▲ 12 r/ynab
help me understand YNAB when you use CC for categories that haven't been funded yet
I've been tearing my hair out over this. It seems like if I spend $10 with a credit card on an unfunded category, then I just lose $10 somehow. That can't be right. Please explain what I'm missing.
The normal case:
| Real | YNAB | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Checking Balance | CC Balance | Ready To Assign | CC Budget | Dining Budget | Notes |
| 1 | $1,000 | $0 | $1,000 | $0 | $0 | |
| 2 | $1,000 | $0 | $900 | $0 | $100 | assigned $100 to Dining |
| 3 | $1,000 | $10 | $900 | $10 | $90 | bought $10 sandwich |
| 4 | $990 | $0 | $900 | $0 | $90 | paid CC |
Everything is fine. I still have $900 RTA, $90 in Dining, and my sandwich.
The case I don't understand:
| Real | YNAB | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Checking Balance | CC Balance | Ready To Assign | CC Budget | Dining Budget | Notes |
| 1 | $1,000 | $0 | $1,000 | $0 | $0 | |
| 2 | $1,000 | $10 | $1,000 | $0 | -$10 | bought $10 sandwich |
| 3 | $1,000 | $10 | $900 | $0 | $90 | assigned $100 to Dining |
| 4 | $990 | $0 | $900 | -$10 | $90 | paid CC |
| Needs extra $10 from RTA to fix |
Now I have $890 in RTA, $90 in Dining, and my sandwich. Where did the $10 go? YNAB's bookkeeping seems to be making it so I can spend less of my money.
Maybe a better question is: How do I fix things after step 4 in the 2nd scenario without taking money from RTA?
u/redfroody — 6 days ago
