I have just started to use ynab. I linked all my credit cards and bank account. How do I categorize credit card payments ?

Hey Yisrael! Let's break down how to categorize credit card payments in YNAB in a simple way. Think of your budget like a bunch of envelopes where you put your money for different things, like groceries, fun stuff, or bills. When you use your credit card, it's like borrowing money from the credit card company to pay for something. But you still need to make sure you have money in your envelopes to pay them back later. Here's how you do it step-by-step in YNAB: 1. Add Your Credit Card: First, you need to add your credit card to YNAB. This will automatically create a special envelope called 'Credit Card Payments'. 2. Track Your Spending: When you buy something with your credit card, you enter that purchase in YNAB. The money for that purchase will move from the envelope you planned to use (like 'Groceries') to the 'Credit Card Payments' envelope. 3. Make a Payment: When it's time to pay your credit card bill, you go to the 'Credit Card Payments' envelope. The money you set aside for the payment will be there. You record the payment in YNAB by selecting the credit card account and hitting the 'Record Payment' button. This updates both your credit card and bank account balances. By doing this, you make sure you always have the money to pay off your credit card, helping you avoid debt and stay on track with your budget. Easy peasy!

Let me know if that didn’t help

I guess I'm not sure how to start. As it's pulling in all my accounts in their current state and I don't have the information to reconcile everything. For example pulling in a payment from my bank account to a particular credit card but I don't have the information on the credit card to track which envelope that money should be attributed to

the money in your bank account just needs to be assigned to the category of the credit card that has the balance, no specific category

I don't see such a category, am I supposed to be creating it?

Hi Yisrael! If you don't see a category that you need, it's okay to create it yourself. Think about what you need to track in your budget. If you find yourself wondering where to put certain expenses, that's a sign you might need a new category. Start with fewer categories and add more as you see the need. If a category is important to you, it will attract money over time. If not, you can always remove it later. So yes, you can create the category if you feel it's necessary.

no you shouldn’t create it yourself

There is but when I go to assign transactions it's not available

For Payee do you see Payment from

I have no more questions the scenario is like this my CC card gets paid off automatically on the 10th of the month on the 31st of last month, I added it in, and put in the current balance, X I do see the ynab has created a special category for this, unlike yisrael now that means, I need to be able to have X + X (whatever I spend on this card until the 10th) in my account to pay it off... so do I have to assign money every time I make a purchase on the card? at this moment, there is nothing assigned. But activity shows the amount Z, and in "available" is the same amount in yellow. What does that mean? to add another dimension to this question: the original balance of X also includes, what we call "tashlumim", which are split payments, basically, what will be coming out of my account is X + Z - Y, where Y goes down every month as the split payments are paid up Is there an easy and straightforward way of dealing with this?

You don't assign money manually to the special category. I literally never touch them. It's all done in the background. You don't need X plus X. Just X.

Seems the starting balance i do

Gotcha, okay. Maybe you can schedule time with us to have a coach help you over screen sharing? YNAB Budgeting Call

Hey Baruch! Let's break this down step-by-step to make it easy to understand. When you use YNAB (You Need A Budget) to manage your credit card payments, here's what you need to do: 1. Add Your Credit Card: First, you need to add your credit card to YNAB. This will automatically create a special category called 'Credit Card Payments'. 2. Track Your Spending: When you buy something with your credit card, you enter that purchase in YNAB. The money for that purchase will move from the category you planned to use (like 'Groceries') to the 'Credit Card Payments' category. This way, you always have the money set aside to pay off your credit card. 3. Make a Payment: When it's time to pay your credit card bill, you go to the 'Credit Card Payments' category. The money you set aside for the payment will be there. You record the payment in YNAB by selecting the credit card account and hitting the 'Record Payment' button. This updates both your credit card and bank account balances. Now, about the 'tashlumim' or split payments: • If your original balance includes split payments, you need to make sure you have enough money to cover both the current balance (X) and any new spending (Z) until the 10th of the month. • YNAB will show the amount you need to pay in the 'Available' column. If it's yellow, it means you don't have enough money set aside yet. You need to assign more money to this category to turn it green, which means you're fully funded. • For split payments, you can create a target in YNAB to pay off the balance over time. This way, you can set aside a specific amount each month to cover the split payments. So, yes, you need to assign money every time you make a purchase on the card to ensure you have enough to pay it off. This helps you avoid debt and stay on track with your budget. I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any more questions.

Does that help or any of the links?

For split payments, you can create a target in YNAB to pay off the balance over time. This way, you can set aside a specific amount each month to cover the split payments.

So, yes, you need to assign money every time you make a purchase on the card to ensure you have enough to pay it off. This helps you avoid debt and stay on track with your budget.

well yes and no... from what I read on the ynab website, you need to assign your existing balance since it predates ynab, but going forward, it's handled automatically i'm not sure why having split payments changes anything...

Hey Avi! So, in YNAB, if you see an overspent category even after paying off your credit card, it might be because of how YNAB handles overspending. When you overspend in a category using a credit card, YNAB adds that overspent amount to your credit card balance. If you can't cover the overspending in the same month, you need to budget directly to the 'Credit Card Payments' category to pay back the debt. This means that even if you pay off your credit card, the overspent amount still needs to be accounted for in your budget. You have to make sure that your 'Credit Card Payment' category matches what you owe on the card. If it doesn't, it will show as overspent. So, it's important to check and adjust your budget to cover any overspending properly. Hope that helps!

i don't have any categories that overspent, except for this one

Can you give the in app support help a chance? I could schedule you with one of our coaches if that doesn't help you, but I figure better try them first since they have salaried people doing this before we ask volunteers. I think all you need is someone that can see things on your end to walk you through it.

I think i figured out what happened On the 31st i added the account and put in the balance There were also two transactions on the 31st, which added up to 170, which is the amount i was in the red. So i guess this was actually rollover from last month?