There is a term in the YNAB community - WAM. It loosely stands for whack a mole, but really means that when unexpected expenses pop up you move money around to cover it. It's good in that it teaches you to be flexible with your money, unlike some other budgeting programs. So it's good......but....
I have been using YNAB almost 5 months now. And overall it's been an amazing experience. I finally feel like I have a really firm handle on our money. I finally feel like I know what I'm doing with our money. I really love it. I have not had an NSF in 4-5 months. That is amazing. Also, I have not had to sweat the last few days until payday in a long time. That is amazing too. To know with absolute certainty that there is money there and it's not going anywhere. I love it. But........
Things keep coming up. Things I didn't necessarily account for...or think about....or consider. And it's starting to drive me crazy. For example, I have a whole budget category set up for the dogs. In there are treats for them, pills they need, Mavys class fees, all things like that. I have them broken into separate categories even. And I think that's where the problem arises, but I don't want to get ahead of myself. Here is what my dog category looks like:
As you can see, I have individual medications broken out for Bella and Lola, which I just realized I can combine into one category since they get them at the same time - every other month. Then I have the Amazon supplements that we get every month. The CBD oil which I'm not sure I can continue since it is so expensive and I go through a bottle every week and a half. Then I have Mavy's agility classes and his treats from Chewy, then the wellness plans for all 3, and finally the RunBuddy for Bella. When I break it up this way I need a category for everything that happens to them. Maybe I should just have a Bella, Lola, and Mavy category and calculate what they need each month and then fund that. Because this week I ordered Mavy some agility equipment and there is no category for that so where does it go? Also, he will be taking an extra agility class over the summer, where does that go? I think trying to be too detailed is going to kill me. I like details, but I also like things to be easy.
Maybe it's time to rethink and retool the budget again. I don't want to do a fresh start - again - but I'm not liking the categories and I hate having to keep adding categories especially for one time things. Time to think about this.
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