Getting Started With YNAB

New to the YNAB app? We’ll show you how to set up YNAB in a few easy steps, plus how to succeed in managing your money over the long haul. This is everything you need to know packed into one informative video. Pour yourself a cup o’ something good and let’s get started!

Timestamps:
00:00 - The YNAB Method
04:08 - Using the YNAB Web and Mobile Apps
05:21 - Adding Targets to Categories
09:05 - Using Credit Cards in YNAB
11:06 - Weekly Spending Targets
13:30 - Setting Up Targets for True Expenses
17:15 - Saving for Long-Term Goals
21:07 - Using Mobile App for Spending Plan
23:08 - Importance of Fun Money Categories
25:12 - Reality Check: Underfunded Number
27:02 - Assigning Money to the Plan
30:26 - Covering Credit Card Payments
31:29 - Funding Frequent and True Expenses
33:05 - Assigning Savings to Specific Goals
35:37 - Handling Overspending
38:01 - Assigning Money for Future Months
39:05 - Using Mobile App for Spending Decisions
41:27 - Allocating Savings Dollars
43:54 - Assigning Paychecks
45:57 - Planning for Future Expenses
47:21 - Adjusting Your Plan
49:30 - Recap and Additional Resources

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[yonallb]

He undersells the point that you should really get your budget started on a computer, on their website. The phone app will drive you crazy trying to get it setup.

[grammadee]

I’ve been using YNAB for years, but glad I listened to this getting started video, because I see a few tips I had forgotten and new tricks I hadn’t learned or thought about! Thanks very much for making all these for us.

[shelbytaylor]

I started watching this video and was delighted to see it was only posted 9 days ago. Staring the new year with YNAB!

[sarasayshi]

I’m not a newbie to YNAB but I appreciate all the Budget Nerds videos. So I am here for Ernie. 😂

[KatrinaZens]

SO HELPFUL! I highly recommend watching this video in sections. Watch and learn about a section of the video, then return to the website to fill in your spending plan, etc. Great video to watch in segments. I watched the video across 2 days while setting up YNAB. Thanks for the helpful step-by-step tips!

[tanamorgan]

Thank you ! Thank you! I have been using YNAB for years. I get frustrated from time to time and feel like I want to stop using the service. This helped me discover the targeting feature which I never knew existed. I will continue to check out these videos because I hate the support feature now. You used to be able to speak with someone and then they would look at the app screen that you would share so they could tell you what you were doing wrong. Now, They send you a bunch of links to articles you can read which doesn’t help me. I like walking through the process with someone like this. It explains it so much better. Thank you!

[alexm-]

Thank you Ernie. I’ve been with YNAB since ynab3 or 4? I needed a refresher as I never quite understood aging your money. I do now. Thank you!

[bokaholic]

Love love love YNAB. I cannot believe how much it changed my life in one year. Awesome, keep it up budget nerds!

[greyriverhardy]

Nice job updating this video Ernie! Been with YNAB since 2015 and love it.

[DigitalExtensions]

The New Roof category issue (around 19 minute mark) deflated me for a little bit, but by the end of the video I was feeling really good about my decision to buy YNAB. I'm eager to use it. Thank you.

[heathermacneil]

Very, very helpful and I’ve been using YNAB since 2016

[wwcycle]

Am I the only one that think YNAB is super confusing? Just getting started and was hoping it would be easier

[amcgrath]

Great tuorial! I had YNAB for a while and couldnt figure it out. Now Im ROCKING my budget. Thanks!

[pricemanford]

Couple questions from a rookie:

1 - aren't the credit card payments duplications of other expenses? If you use your credit card to pay your phone bill, isn't it being recognized twice in your format?
2 - any recommendation on how to attack this as someone that shares some expenses with a partner, but not all expenses? Is there way to automize splitting some expenses in half to show my budget vs. family budget?

[c]

I do the opposite. On January. 1st, I put my checks after paying ViSA in my brokerage account to invest. I live on VISA credit (on a budget) totally in January and pay the bill (0 interest) on 1st with Feb checks, put the excess in the brokerage to invest. Wash, rinse, repeat. So I live in my budget a month behind, not a month ahead of my income. I've done this as long as I can remember, I've never been burned. I have $quarter million+ now in my brokerage account. My brokerage is my emerg fund but I've never had to use it. I love VISA credit cards but have never paid interest on a credit card my whole life.

[robertkeller]

YNAB is excellent! Long time subscriber.

[AnibalMontilla_]

This is the definitive guide of how to master your money on YNAB.

[allensunstudio]

Love this video & super helpful! However it'll be much easier to follow & understand if using example where people pay all these things with credit card, I mean who pays with debit card everywhere they go nowadays...

[MsAlexisMac]

This will sound strange but my name is also Angel and the shout out caught me off guard -lol. Great video!

[waschosen-]

The budgeting functionality is a major selling point of YNAB, but it is also its biggest drawback. Because the budgeting system is designed too precisely, and accumulates data month by month, even a single incorrect input or omission by the user would make the whole account unreliable. Finding errors and making corrections in it would be a mission impossible. When you are faced with an account that you don’t know whether you can trust, you won’t have the patience to continue using it.

If 'ready to assign' displays a negative number, and it becomes increasingly larger, all plans become useless except for thinking of ways to earn more money, because they cannot be implemented. When seeing that ready to assign is a negative number, there is no motivation to even update the budget.

Lack of reporting functionality is another issue with the mobile app.