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Are you looking to get the most out of your personal finances? YNAB (You Need a Budget) is a budgeting tool to help you track your spending, set up goals, and save more money. But if you're new to YNAB, the learning curve can feel overwhelming. That's why I've rounded up the top 7 YNAB tutorials to get you started. Please enjoy these YNAB videos!
If you've tried watching all the tutorials, YNAB Budgeting Tips And Tricks, and you're still having a hard time, consider scheduling a free consultation with me. I'm a YNAB Certified Budget Coach who loves to help people achieve and maintain control of their money
Learning The YNAB Method
YNAB is great software (see my YNAB review comparing it to EveryDollar), but a huge part of what makes it great is the methodology behind it. Learning the YNAB Method will help you get the most out of your budget. These tutorials are a great starting point for learning about the 4 rules of YNAB. Before getting started with your budget, take some time to learn these 4 rules. The YNAB app is built around these rules, so you'll want to learn them especially if you're transitioning from a budgeting app like Mint.
Rule One: Give Every Dollar A Job
YNAB is a zero-based budgeting tool, which means it encourages you to assign every single dollar a job so that you can always answer the question, "Where will the money for X come from?" This is the root of all budgeting wisdom. You apply this rule by assigning all your money to budget categories as soon as you get paid. Even the money in your savings account. One huge benefit of doing this is that it eliminates all uncertainty from your financial situation. This rule alone makes YNAB the best budgeting software out there in my opinion.
Rule Two: Embrace Your True Expenses
Embracing your true expenses is probably my favorite of YNAB's rules. Creating a category and budgeting for every non-monthly expense is a great way to avoid debt and even out your monthly expenses. Following this rule helps you gain a hyper accurate understanding of all your spending habits.
Rule Three: Roll With The Punches
No matter how well you budget, life will throw some unexpected punches. YNAB embraces this reality and makes it so easy to move money between budget categories. You'll learn that a budget isn't about restricting yourself, a budget is about setting yourself up for financial freedom.
Rule Four: Age Your Money
Having money in the bank is a great feeling. Aging your money simply means spending less than you make so that over time, you accumulate more and more money. After you break the paycheck to paycheck cycle, your dollars will start to accumulate and you'll start to enjoy having cash for next month or whatever you want to spend it on.
Creating Your Budget In YNAB
This video covers everything you need to get started with YNAB and walks you through setting up your YNAB budget step by step. It's like a YNAB for beginners guide. It covers the most important tasks you can perform in YNAB such as creating a budget template, adding bank accounts, budgeting your income, what to do when you get paid, what to do when you spend money, assigning every dollar a job, recording transactions in the mobile app, and how to work with credit cards in YNAB.
Additional Credit Card Tutorials
Credit cards are a blessing and a curse. They make life more convenient, but sneaky credit card companies are always looking for a way to get you to carry a credit card balance and pay them interest. Using YNAB for your card expenses helps you keep track of all the transactions you make on your credit card and set aside money to pay it off in full every single month. Credit card accounts can be tricky to get used to in YNAB, and this tutorial really helps.
BONUS Tutorials: Nick True
Nick True is a legendary YNAB educator and coach. He offers his own comprehensive guide for YNAB that covers everything you need to know to get started with your budget for the first time or if you're an experienced YNABer needing a refresher course. Check out my article about everything you need to know about hiring a budgeting coach.
If you consider yourself a YNAB pro, the you might even enjoy Nick True's YNAB budgeting tips for advanced users.
You can also check out the YNAB Blog for a constant stream of new tips and use cases.
Happy Budgeting!