With YNAB, it’s super-easy to regain control of the situation. It feels good, but what happens when the plan goes awry? A lot of times, people give up. When you make a budget, you’re armed with a plan. Rule Three is a big part of why the YNAB method works. With YNAB, you can create custom categories to reflect your true expenses. Say you spent $600 on auto maintenance last year. Rule Two is about identifying the bigger “unexpected” expenses that wreak havoc on your budget and turning them into monthly expenses.
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If you have a pet, you know they will need veterinary care. If you own a car, you know there will be annual maintenance costs. The thing is, most expenses aren’t that unexpected. They’ll tally up things like mortgage/rent, utilities, gas, and an average grocery bill, but fail to plan for unexpected expenses. One of the most common budgeting mistakes people make is underestimating expenses. You can build a budget to suit any income, as long as it follows this rule. When every dollar has a job, income minus expenses equals zero. Jobs include fixed expenses, estimated variable expenses, debt payments, and savings goals.
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Giving every dollar a job essentially means that you’re making a plan for every dollar you earn by assigning them “jobs”. Let’s dive in and see what each of these rules means for you.
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YNAB (You Need a Budget) is a budgeting app designed to help you master zero-sum (or zero-based) budgeting.