YNAB You Need A Budget

[elpozo]

Hey all YNABers. I've been trying out YNAB 3 and have already decided that I'll be purchasing a license (hooray for me ). Thing is, I'm not sure if I should start now or wait for next month since September has already started.

Where I'm at now is... I do have a small Emergency Fund already and savings that's more than what I need for a buffer. Funny thing is I still live from paycheck to paycheck since I'm not sure I like the idea of getting money from my savings. From what I've read, it's OK to just fund your buffer with your savings. Question is, should I be starting it now or should I just wait for October so I have an uber fresh start?

If you do recommend that I start now (since I'm pretty excited to just go ahead and do it...), how would you suggest I go about it given it's already the second day of September?

Really sorry. I'm a bit confused...

[malisab]

Start now. Enter what you've got in your accounts. Budget based on what remains to be paid/spent/saved in September.

IF you can pull the balances as of 9/1 and you know what you spent yesterday and want to do it as of 9/1, great. But you can start any day of the month.

re: your buffer and your savings. If you've played around with ynab a bit and read the forums some, you know that YNAB doesn't care where your money lives, so your buffer can be your savings/part of your savings...depending on when you get paid/how your monthly cash-flow flows.

You need to decide if you want your saving(s) accounts to be on or off budget. And if you're not sure, ask specific questions to get started on the right foot. And balance often at the beginning...both your register to your actual accounts, and your budget to your register (Patzer's formula).

[bumpybecky]

I'd start now and backdate to the beginning of this month.

I started half way through May and did go back and find all my transactions from the start of May. It didn't take that long to do

[elpozo]

hi guys. Thanks for your replies.

I think i can pull the balances as of sept.1 since i keep track of my accounts and expenses everyday through a separate phone app.

As for the savings, im not sure if i want to keep it on or off budget, but i do want to be able to track my progress when it comes to my savings as well...

UPDATE:
Did the backdating thing you guys recommended and so far (i think) im doing good. future is really looking bright with YNAB.

Jesse, you are a big genius!