Establish a plan template that gives every dollar a job. Assign only the funds you have right now, and do what you want with the money you have. Follow these instructions for creating (and using!) your own customizable plan template.

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A plan template helps you plan for your future expenses by using targets ↗️ and scheduled transactions ↗️ with your categories, giving you the month-ahead information you want without sacrificing the benefits you get from only assigning the money you have.

Building Your Plan Template

Customize Your Categories  

When you first start YNAB (or when you create a new plan ↗️), you're presented with a few starter categories.

Feel free to customize! Add, edit, or remove categories ↗️ (or Category Groups) to your heart's content. If your category structure changes as you reflect on the five questions included in the method ↗️, you'll be sure your money always aligns with what matters most to you. 

 How to Add Targets to Your Category Structure

1. Add a target for every category. Review this article ↗️ for tips and examples on which targets work best with certain expenses.
   
   
2. Choose how often you'd like the target to repeat (weekly, monthly, yearly, or custom). 
   
   
3. Set additional customizations based on the target type (date, amount, repeat behavior).
   
   
4. Save the target.

If you have a category you consider as optional each month, you'll still set a target in that category. If you don't plan on funding the category in a month, you can snooze the target ↗️ to exclude it from the monthly "needed" amount that shows up in Underfunded.

 Check Underfunded or Use Edit Plan on Mobile   

With a target assigned to every category, Available amounts will be yellow and your plan will now tell you exactly how much you need to stay on track. 

On iOS, take a look at Edit Plan ↗️. It includes a number of features to assist in planning for the current month while looking ahead to next month as well. It calculates and displays the money you need to fully fund the current month based on the month's targets. 

On the web app, you can see how much money is needed to make this template work by checking the Underfunded amount. You'll see this in the Inspector (right sidebar). 

On Android, you can see how much you have to assign and how much is needed by tapping the Assign Money button at the top of the Plan tab. You may need to move forward a month or more.

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Reality Check: Is This Realistic?

Before you start planning, ask yourself this question: "Is this realistic?" If your monthly income is less than the targets you set, you'll need to make some changes—but that's okay! You have a much better picture of what you can afford, and you won't come up short.

Adjust your plan template to ensure you can pay for the things that matter the most to you. Do this by changing the targets ↗️ you've set up—change the amounts or push back the dates. You can also snooze targets for things you don't need this month to exclude those categories from the Underfunded number. Keep tweaking until your plan template fits your income and your priorities.

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How to Use Your Plan Template

1. When your next paycheck comes in, add income ↗️ to the account register.
   
   
2. Plan for the most important or immediate expenses first. Ask yourself: "What job does this money need before I'm paid again?" It's okay if you can't cover everything immediately.

    Underfunded View   

   The Underfunded view shows all categories that are underfunded. You can Auto-Assign ↗️ dollars to these underfunded categories with a single click.

3. If you don’t have enough for the entire month at once, assign dollars where you need them the most first. YNAB keeps you in control by alerting —yellow Available numbers—categories that need more dollars. If you don't plan on funding a category this month, you can snooze the target ↗️ for the current month to tell YNAB you'd like to prioritize other expenses.
   
   
4. Do you have dollars left over, and all your categories are green? Great! Assign for big expenses down the road. Save extra for a vacation. Or, start getting a month ahead ↗️!

 Additional Tips   

• Put a date in the category name. That can help you decide what to plan, and when. Click the name of the category ↗️ to edit).
  
  
• If you know you get paid again on the 17th, be sure to plan for every bill with a due date before then. You can even drag and drop your categories to sort them by due date.
  
  
• Use scheduled transactions ↗️ for a repeating bill or expense.

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Related Resources

Didn't find the information you needed? Check out these related options!

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