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1. Count up everything you currently have for money. Cash, checking, short term savings, etc. Basically all of the money within your control.
2. Enter that amount as Supplemental income in the Register window (under “Inflow”) which means that it is available to budget right now in the current month.
3. Go the Budget window and tweak/customize the Master Categories and Categories to fit your specific situation. (These are also known as “Categories” and “Sub-Categories”)
4. Using the large “Available” number at the top of the Budget window right under the current month (the total balance that you entered as Supplemental income) start assigning amounts to every Category that needs to be funded before you get paid again.
5. Do step #4 until the “Available” amount at the top of the page reaches zero ($0.00).
6. If you have any money left after step #4 then just assign it to a Category named “Buffer” to help save up a month’s worth of income so that you can fully utilize the YNAB methodology with the software.
7. As you spend money, record every transaction using the appropriate Category, putting the amount you spent under the Outflow column in the Register window. This applies whether you wrote a check, transferred electronically, debit card or cash. It’s all the same in your budget.
8. When new income arrives, repeat steps 2 through 6 and keep doing #7.
9. Once you have saved up a full “Buffer” (1 month’s worth of normal expenses) then you can start entering your income as Primary which tags it as available for the next month.
10. And most important of all. Stick to your plan or this whole exercise is just a waste of your time. You are the master of the budget and once in place it - the budget - is the master of your money. Follow that and you’ll win.

Still have a few questions? Try asking at the community forums.