Maybe focus on putting that money into the next month instead of a separate emergency fund line item. That way you might feel more secure and you actually feel a month ahead
Oh! And I subscribed to your channel really fast 'cause I'd love to learn how to be even a timy bit like you when it comes to handling finances. I'm just absolutely FLOORED at how well you problem-solved and handled that situation. Wow! Just... wow! 🥳
Thank you so much for this honest look at a real budget. I just discovered YNAB in April and have only seen budgets where everyone's targets are met perfectly and a lot of folks are at least one month ahead with their expenses (both monthly expenses and true expenses) and this has left me feeling like a failure because I find myself doing exactly what you did here. And YOU'RE certainly NOT failing. You are a frickin' ROCK STAR. I'm so impressed with how you calmly figured it out like a puzzle and kept calm where I would have been in tears. About taxes, we know we're going to owe $4000 in taxes in April 2025, so that should be a sinking fund. But it's not. It's more like a Denial Non-Fund. Because we can't even afford the monthly payments. We simply need more income and we're working on that. Do you have any suggestions on what to do about upcoming tax bills other than lose a lot of sleep? I just REALLY don't want to have to put any money on a credit card come April. But it's looking like when those taxes are due, I'll be doing what you did here, only not with the absolute grace and remarkable calmness that you exhibited. You're phenomenal!
Wow thank you SO much for your kind words Dianne! Yes, this tax bill threw me because I've only been joint YNABing with my husband since March. I was saving for MY usual tax bill but completely forgot about HIS, which is much bigger! Definitely a lesson learned for next tax season. Progress, not perfection! I totally understand the stress of not being able to make the monthly payments, so sorry that's happening for you guys. A lot of the finance professionals I've followed over the years say that basic utilities and tax debt should always be prioritized over everything else. So I think the only way to not lose sleep over it is to bring it into the harsh light of reality. It's coming, and there's no avoiding it. And you are absolutely going to smash it when it comes. The beauty of Sinking Funds is that it makes big bills seem small - but only if you plan ahead and start as early as you can. $4k due next April is $500 a month/$125 a week starting in September. Maybe you can update your YNAB budget and create individual weekly $125 goals for that bill? Just to make it seem not as huge. Any money you save in other categories can be poured into that one, and your side hustle income could go towards that goal each month. Make a game out of it with your partner! I'm by no means a professional, just thinking what I'd do in your situation. Sending you love, you've absolutely got this!! ❤️
I recommend reading The Millionaire Mission by Brian Preston and watching his RU-vid show The Money Guy. He has good advice on how to think about money. Saving, investing, building… and also enjoying spending and living a great life with money as a tool not a goal. I empathize with how you’re feeling, so I understand and have some similar parallels. I think it’s great to budget, even if there’s an account in the wings to fall back on. Having good money habits is still an important skill to have and develop. You’re doing a great job!
The last couple of months I’ve had to remind myself that sinking funds more broadly is there to be used for what it’s needed for, even if that’s not what I planned. It feels discouraging but you handled it fantastically! 👏🏻
Budgeting like a pro! That’s the reality of rolling with the punches. You are off the credit card float and have 6K in your emergency fund. You are winning! It’s only a matter of time until you start building the funds up again. You have all month to reconsider the changes you’ve made. You could shift some money from emergency funds to sinking funds, but I respect your decision to hold firm with the emergency funds. As for the July overspending, the trick is to cover it in the same month via whack a mole. The fact that you depleted the sinking funds in August made July adjustments too tricky. I think you made the right choice by switching back to August to cover it and leave July the way it was. That’s just my opinion. Great video! Once I figure out how to record the screen and my voice at the same time, I hope to publish some of my own. Who knows how long that will take me???? 😂
Amazing how you have the funds to fall back to. I was in this situation before except I don't use ynab and I have no extra funds so it was tough. The ynab youtube creators inspired me to use ynab despite high foreign rates!
Great job sticking with it even when getting off budget a little. Thank you as well for being honest and open about your financial journey and thought process. Have a good rest of your July! 🎉
Congratulations on hitting the $6K emergency savings goal while hosting family visits! Amazing! Do you watch Ramit Sethi? He is always saying the way you feel about money is highly uncorrelated with the amount in your accounts. So true! You clearly know how well you’re doing and that you’re well prepared for emergencies, even if they went beyond the $6K. I’m in the same boat, but I totally identify with that bit of shame around a touch of overspending. I’m here to celebrate covering all, but 70 pounds. Way to go! I didn’t hear any regret in your voice over any of the expenditures… Just the fact that it didn’t fully align with your budget. I like to look at it as gathering data for future budgeting. I always enjoy your videos and look forward to the next one.
Or just put the £200 in your emergency categories and fund the rest of the £120 with your next paychecks. Now you have £10.10 extra for yourself!! If it's okay to ask, you don't have to answer it or anything but, what's the emergency money for?
So fun! I definitely want to start recording my sessions for some look backs. It’s got to be great to see your progress. Thanks for sharing with the rest of us!
Those cut offs are progress bars towards your set target. In reverse, they can also show funds used in the target. Also, it’s okay to ‘brag’ about God and the blessings He bestows upon us. It gives others hope that He gives blessings to all. I love YNAB, and love YNAB videos. I enjoyed this one.
Yay! New video. I love the phone app but it does make me even more obsessive about logging transactions on the go. Hope you’re having a lovely holiday.
This was such fun! Having used YNAB for a couple of years, I just decided to search for ‘YNAB Budget with Me UK’ in RU-vid and this was the first that came up. And I’m so glad it did. I’m not sure whether your husband/partner is also American, but my wife is from the US (PA) and we live in London (which is where I’m from). Managing various bank accounts and balances in multiple currencies and locations is always fun(!) And prioritising trips back to the US is a must for us too. As is juggling (in our case) a 2-year old who wants to be involved in everything. Especially pressing all the keys on my laptop when trying to budget…. 🤣 I look forward to following along with your future videos going forward.
Wow we have a lot in common! I went to college in PA 😊 and we have a two year old as well (as you can see lol). My husband is from the Lancashire area. Loooovvveee London 😍
Welcome!! It’s definitely a learning curve at first and can feel overwhelming. But YNAB offers tons of resources including live tutorial events. Absolutely worth it in my opinion! There’s also a 34 day free trial.
10:51 Those are related to the new "Target" setup!! Left line, old money budgeted in the previous month - right line, new money budgeted in the current month! I hope this helps 🤗🤗
New subscriber here. I just started YNAB this month and I look forward to being where you are at in funding the next month early. That is so great. Congrats and enjoy your trip. I love watching YNAB budget videos!
I'm pretty sure those chunks are because you have money available in May but have also assigned money in June. So the left chunk is current month and the right chunk is next month. At least I think. I have that with scheduled transactions as well. But don't listen to me I suck at budgeting
After doing a deep dive on Reddit I think you're correct.. it's a strangely worded explanation though. Link: www.reddit.com/r/ynab/comments/1ckyzdg/what_are_those_gaps_on_budget_progress_bars/ Also I love the dedication to your brand 😂 as time goes on you might have to rebrand to "I'm Mediocre at Budgeting," "I'm Getting Pretty Good at Budgeting" etc. etc.
No idea what the chunks are but I want to know too! I’ve just signed up to YNAB’s free trial and love watching other people budget! I’m enjoying your videos.
Eeee I'm so glad you're enjoying! Here's something I found about the chunks. Still not super clear on it though: www.reddit.com/r/ynab/comments/1ckyzdg/what_are_those_gaps_on_budget_progress_bars/
such a nice introduction ! what a neat story . i enjoy watching others' ynab budgets even though i use a google spreadsheet for ours lol looking forward to your future uploads ! - selena :). ( I make videos too )
