Top 5 YNAB Tips from YouTube Commenters 

I have achieved internet immortality and I didn't even have to budget for it. Thanks for the shout out and yes, it is short for Professor.

Oh this is clever. I totally think this should be an ongoing series.

OOOOOH MY GOSH!!! THEEEE Hannah said my name!! 🤩 I hadn't watched a YNAB video in a while but love to hear other people's tips! So, imagine my surprise when I heard my name and tip! 😍😎😄 Thanks!

I love the idea of moving the fixed expenses to the bottom! Scheduled transactions are great for remembering birthdays and funding the appropriate gifts category.

TIP: For my credit card account names/labels, I include the last four digits of the card. When looking at receipts they don’t state the type of card. Having the last four digits visible in YNAB makes it a snap to know which card I used!

I use an [A] at the end of the category title/due date when it’s paid with an automatic payment. That way I know which budgeted items are scheduled, auto drafted, imported and linked.

"Booty of my budget" 🤣

Yes, would love to see Round 2 of tips and tricks from YNAB users! Thank you for making this video.

LOVE all the videos with Hanna on YNAB!!!!!! She ROCKS!!!!!!

I set up text alerts for every time I spend money with my cards. At the end of the day, I just go through my texts and enter my transactions! That way I don’t have to enter them on the spot.

We have a number of “untouchable“ categories, like “dream vacation“, “Furnace replacement”, “Emergency cash” or the all important “unforeseen“ category. We have created a master category for them called “out of sight“. We keep this master category hidden (which automatically hides all the subcategories). Each month when we put a little bit in each category, we simply unhide the master category to fund the subcategories and then immediately behind it re-hide it.

Besides scheduling to dos in YNAB….I also use it to track my menstrual cycle. Scheduled zero dollar transaction of “🔪” every four weeks. I realized I had a menstrual tracking app that I never look at because it only does one thing (count down 28 days). Since I look at my budget more often, it’s easy to track.

I hasn't really used memos before this video, but I've started using hashtags now which is super helpful! One thing I started doing in that spirit is adding the order number from e-commerce purchases to my memo line when I add the transaction. Especially with Amazon, it's super helpful for tracking purchases down!

Love this! Your videos along with Nick True’s (Mapped Out Money) have been super helpful for me as I’ve gotten started with YNAB. I started about a month ago, and the real-life examples of how different people use YNAB for different lifestyles & budgeting needs has been really useful. I got even more excited about YNAB once I learned that you can have 2 separate budgets within the same YNAB account. I have a small business (just me, doing some freelance work, professional speaking & a few online income streams), so separating my business budget from my personal budget was when everything really started clicking for me. With so many people freelancing these days & running micro-businesses, maybe more videos on this topic would be helpful for others?

Hey Hannah! Thanks so much for creating such fun and helpful budgeting content. Whenever I share YNAB with my friends, I’ll usually send them one of your videos!! 🤗 I had some ideas for topics that me (and others) might find helpful: 1. car series? 🚗 - the ynab blog i’ve noticed has some great content for car ownership that would be wonderful to have someone explain logistically in ynab. - buying/selling a car: logistics, costs, what to look for in a new car based on your situation - what if you’re working hard towards a debt pay down or working towards FIRE? how would that affect someone who has an old clunky car that’s burning thru their true expense maintenance category? 2. FIRE movement in general? 🔥 - Jesse talks in some of the podcast episodes and investing series on explaining it and the different strategies (your side hustle video was great!) 3. meal planning/grocery savings 🛒 4. deep work 🏋🏻‍♀️ - i recently read this book based off of ynab’s recommendation and it would be cool to hear how that relates to budgeting. The rules of time management he describes relates almost perfectly with YNAB’s rules for money management. 5. the life changing magic of tidying up/minimalism 🧘🏻‍♀️ and how that may help someone simplify their life and budget. 6. should you make a new budget every year or keep the same one? you can get rid of those hidden categories instead of them just piling up, but by using the same budget year after year, you get a better idea of your net worth over time and can look at your trends in spending? this has been my first year using YNAB and i’m wondering what to do come january ❄️. Also, what about different seasons of life...starting a new budget when you get married or when a new baby arrives? 7. just a quick question in general - why can’t we reconcile on the mobile app? thanks so much for taking the time to read these and i’m looking forward to all the other great videos you will make! I hope you have a lovely thanksgiving! 🦃🙏🏻😊

Here's a tip I use: I set up a category group for each savings account. Then I give a category to each thing I'm saving for in that savings account. For example, I may be putting money away in a savings account for both a vacation and a new car so each gets its own category in that group. I did this because, while I would remember to fund those categories, I would sometimes forget to move the money over from my checking account to my savings accounts. Now all I have to do is check the total available in my savings category groups and match that amount with what is in my savings accounts. If they don't match, I know I forget to move the money!

I am 51 years old and just started using YNAB a month ago....this is by far the best budgeting software out there and it's actually.... dare I say it......fun! My husband patiently listens to all my nerdy accounts of what I have learned, what new categories I made for us. LOL But honestly even though I thought we were good with our finances before this has been a game changer. I have not seen any other program that does what YNAB does. Love it!!

My husband and I both freelance for a living, so our income is very (very very very) irregular. In the Notes section of each month, I make a list of what checks/payments we're expecting for the next month, so I can keep track a little easier. Another great tip I learned from a video of a fellow ynab user is to make a category called "Money earned this month for next month." As the checks come in throughout the month, I add them to this category, then zero it out at the end of the month and it's there to be budgeted the following month. (For some reason, this has worked better for us than budgeting ahead.) Win!

This video is super helpful! Thanks for being awesome! Love the commentary!

That hashtag idea is great. It will help me a lot when it comes time to organize expenses for taxes. Boom.

I changed my budget main categories to the "casual" names of Fixed and Flex, moved the fixed to the bottom, and put the due dates in the titles. It made it easier and more intuitive to use. Great tips. Thanks. I also sorted my Flex categories by the amount I historically use in those categories so the ones I use the most are toward the top. I exported the Income and Expense report to Excel and did a quick sort of the Average column. Then used that to move things higher in the list that I used more. It really surprised me that I needed to put Kids Activities above the Personal Care(clothes,make up, hygiene, etc) AND Fuel/Tolls. As I've mentioned before, exporting the I&E report helps with forecasting for next months / year also. AND, I think it's comical that you look around for others reactions ("does anyone remember what the Harlem shake was") when your probably recording these in your office at home by yourself. Caught ya! LOL

This is really great. Now I need to go rearrange my categories; nerd heaven.

Truly enjoyed it. Learned new hacks and methods... Should do this format quarterly!

I like this. I also had the immediate inspiration with fixed and flexible categories to not only stick the fixed ones at the bottom, but also add more emojis: a rock or mountain for the fixed ones, and a slinky spring or something to the flexible ones. Will do that tonight when I turn on my budget. I'm listening to you in the background while I'm working...

Sharing peoples’ tips is great! Would love to see more of these.

The most helpful thing that my wife & I did for our budget is to determine a fixed amount for each of us that represents our personal expenses. These two categories cover all spending for hers and my personal, discretionary expenses. (I.e. her hair styling, clothing, personal care products, etc. My clothes, ammo, fishing stuff, hair cut, etc.). That way we don't have to be so granular and try to put every personal expense into a category. It's just her personal expenses and my personal expenses. Really made things a lot simpler and we don't need to justify anything we chose to pay for out of our own personal funds.

Hannah, you bring me so much joy as I watch... whilst cleaning the kitchen and drinking coffee. Keep these coming, please!

Hannah, great job! Please make a video explaining why different months might have different TBB numbers.

I love this video, sharing what others have done with YNAB. That's what communities are great for! Thanks YNAB and Hannah!

The idea of changing the order of categories has made this month so smooth for us! Thanks for passing on that great tip!

Love these kinds of videos totaly! And I'd like to share some life-hacks on grocery... not so YNAB App related but helpful to get a feeling for grocery, which helps to stay on track with the budget... I always prepare my grocery shopping with a list of all the things I plan to buy... and give every thing a number what it probably will cost (only integers) So I can sum them up before I go and can prioritize my list at home and not in the supermarket where everything is shouting at me "buy me, buy me!"... How do I know the aproximate prizes?! Feeling mixed with experience AND (here comes the hack): Because when I'm done with shopping, I put all my grocery stuff on the table and write the exact prize on it from the bill (yes that takes a while, but its worth it)... this helps me to get a better feeling for what things cost and - and this is a great AND - it gives me also a better feeling if I realy want to eat that one special thing all at once mindlessly or if it has more value and I like to enjoy it with more consciousness... and another AND... I can easier see if things where getting more expensive than last time, so I can think of to buy a cheaper version of this product instead... And another hack... on saving money with groceries... I also write on each thing the date when I opened it (very helpful for milk, juice... that's where I started it)... I do it with everything... so I know, which of my open groceries need to be eaten first... and so I waste much less and open much less things at the same time... Hope that is helpful for other loveley YNABers too! With greetings from Germany.

Mind blown! Thanks for sharing all of these awesome tips, Hannah! And thanks to everyone for sharing them!

Love all your videos! It’s helpful to hear how others use YNAB. So many great ideas 😃

Such great ideas! I love seeing how many variations there are to use YNAB

YES!! PLEASE keep making these helpful and informative videos about good tips from others.

I LOVED the presentation - Please do more of these IDEAS from other YNABers!!!!

Where has the Internet been hiding you??? You're hilarious! This is the content I came here for :-)

Yes please! Love it. Also inspired by the flexi vs fixed tip - thanks.

Here's a YNAB tip - if you have a bunch of accounts and transfer money between them (like when you reconcile credit card payments), this idea helped me a lot. Name the accounts using the format "x1234 S Bank". The "x1234" part is an x followed by the last four digits of the account number. "S" is the first initial of the person (like you or your partner). "Bank" is the bank name or account type (checking, savings, credit). Then when you're working on a transfer and picking accounts numbers from the list, you will always pick the right one.

YNAB pro tip - I put an abbreviation at the end of each budget item that tells me which bank account, or credit card, will be charged for purchase(s) in that category (ie - Monthly spa membership is charged on my Capital One Credit Card = Spa membership - COCC...$$)

This is a great tip round up! Sometimes I don't see all the comments if it's from a video topic that doesn't apply to my personal budget, but this is giving me some new ideas!

My fave tip is to use emojis at the start of each category. It took a few minutes, but makes my budget look so much more colourful and fun!

I split fixed into "regular" and "irregular", the totals help understand the monthly bills vs "surprise" bills, and if cash is tight you can borrow from a far off bill

Love this episode, although TBF I am loving each of your episodes! Keep comment content coming!

Love your videos! Your goofiness keeps budgeting fun. I am in love with YNAB! Only thing I would love to see on the app & web is a little notes section for the month. A place to put goal reminders. Like things I want or need to save for, but I’m not ready to put them in a category yet... or reminders a new Bill starts next month... or whatever. A place to put encouraging mantras or your why you are saving.

Great video! Definitely should have one like this regularly.

Absolutely loved this video! I’m going in right now and moving my fixed expenses to the boo-tay of my budget too!!! I also love the flag idea to separate my husband’s expenses from mine. Hannah, your delivery style and sense of humor make a dry subject like budgeting really entertaining. Thank you!!

Tip: Set up reoccurring payments for all your fixed categories. This will show as scheduled when you check the account, so you have a handy overview without forgetting.

Excellent idea for regular videos. That will make it easier for Hannah to come up with content ideas for videos (we want her to keep making videos :) )

YES!! These type of videos are awesome!!! Thank you!!

Loved this video! A-because Hannah makes budgeting videos fun and entertaining. B-because those were really handy tips. (sidenote: I definitely check out my budget more than five times a day!!! I'm not sure what I think will have changed from the previous hour, lol, but I think it's more that I'm so proud of my ever-evolving YNAB budget lol!!!)

I have a Fixed Category with two sub categories in it. First sub Monthly Bills which has everything I pay with a check, debit card or is taken directly from my checking account. Second sub is Credit Card which has the three monthly bills that are placed on my credit card. That way when one is due I am reminded to put it to my Credit Card instead of placing it on my checking account.

Dang - this was good. I”m going to apply some of these to my budget for sure

Love this, definitely keep doing this!

I've been using YNAB since about 2005, and although I see these videos and think they don't apply to me as I'm quite au fait with how YNAB works - oh how wrong I was - learnt quite a lot from this video alone. Plus its presented in a fun interesting way, so I didn't get bored and more on yo another RU-vid account

This video of such great idea sourcing makes me really believe in people!

Love love love this sort of video! Learning from the tread!! Yah #killingit

You crack me up! Way to go Hannah, always fun to watch. 👍

Really regretting not getting a YNAB mug 😭 Great vid as always Hannah!

Instead of the color flag, I put the name of the car (example Prius) then the description at the start of the memo field. Just do a search in the memo field to get the same result. The problem with flags is that it is not possible to assign a name to the color. I'm not using it and that's a shame. Hashtags are better than flags!

THere's also soooo many cool tips on the Reddit!

I would definitely like more of these.

Love this! Thank you.

Yes, please! Keep these tips coming ^^

I divide fixed category into monthly obligations and yearly obligations, yearly obligations are broke down into monthly figure, I just copy last month budget, and budgeting is done in 1 secs, ofc with set goal during first setup. it serve as reminder for payment as well especially for yearly obligations.

Nice video! A nice suggestion would be to have autosuggestions for hashtags when searching. So, for example, when I type the hash sign, YNAB would suggest hashtags that I have already used in memo. The same can be done in the "memo" field, when adding a new expense 😬

Gosh, I still want to get a cup! :P Great video y'all!

I really liked this kind of video!

Can we create a #hashtag or something in the comments or social media so all YNABers can share info and make it easier for you to create these videos? I have some fun tips too but I don’t wanna drop them in a random comment section. ( suggestion: #YNABTips )

Close its little car eyes 😂😂

One thing I do that makes credit cards sooooo much easier for me: I don't use the "credit card" account type. I just use "checking" and let those accounts go negative. For example, I've spent $120 on one of my credit cards, so it's sitting at -$120 and then when I pay it, I'll just transfer money from my bank account to that card and it will be at $0.

Great tips! Thank you!

Quite Fun. Style... thanks. Keep it up.

Yes, please continue

Awesome format. Reddit r/Ynab deserves one as well :)

Love this video!

I like to make sections based on the bank account the money lives in. Helps me know what section to go to and enter transactions based on the account. It also helps see all your accounts in one place and reconcile them.

Love the idea with the hashtags! I should use that and maybe even retroactively categorize expenses for 2020. Also I need to restructure my budget with the Fixed vs Flexi categories, that's actually an amazing idea! The only issue I have with that is that I have some fixed expenses that become flexi due to exchange rate fluctuations. Maybe I can put them in their own group which is above the other fixed categories. 🤔

Oh my god, YES to the last one!!!

Keep up the fun videos Hanna! You’re a lot of the reason we just signed up. Fun with budgeting- who’da guessed? (Is that a word?)

Love it!! ✔

These are some brilliant tips!

I decided to watch this video and she was talking about coffee and I go damn I'm late its already 4 and then she says that. Must be a sign LOL

Hannah! I like this kind of video, and I like all your videos! Your content is great, so whatever ideas you have for videos (whether used or not), just keep it up! In my book you get RU-vidr of 2020 award. 😂👌

Great tips!!!

❤️thank you!!!

YNAB Pro tip: Making different categories for long term and short term savings. It helps a lot. I also have the credit cards that are due the soonest/need to be paid off first near the top.

I have coffee at 10pm and than go to bed... to each their own.

For the round 2 video. From your video on budgeting a month ahead. Since September 2020 I’ve taken $750 from each household pay cheque and budgeted February 2021. When I get to January 2021 it will mostly be funded and I can jump to funding March 2021. Furthermore, once February 2021 is done I can start funding February 2022 at a much lower amount (likely $250 each pay). I will need to budget $1 in each month in order to see that far into the future and I pick February cause, duh, it’s the shortest month and easiest to fund in our house. But this is an easy way to get ahead and what does it matter how long it takes? It’s not a race, right??! Love your videos Hannah!

Hey Hannah... saw your interview with Jesse - epic 😎 👌 😉 What about interviews with real YNABer success stories? That would be fun to see 😃

I never knew what the Harlem Shake was, and that makes me happy.

😂🦋love this gal!

Is there anyway to create a shortcut that pulls in my Apple Pay notifications as transactions into YNAB? I put everything in manually.

That's a leftie mug!!!!

I use red flag for automatic payments that are also repetitive transactions 👍

I mean, you should just have a calendar with reoccuring expenses, reminders, etc sort of like other apps have. super helpful.

Ingenuity is a word! 👏

Question- is there a way to condense the info from the videos into a readable format? Hanna, you're lovely on camera and I'm not hatin' on your awesome videos in ANY way, but I'm a 'get to the point' kind of gal and I'd like to be able to get the content without the cutesy stuff. Because text can be really difficult to convey messages, again, your videos are great, and I LOVE the content, I would just love to have a 'top tips' or something similar to go along with these videos.

Thanks a bunch for your video's! Do you have any suggestions on how to set up your bank accounts while using YNAB? Example: one checking account and one savings or several savings accounts and one checking... or something better that I don't know about!

I am really enjoying my 1st month with YNAB. Thank you for all the videos. If you still need a piano, contact me via your fellow employee with the same last name! If not, where can I find the piano journey videos?