місяців тому +4

      😂 Eight minutes on the undo button.
      🌻 Hannah

    • @claudiuionus506
      @claudiuionus506 8 місяців тому +3

      @@YNABofficial 😂 at least eight minutes. Let your creative juices flow 😂. We also want to see the bloopers at the end😆

    • @joelgervasi1166
      @joelgervasi1166 8 місяців тому +1

      @ynabofficial I love that you’re so comfortable in your skin that you’re not afraid to add your bloopers. They’re priceless 😁

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  8 місяців тому +1

      IS there a Julie Andrews impression coming in the next upcoming bloopers segment?! Only time will tell...
      🌻 Hannah

    • @vazjc
      @vazjc 7 місяців тому

      Yes and it’s needed in the app.

  • @notawildthingy
    @notawildthingy 8 місяців тому +11

    I'm in a middle camp since I use 'underfunded' on individual categories, so it's basically manually assigning while preventing typos in the amounts fields.

    • @to123ri
      @to123ri 7 місяців тому

      Same but that’s only because I didn’t know you could do it for more than one category at a time. I’m gonna give multi selections a try!

  • @noodle_fc
    @noodle_fc 8 місяців тому +7

    For people who want to auto-assign to a subset of categories and don't want Ready to Assign to go negative, create a customized view for your subset. Then the auto-assign function will work the same way it does in the "All" view (i.e. prioritized partial funding that won't assign more than you have), but will only affect the visible categories.
    You can batch-select groups or categories before clicking "New View" to avoid individually clicking each category in the New View pop-up dialog.

    • @athalean
      @athalean 7 місяців тому +1

      That's an awesome tip, thank you!

  • @doc2w534
    @doc2w534 8 місяців тому +3

    I appreciate how YNAB dev has made these amazing feature suites to appeal to more customers. But back in the day Jesse said there wouldn’t be an app because budgeting was a focused and active process. I kinda miss those days of a very simple interface that required me to think hard about my assign decisions. I still manually track and assign everything. It’s enjoyable to me. However, now that I understand all these auto-assign options I may be tempted to click them every now and then. 😊

  • @erin_keira
    @erin_keira 8 місяців тому +6

    Second month with YNAB and my ADHD brain has never stuck with a budget for so long 😅 In part because of your engaging/helpful videos, Hannah. Thank you!!

    • @erin2535
      @erin2535 8 місяців тому +4

      Hear hear!! Literally this is one of my fav things about discovering this app, and the different types of learning supports available depending on your learning style 😂❤

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  8 місяців тому +1

      YAY!! We hear that a lot, and I LOVE it. There's a handful of YNAB subreddit threads on it! And, ahh, you are so kind-thank you!! Glad to have you here :)
      🌻 Hannah

    • @erin_keira
      @erin_keira 8 місяців тому

      @@YNABofficial I had no idea this was a thing! Might be spending some time on Reddit today...😁

  • @PhilWP
    @PhilWP 8 місяців тому +9

    Thanks! I actually couldn't quite figure out all the auto assign features, so I just avoided it like the plague. Now that you've mapped it out, I'll give another shot.

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  8 місяців тому +1

      Woo hoo!! I've already used "Reset Assigned Amounts" since making this video, and it was a breeze!
      🌻 Hannah

  • @emiliaunfiltered
    @emiliaunfiltered 5 місяців тому +3

    I lllllove auto assign for my steady bills (mortgage, electricity, internet, all that boring but necessary)! Just kind of gets that out of the way and then I see how much money I have left for the more fun categories (eating out, clothes, culture etc.) to play around with as I please each month.

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  5 місяців тому +1

      YES! Auto assigning (or using the "underfunded" button) on certain category *groups* is a really helpful practice. Gives you more freedom to play around with the less necessity-based categories!
      🌻 Hannah

  • @newcreation19
    @newcreation19 8 місяців тому +8

    I’m usually in the “manual assigning” camp.
    I really like the idea of using “average spent” in categories like groceries and utilities, and I feel like I change my category structure and/or life structure too often to actually make it useful, at least so far! A girl can dream though 😅

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  8 місяців тому

      Ha! Maybe that'll be a fun challenge for you! Leave your categories untouched long enough to be able to test out the average spent buttons! :P
      🌻 Hannah

  • @nikkifoster6808
    @nikkifoster6808 8 місяців тому +5

    Love your videos, thanks for explaining those. Also could you make more videos, they're hilarious (and informative of course!) 😊😊

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  8 місяців тому +2

      Oh Nikki 😂 Making videos is alllll I do! You can bet they're gonna keep comin'!
      🌻 Hannah

  • @noodle_fc
    @noodle_fc 8 місяців тому +17

    Creating customized views for use with auto-assign can be very powerful.
    Let's say you have some categories that are funded from a specific source of income. A second job maybe, or reimbursements from roommates. By creating a view that excludes them, you can auto-assign your main income to where it belongs. Then when your alternate funds are available, use auto-assignment on a view that includes only your special categories. What used to be an annoying, error-prone task is now fast and easy.

    • @klaranilsson8967
      @klaranilsson8967 7 місяців тому

      It's only 09:23 and I already learned about both auto-assign, views AND ways to use them! Thank you!!

  • @messyandbeautiful8
    @messyandbeautiful8 4 місяці тому

    I have LOVED the Average Assigned button! I used it for almost a year as I was building data in YNAB and unsure what my spending patterns were...it was super effective in getting enough money into each category for the month and over time got closer and closer to my spending. However, now that I have almost 3 years of data, I was able to use the reports and collect my averages and build better targets. I'm grateful for this video because I didn't know that the underfunded would always try to add money to my credit card category, even though the money was already accounted for in other categories. So after hiding it, I will be able to use underfunded with my very savy-sassy-awesome targets!! WHHOOOOOOOO.... bugeting my available money in one-click baby! I'm ready for next month :)

    • @messyandbeautiful8
      @messyandbeautiful8 4 місяці тому

      Thanks Hannah - you're great, super funny and have very good advice!

  • @athalean
    @athalean 7 місяців тому +1

    Seconding the commenter who thought they'd not get anything out of this video, because I was wrong. Actually completely redid my budget today after I learned about auto-assign being able to partially fund all of my categories as long as the money lasts. I often find myself with small amounts left in To Be Assigned where I don't really care where it ends up, so having the computer do it for me while respecting the priorities that I set in the targets is going to save me a lot of time!

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  7 місяців тому +1

      So smart! And isn't it cool?! I used to think assigning the exact due dates were just for my own personal satisfaction, but turns out to be a LOT more than that!
      🌻 Hannah

  • @stevenreid_youtube
    @stevenreid_youtube 8 місяців тому +1

    Your breakdown of the auto assign buttons in YNAB is fantastic! It's amazing how these features can streamline budgeting and help users make the most of their dollars. The explanations were clear and engaging, making it easy to understand each button's purpose.

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  7 місяців тому

      Yay, thank you!! So glad to hear they're helpful!
      🌻 Hannah

  • @danielbraedt2849
    @danielbraedt2849 4 місяці тому

    I have been using YNAB for ~9 months, this video convinced me to use Auto Assign! Thank you.

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  4 місяці тому +1

      SCORE. Lemme know how it goes!!
      🌻 Hannah

  • @ruthmumm4475
    @ruthmumm4475 8 місяців тому +2

    So glad to have you back, Hannah! I love your videos. This is my first month with YNAB, but plan to try the auto sign button next month.

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  8 місяців тому +2

      Aww, thank you so much 🥰 Welcome to the world of YNAB!! Sounds like you've already got a solid foot in the door 😂
      🌻 Hannah

    • @noodle_fc
      @noodle_fc 8 місяців тому +1

      If you are new to YNAB, be sure that you understand category targets before using auto-assignment.
      Hannah has a video on it: ua-cam.com/video/rK7C2OsicE4/v-deo.html

  • @marccoppejans1046
    @marccoppejans1046 8 місяців тому +6

    Scheduled transactions will also be taken into consideration with underfunded. Not only targets.

  • @Allaiya.
    @Allaiya. 8 місяців тому

    I normally manually assign but these definitely would be helpful

  • @chriscollins48
    @chriscollins48 8 місяців тому +3

    Hannah. Your video has brought something to my attention that I can't figure out. Do you or anyone from YNAB do consulting? Would really like to get some help. Thanks. Chris from Houston

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  8 місяців тому +6

      Oh, we have a whole slew of coaches that could help you out! I'll link you down below!
      www.ynab.com/coaching/directory
      You can also reach out to our customer support team at anytime. They do way more than just helping iron out technical issues-they can also talk theory with you, help you apply the four habits to your budget, or help you identify where you might be getting a little off in your spending plan. Definitely shoot them a chat from www.ynab.com/help-center if you're looking for help fast!
      🌻 Hannah

  • @bdidaho9572
    @bdidaho9572 8 місяців тому +1

    Wow, been using almost 2 years and had total blindspot to everything but underfunded. Thanks!

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  8 місяців тому

      Right? We just kinda skip over all those other buttons 😂
      🌻 Hannah

  • @danafox233
    @danafox233 8 місяців тому +1

    Can YNAB create an auto assign feature that provides “amount from same month last year “? Electricity and gas prices vary wildly in Tx from winter to summer and this would help save time hunting for last year’s Dec Gas bill. I know with inflation it does go up but it would be great to know where to start as a baseline. Thanks!

    • @doxiedonna
      @doxiedonna 8 місяців тому

      Does your statement show what you've owed over the past 12 months? Ours does and I like it because it's easy to compare how we did compared to last year. However, we signed up for budget billing so we spend the same amount each month and then settle the difference at the end of the year. The first year they didn't set our rate high enough and we owed almost $400!! Now I take out more than we pay each month plus I keep a spreadsheet of what we actually owed each mornth so I know how much we are going to owe at the end of the year (which as of this month they owe us money!!)

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  8 місяців тому +2

      That's a great idea to pitch to our team! Always feel free to write into customer support with ideas.
      BUT, you have a few options to do the same right now! For a long time, every time we paid a utility bill I recorded how much we spent on it in that category's notes section. It was super easy for me to click the category, look back at last year's winter months or spring months or fall months, and assign accordingly!
      You can also hop into your reports on the web app and look at your past spending history! Better yet, copy that paste spending history and paste it into your notes like I shared above-now you've got all the info you're looking for without all those extra clicks into the reports tab!
      Hope this helps!
      🌻 Hannah

  • @CheeseSteaksJimmy-g4l
    @CheeseSteaksJimmy-g4l 8 місяців тому

    Super useful video! I've struggled a lot understanding this. Just wish the underfunded assignment button worked for just a selection rather than the whole section

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  8 місяців тому +1

      Oh, it does! You can use the underfunded button on the whole budget, a focused view, a category group, a random selection of categories, or even just ONE category! Give it a try!
      🌻 Hannah

  • @rgldr1190
    @rgldr1190 8 місяців тому

    I don’t and won’t use these auto assign buttons but I’m glad they exist! By the way: when did the term “budget” get replaced by “spending plan”?

  • @conureron3792
    @conureron3792 8 місяців тому

    I love to manually assign the dollars for several categories, But I do sometimes click the underfund button for individual categories that have the same monthly expense.

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  8 місяців тому +2

      Yes! The underfunded button and I have become much closer buds lately, but I'm a big fan of manually assigning as well! It just feels so powerful to fund each expense (especially when you're doing it in future months... THE RUSH), but also it makes me so much more in tune with my money. Hard to beat that!
      🌻 Hannah

  • @myexpert.solutions
    @myexpert.solutions 8 місяців тому

    I don't even use the app; my wife uses it and shares it with me, saying, "Watch this video." I don't use the app, indeed, but I loooooooooove the video; the personality is fantastic. It could be a hint to add more personality to my own videos. Wait a minute, do you think that's it? Is that what she was trying to say. 🤩

  • @mnb3566
    @mnb3566 8 місяців тому

    Is it possible to add a button for “assigned last pay period or pay check” or something like that? I get paid twice a month and allocate the same amount to every category from each paycheck. Of course there is some variation in some of the categories but a lot are fixed and it would be nice to allocate per pay check not based on the entire months allocation. Does this make sense?

    • @sabinapieterse5855
      @sabinapieterse5855 8 місяців тому

      This sounds like you fund half of the monthly target every month. In the toolkit you can add a “Fund Half” button. Maybe this helps?

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  7 місяців тому

      Not a bad idea! Feel free to write in with all your ideas to our support team!
      support.ynab.com/contact/contact-us-B1OG9RFfj
      🌻 Hannah

  • @MrKlawUK
    @MrKlawUK 8 місяців тому +2

    if I have eg a target for spending of $100 and I have $25 left from the previous month. I hit auto assign ‘underfunded’ - does it assign $100 so I have $125 available, or just top up $75 to get to the $100? I’d like bills categories to top up, but some like personal spending I’d like to add a fixed amount so if I don’t spend one month I rollover and have more available the next month.. Not sure how to do that

    • @ACoveredDishLIfe
      @ACoveredDishLIfe 8 місяців тому +1

      If it's a spending category and you're assigning in a future month then it will assign the full amount. I use the spent last month button to top off categories that roll over.

    • @MrKlawUK
      @MrKlawUK 8 місяців тому

      @@ACoveredDishLIfe thanks - that’d work for my groceries/personal spending. For monthly bills I may let them roll over (usually only a tiny buffer) or select that group, remove overfunding and then that’d reset them back to the original target when I auto-assign?

    • @ACoveredDishLIfe
      @ACoveredDishLIfe 8 місяців тому +1

      It won't change the assigned amount automatically. You'd have to do it. I set up custom views that align to my auto assign types in combo with funding priorities to make quick work of assigning.

    • @noodle_fc
      @noodle_fc 8 місяців тому +2

      What you really want is to define different types of targets according to how you want auto-assign to work for each category.
      • Needed For Spending categories will top-up to exactly your target (minus any activity that has already taken place), because you've said that's what you plan to spend each month
      • Savings Balance will top up to exactly your target but IGNORE any activity, because you've said you want a specific balance no matter what
      • Monthly Savings Builder assigns the same amount each month
      Note that any category with a scheduled transaction in the current month that exceeds the funds available is also considered underfunded. So for instance if you receive a bill on the 27th that's not due until the 12th, you can enter a scheduled transaction for it rather than setting a target. It's not currently underfunded, but it will be when next month arrives. In other words, auto-assign will assign an amount sufficient to cover transactions that are scheduled to occur THAT MONTH, or according to the category target, whichever is greater.

    • @noodle_fc
      @noodle_fc 8 місяців тому

      @@MrKlawUK I think ACoveredDishLife misunderstood your second question. Yes, if you have a group of targeted categories with funds exceeding their targets, "reduce overfunding" will reset them to the appropriate targeted amounts. If you reset assigned or available amount to 0, then auto-assign, that is exactly equivalent to "reduce overfunding."

  • @fatimacostaneathery5116
    @fatimacostaneathery5116 8 місяців тому

    I want to be your coworker!!! 🤣. Also, thanks for the great vids and info!

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  8 місяців тому +1

      🥰🥰 So sweet!! Thank you so much, and ALWAYS glad to help out!
      🌻 Hannah

  • @judymccarver5833
    @judymccarver5833 8 місяців тому

    YNAB’s features are one of the things which make it a super robust budgeting app. But sometimes it just seems like overkill :) this is one of those times! But we’re all good YNAB! I do enjoy immensely manually dropping the money every single time.

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  8 місяців тому +1

      THERE MUST BE A BUTTON FOR EVERYTHING, JUDY 🤣
      🌻 Hannah

  • @Peter-kt2gb
    @Peter-kt2gb 8 місяців тому +1

    Rebecca Black? 😂😂 that takes me back.

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  8 місяців тому +1

      I had the same thought. Thought to myself, "what's she up to these days?" and turns out she's HUGE on the music scene! Hence me having the song she probably wants to be associated with the LEAST stuck in my head for the next week 😂
      🌻 Hannah

    • @lisaroper421
      @lisaroper421 8 місяців тому

      If you haven't seen it, you should totally check out Thursday by Connan OBrian. Golden.

    • @Mini-TOutdoorsMedia
      @Mini-TOutdoorsMedia 8 місяців тому +1

      An old boss of mine would play it at the end of every Friday. It would always get stuck in my head

  • @KeithBarrowsToday
    @KeithBarrowsToday 8 місяців тому

    I do use these but not to their fullest. What I really, really, really want is some buttons to assign 1/4 of the goal, or 1/2, or 1/3. For instance, our mortgage is split between 2 of my paychecks. I have to manually assign with a formula, or know what partial amount to add to the category.

    • @MaxGrey03
      @MaxGrey03 8 місяців тому +1

      There might be a more elegant way, but dividing your mortgage category into 2 categories that each have a target based on the amount from their respective paychecks might be a down and dirty way to address your situtation.

    • @KeithBarrowsToday
      @KeithBarrowsToday 8 місяців тому

      @@MaxGrey03 I did used to do that. Got to be a bit complex. With the newer groupings, I have a weekly set, a monthly set (where I could really use this), a true expenses set, etc. My wife is paid weekly, I am currently paid every 2 weeks, and this will give us 4 extra checks for her and 2 extra checks for me. After about 6 months, everything is offset by a half month. Just wishing that it was not so month-centric. 😁

    • @justinlindholm2679
      @justinlindholm2679 8 місяців тому +1

      I could understand for new YNAB customers, to have the ability to assign 1/4, 1/2, or 1/3 to the goal, but once you are a month ahead, it would become redundant, because before the month rollover the category would be fully funded.

  • @beng32112
    @beng32112 8 місяців тому

    I usually use underfunded for everything, but it is annoying when using it when you don’t have enough money in Ready to Assign to cover the category. It tries to add more than you can to the category.

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  8 місяців тому +1

      Whenever that happens, I just start selecting un-funded categories one at a time until I see the number on the underfunded button get AS CLOSE to my Ready to Assign amount as it can without going over, then I hit overfunded and manually assign whatever's left in RTA to the next category in line.
      🌻 Hannah

    • @noodle_fc
      @noodle_fc 8 місяців тому

      If you want to assign everything in Ready to Assign to a single category, auto-assignment is the wrong tool for the job. Click "Assign," choose "Manually," then your category.
      If you want to use "underfunded" on multiple categories, create a custom view. Underfunded will affect only categories in the current view, and it won't assign more than you have.
      Finally, if you are using Hannah's method of watching the "underfunded" total while selecting categories, you might find it useful to include one additional category that puts you over your available amount, then immediately click "Fix This" on Ready to Assign and select that last category to take back exactly the deficit amount and leave it partially assigned. This is exactly equivalent to leaving that category out of your subset selection, then manually assigning your remaining funds there. You can use whichever method makes sense to you.

  • @rachaelkardell7941
    @rachaelkardell7941 8 місяців тому

    Thanks! I actually paused assigning my dollars to watch this, I was never quite sure about those buttons. Also, not thanks... humm, what was that Rebecca Black song.. ::Googles Rebecca Black, Friday:: ... oh no.. that's going to be stuck in my head for days. And here I thought we were friends..

  • @Cclaudia228
    @Cclaudia228 8 місяців тому +10

    Lol please never remove the bloopers

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  8 місяців тому +3

      I would stop making videos before I ever cut out bloopers. It's a non-negotsh. 😌
      🌻 Hannah

  • @santiagoarteta2993
    @santiagoarteta2993 8 місяців тому

    IT STILL MISSING IS OFTEN WE RECEIVE THE INCOME FOR. EXAMPLE : I RECEIVE MY PAYCHECK EVERY OTHER WEEK SO I RECEIVE 26 PAYCHECK YEARS STIL TARGET BY PAYCHECK : WEEK ,EVERY OTHER WEEK, MONTHLY YEARLY

  • @BXMurphy
    @BXMurphy 6 місяців тому

    What?

  • @jeremiahyonemura
    @jeremiahyonemura 4 місяці тому

    It's cool that YNAB has an auto-assign feature, but I like being involved with money. I want to know exactly where I am assigning my dollars by manually assigning. So I won't really be using this feature.