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Elizabeth Starr Harden, LLC

personal money coach

YNAB

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Reimbursing the Roomie: Split Transaction with Multiple Funding Sources

A reader (let's call them Alex) recently wrote to me with a fun question involving shared expenses, multiple categories, and -- bring on the extra challenge -- multiple funding sources! I love these questions!! Have a puzzle of your own? Tell me in the comments section or fill out this form. Reader's Situation Alex splits expenses with a housemate/significant other. When settling up at the end of the month, Alex ran into this situation: [He] paid the Internet bill (my half is $34) … [Read more...] about Reimbursing the Roomie: Split Transaction with Multiple Funding Sources

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How to Conduct an Annual Budget Review (and Why You Should)

What better way to start the new year than with an annual budget review? Reviewing your budget is a relatively quick and simple exercise that will pay dividends throughout the year in saved time, effort, and frustration. I use YNAB (You Need a Budget) to map out my spending and saving plans and consider it a valuable and integral part of my money management system. While the process I outline below makes regular mention of the YNAB software, you can apply the same steps to whatever budgeting … [Read more...] about How to Conduct an Annual Budget Review (and Why You Should)

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Why YNAB? A Detailed Breakdown of YNAB’s Unique Layered Approach to Budgeting

YNAB (pronounced Y-nab) is a popular budgeting software application. It has a loyal following, myself included. And for good reason. What makes YNAB (it's an acronym for You Need A Budget) so unique and why it stands so distinctly apart from other budgeting apps and spreadsheets is its combination of three vital budgeting concepts. I don't mean features. Features come and go. The YNAB development team has added and removed lots of features over the years in the software's progression from a … [Read more...] about Why YNAB? A Detailed Breakdown of YNAB’s Unique Layered Approach to Budgeting

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How to Power Up Your YNAB Searches with Emoji Tags

Emoji in YNAB Text Fields A fun feature available in the web-based version of You Need a Budget [YNAB] is the ability to incorporate emoji just about anywhere you can enter text. These expressive little icons can be used in your Account names, Category titles -- even the Memo field. While decorating with emoji can be entertaining, the power they wield in the memo field will blow your mind. This tutorial will walk you through how to use emoji to power up your search … [Read more...] about How to Power Up Your YNAB Searches with Emoji Tags

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Buying Cash From My Kid: Tricky Split Transactions On- and Off-Budget YNAB Accounts

After publishing my Handling Cash in YNAB tutorial, I received a question from a reader. It’s an awesome question and proved to be an interesting challenge. Thanks so much to my reader for taking the time to write in! [Do you have a question of your own? Feel free to ask in the comments section below or use my Contact Me page.] Reader Asks I encountered a tricky cash transaction I do not know how to enter into YNAB: My son had a wallet full of cash and … [Read more...] about Buying Cash From My Kid: Tricky Split Transactions On- and Off-Budget YNAB Accounts

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The Ultimate Guide to Handling Cash in YNAB

Cash.   Greenbacks.   Dolla dolla bills. There are two basic ways to handle cash in YNAB. Which method is best for you will depend on your 1) current cash habits and 2) desired changes and outcomes. In this tutorial, I’ll explain both cash-handling methods, show you how to set them up, and provide detailed examples of cash transactions ranging from simple to complex. I’ll also discuss the merits of each method and help you decide which cash method you should … [Read more...] about The Ultimate Guide to Handling Cash in YNAB

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How to Merge (combine) your YNAB categories in 3 Simple Steps

Doing a little redecorating or rearranging of your YNAB budget categories? A common YNAB rookie (or not-so-rookie) error is getting too granular with budget categories. I once experimented with separating my chocolate purchases out from our general grocery spending. Huge mistake! For one thing, it turned out to be information I did not want to know. And B, it was a huge PITA (pain in the tuchus). All those split transactions kept me from entering my transactions right there in the … [Read more...] about How to Merge (combine) your YNAB categories in 3 Simple Steps

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Toolkit for YNAB – Reports Screen settings

Welcome to this multi-part tutorial series on the Toolkit For YNAB open source companion browser plugin for YNAB [You Need a Budget] — my preferred budgeting tool. Part 1: Toolkit for YNAB – General Settings walkthroughPart 2: Toolkit for YNAB – Account Screen SettingsPart 3: Toolkit for YNAB – Budget Screen SettingsPart 4: Toolkit for YNAB – Report Screen Settings Also check out my other tutorials, articles, my YouTube Channel. Note: These settings affect the default YNAB reports. Do not … [Read more...] about Toolkit for YNAB – Reports Screen settings

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Toolkit for YNAB – Budget Screen settings

Welcome to this multi-part tutorial series on the Toolkit For YNAB open source companion browser plugin for YNAB [You Need a Budget] — my preferred budgeting tool. Part 1: Toolkit for YNAB – General Settings walkthroughPart 2: Toolkit for YNAB – Account Screen SettingsPart 3: Toolkit for YNAB – Budget Screen SettingsPart 4: Toolkit for YNAB – Report Screen Settings Also check out my other tutorials, articles, my YouTube Channel. One of the few advantages to the new web-based YNAB (from my … [Read more...] about Toolkit for YNAB – Budget Screen settings

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Toolkit for YNAB – Account Screen settings

Welcome to this multi-part tutorial series on the Toolkit For YNAB open source companion browser plugin for YNAB [You Need a Budget] -- my preferred budgeting tool. Part 1: Toolkit for YNAB - General Settings walkthroughPart 2: Toolkit for YNAB - Account Screen SettingsPart 3: Toolkit for YNAB - Budget Screen SettingsPart 4: Toolkit for YNAB - Report Screen Settings Also check out my other tutorials, articles, my YouTube Channel. One of the few advantages to the new web-based YNAB (from my … [Read more...] about Toolkit for YNAB – Account Screen settings