# Paid in Full Credit Cards > YNAB is designed to help you pay your credit card in full each month. Whenever you're ready, here's how to manage a paid in full card with your plan. Source: https://support.ynab.com/en_us/paid-in-full-credit-cards-a-guide-Hk56hPMyo Last updated: 2026-07-27T22:04:11.120Z Learn how YNAB is designed to help you pay your credit card balance in full each month. This article covers how to set up a paid-in-full credit card, how day-to-day spending works, and how to keep your Credit Card Payment category in sync with what you owe. #### In This Article [How to Set Up a Paid in Full Credit Card in Your Plan](#set) [Using a Credit Card for Day-to-Day Spending](#using) [Credit Card Payment Category Available Amount versus the Account Balance](#available) [What if I Pay the Statement Balance?](#statement) * * * ## How to Set Up a Paid in Full Credit Card in Your Plan 1. If you have an **existing** credit card account in YNAB that you're now wanting to pay in full (**or if your existing paid in full credit card has a red Credit Card Payment category**), skip ahead to the [Available Amount versus the Account Balance section below](#available). You'll just want to make sure there's enough cash in the Credit Card Payment category to cover what you owe on the card. 2. If you're setting up a new credit card from scratch and you want to pay it in full, follow the steps to [add a new credit card account](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/handling-credit-cards-overview-ry7cNub1s#process). 3. Next, you'll see a Credit Card Payment category for your credit card in your plan. There will also be a yellow alert in that category, prompting you to plan for your Starting Balance. 4. Assign the amount of your Starting Balance directly to the Credit Card Payment category, and your Available amount will update. You want to be sure to assign some of your starting funds to cover your "pre-YNAB" Starting Balance on the card.  [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## Using a Credit Card for Day-to-Day Spending After you assign money directly to the Credit Card Payment category for your Starting Balance (any pre-YNAB debt), you'll now assign money for your day-to-day expenses in your regular spending categories— **not** in the Credit Card Payment category.  ### How to Use Your Paid in Full Credit Card in YNAB 1. Assign funds for your **current month spending** to the spending categories themselves. 2. Assign funds for **spending done in a previous month or before this plan** directly to the Assigned column of the Credit Card Payment category of the current month. 3. As you spend on your credit card, the money you assigned to your spending category will automatically move to your Credit Card Payment category. Here the money sits, waiting for you to make your next payment.  4. If you ever overspend with a credit card in any of your categories, there won't be enough money to move to cover the purchase, and you'll see a yellow credit overspending alert. 5. **Cover this overspending or your Credit Card Payment category will no longer match the balance owed, and you will not have enough in it to pay your card in full.** Check out our article on [credit card overspending](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/credit-card-overspending-an-overview-HkMGpSbJs) for more details.  [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## Credit Card Payment Category Available Amount versus the Account Balance If you pay your credit card balance off in full regularly, **your Credit Card Payment category Available amount should be green and match the account balance owed**. For example, if your credit card account balance is -$570.00, then your Credit Card Payment category Available amount should be $570.00. If these amounts don't match, assign more money to the category until they do. * **If your Credit Card Payment category is red:** You paid more to the card than you had set aside. Assign money directly to the Credit Card Payment category until it turns green and matches the account balance. Learn [why your Credit Card Payment category may have turned red](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/when-your-credit-card-payment-category-is-red-a-guide-SJDSr3Q1i). * **If your Credit Card Payment category is yellow:** Tap or click the category to see the reason. Common causes include credit overspending, uncategorized transactions, or past underfunding. * Cover any overspending in the current month. * Categorize any uncategorized transactions in the account register. * If the category is still underfunded after those steps, assign more money directly to the Credit Card Payment category until it turns green and matches the account balance. * If the Credit Card Payment category has **more** than the true, reconciled balance of your credit card account, you can move money out of the category to be used elsewhere in your plan. #### What if Ready to Assign Goes Red? If you aren’t able to assign enough for the full starting balance of your credit card **and** all of your current month's expenses with the cash in your accounts, you might be riding the [credit card float](https://www.ynab.com/are-you-riding-the-credit-card-float/). When you set up your plan, you’ll see the account balance on the left, but the Payment amount won’t update automatically to cover that existing balance. Planning for the Starting Balance (by assigning that money to the Credit Card Payment category) lets your plan know that you aim to take some of the money you have right now and use it to pay off the Starting Balance on the card.  To record a payment, enter a transaction in your credit card account register with the payee set to your checking account (or whichever account the payment comes from). Categorize it as a transfer to that account. The Available amount in your Credit Card Payment category will decrease by the payment amount. **For specific process step instructions, check out** [**our guide to Credit Card Payments**](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/credit-card-payments-a-guide-r1_506Q1j)**!** [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## What if You Just Pay the Statement Balance? Can you keep paying only the statement balance? Does it matter when you pay your card (like weekly or once a month on the 10th or at the beginning of the month..)? Yes! You don’t have to actually pay the balance on the card down to zero. You can pay the statement balance and still consider yourself paid in full, **as long as you have the money set aside to pay it off completely at any time**. When you make a payment, it reduces what you owe on the card and the cash set aside to make your next payment. As long as those figures continue to match, you're all set to pay in full! [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## Help Us Help You! Our Knowledge Base team reviews article feedback responses weekly, and we're actively looking to make these articles as helpful as possible. That's where you come in! Our articles are scored based on the _Yes_ or _No_ ratings received below. 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