# Underfunded Alert in the Credit Card Payment Category > Learn how to respond to the Underfunded alert for your Credit Card payment category in YNAB. Source: https://support.ynab.com/en_us/underfunded-alert-in-the-credit-card-payment-category-a-guide-rkeh40G5h Last updated: 2026-08-20T22:16:17.693Z ![Yellow available amount for the Credit Card Payment category is highlighted showing underfunding](https://cdn.bfldr.com/NIEXAZS5/at/pw3q33xcmw7xvz2ffvhngs6p/CCP-Underfunded-iOS-Help-Article.png) Learn how to respond to the Underfunded alert for your Credit Card payment category. Assign more money to the Credit Card Payment category, or add a target and pay the balance off over time.  #### Surprised your Credit Card Payment category is Underfunded? There are a number of [common (and uncommon) reasons why your credit card payment category may be short](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/when-your-credit-card-payment-category-is-red-a-guide-SJDSr3Q1i#why). Read this article to review the differences between a fully funded and underfunded Credit Card Payment category and learn how to address the Underfunded alert. If you have questions about the options in this article, [reach out to our support team](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/how-to-get-help-SygqcvtC5) anytime. #### In This Article [Overview](#overview) [A Fully Funded Credit Card Payment Category](#fully-funded) [An Underfunded Credit Card Payment Category](#underfunded) [How to Fix an Underfunded Credit Card Payment Category](#fix) * * * ## Overview When you set a target in one of your spending categories, you tell YNAB how much cash you want to have available for a specific purpose. If you don’t have enough, the category will turn yellow and be Underfunded. Similarly, if you don’t have enough cash in your Credit Card Payment category to pay off your working balance on that card, the payment category will be yellow and Underfunded. #### A Refresher on Credit Card Handling YNAB is designed to help you set aside money to pay off your credit card each time you use it. When you make a purchase on your credit card that is funded (meaning there’s enough cash available in the category you're spending from), the money from that purchase will move automatically to your Credit Card Payment category, ready for your future payments. The one exception is [if the credit card balance is positive](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/credit-cards-with-a-positive-balance-an-overview-By_H6uzJo#happens).  [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## A Fully Funded Credit Card Payment Category If you’ve assigned enough money to the Payment category for any purchases you made before starting YNAB and all of your new purchases have been funded by cash in the plan, the amount you have Available for payment in your Credit Card Payment category will match the balance you owe on the card. If those two numbers match, your payment category is considered **Fully Funded**. For example, let’s imagine you spend $50 at the grocery store. Once you've entered that transaction in the account register, your credit card balance will increase by $50. In YNAB, $50 will move from the Available amount in the Groceries category to your Credit Card Payment category. It will stay there until you make a payment to the card. Your Payment category is fully funded because the credit card balance is $50 and there is $50 Available in the Credit Card Payment category. [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## An Underfunded Credit Card Payment Category If your credit card debt increases and YNAB is unable to move money to the Credit Card Payment category to pay off that debt by the time a new month starts, the Payment category will turn yellow and become Underfunded. This Underfunded alert will only show up in the **current month**—all previous months with positive available amounts will appear green even if the payment category was underfunded that month. The Underfunded alert is YNAB’s signal that the money you have Available to pay your credit card bill is less than what you owe to the credit card company. In other words, you have credit card debt, and you haven’t made a plan to pay all of it off. Using the same scenario: if your Groceries category has **$0 Available** when you spend $50, YNAB cannot move money to the Credit Card Payment category. Your credit card balance increases by $50, but your payment category stays the same. If you don't cover that overspending before the month ends, the Credit Card Payment category will show an Underfunded alert in the new month. The Underfunded alert means your credit card balance increased at some point without a corresponding increase in your payment category. You now have credit card debt without a plan to pay it off. [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## How to Fix an Underfunded Credit Card Payment Category ![Underfunded Alert in the Credit Card Payment Category details](https://cdn.bfldr.com/NIEXAZS5/at/69h4c4j84r8j7fppcq9x7b/CCP-Underfunded-Alert-iOS-Help-Article.png) There are two ways to address the Underfunded alert in a Credit Card Payment category: assign more money to the payment category, or add a target to help you pay off the balance over time. ### Assign More Money to the Credit Card Payment Category If your Credit Card Payment category is Underfunded **but you plan to pay your credit card balance in full**, you will need to [move money](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/moving-money-in-your-plan-ryyCKbBJi) into the payment category until it’s fully funded.  If you spent on your credit card from an overspent category and then later assigned money to cover that overspending, that money stays in the spending category—it doesn't automatically move to your Credit Card Payment category. You'll need to assign money directly to the Credit Card Payment category to cover any remaining negative. ### Create a Target in the Credit Card Payment category If you don’t plan to pay your full credit card balance off right away, you may not want that Underfunded alert every time you open your plan. If you set up a target to help you pay off your balance over time, the Underfunded alert will function on that target instead of your working balance. To learn more about  [managing a credit card that you’re paying down over time, check out the information and setup tips in this article](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/paying-down-a-credit-card-balance-over-time-SkWj0Ls8Me). [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## Help Us Help You! Our Knowledge Base team reviews article feedback responses weekly, and we actively revise these articles to make them as helpful as possible. That's where you come in! Our articles are scored based on the _Yes_ or _No_ ratings received below. We also collect freeform feedback for any _No_ ratings (so our team can focus in on what you were specifically searching for!). **Success**: Found what you were searching for? It would be super helpful if you click _Yes_ below. **Suggestions**: Didn't find what you're searching for and you'd like to share what terms or topics you wanted? Click _No_ below. You'll then be able to submit your feedback about this article. **Please note:** the feedback submissions are anonymous, and we’re not able to respond, so make sure to use the next option if you have a specific scenario or question you would like a response to. **Support**: If you have a question or would like a response to your specific question, [tell the chatbot you need a human or send us an email](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/how-to-get-help-SygqcvtC5) to ensure that your message gets to our Support team!