#67 - 9 Ways to Master the Memo
06/14/23 • 45 min
Ben and Ernie return to their nerdy roots and talk memos today, all about that little field in the transactions next to the category and balance. Turns out, the memo field can be used in many clever and creative ways to add more utility and depth to your budget, whether it's tracking important purchase information such as serial numbers, or tracking how many times you bought gifts or spent time with friends and family. Using memos can help your budget tell a more complete story of how you spend your money and whether that aligns with your priorities.
Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie!
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Ben and Ernie return to their nerdy roots and talk memos today, all about that little field in the transactions next to the category and balance. Turns out, the memo field can be used in many clever and creative ways to add more utility and depth to your budget, whether it's tracking important purchase information such as serial numbers, or tracking how many times you bought gifts or spent time with friends and family. Using memos can help your budget tell a more complete story of how you spend your money and whether that aligns with your priorities.
Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie!
Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube:
Previous Episode
#66 - Emergency Fund vs Month Ahead
YNAB is not like other budgeting methods. Rule Four is "age your money" and it encourages folks to spend last month's earnings on this month's expenses, thereby breaking the paycheck to paycheck cycle in which so many find themselves stuck. Many YNAB'ers work diligently toward getting a month ahead of their expenses, budgeting the dollars they currently have in the bank account for expenses due in the next calendar month. But what about emergency funds?
Many budgeting methods encourage the idea of an emergency fund, a pile of money that is only touched to handle unexpected expenses not accounted for in the budget. A wise (or as Ben would say, prudent) thing to have! In a perfect world, however, YNAB'ers would not need emergency funds -- they would have saved enough money for future expenses via Rule Two to handle anything that could come their way. Alas, the world is not perfect, however, and many YNAB'ers choose to incorporate an emergency fund category in their budget.
Do you have to choose between having an emergency fund or living a month ahead? Of course not! Ben reminds us that even if you choose to setup your budget for month-ahead, you can always undo it and go back to an emergency fund. Or vice versa. The dollars are still there, however you decide to allocate them.
Ernie recommends that you should take your emotions into account too. For many folks, including himself, it just feels better to have a big pile of money that you can see in one category. It offers a greater sense of security than seeing mulitple categories funded in the next month.
So, really, you can't lose. If you've been thinking about going month-ahead, go for it! There's always the undo button.
Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie!
Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube:
Next Episode
#68 - Applying YNAB Principles Outside the Budget
Ben and Ernie discuss YNAB's Four Rules, and whether they can be applied to other areas of life outside the budget. As it turns out, yes they can! Whether it's Ernie's favorite pasttime (lawncare) or Ben's devotion to good systems, the Four Rules tap into some universal principles of effective resource management that can be applied to a wide range of things in life.
Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie!
Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube:
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