# When the Month Rolls Over > When a new month starts in your plan we call this the monthly rollover. Here's what changes in your plan and how to trust your numbers going forward! Source: https://support.ynab.com/en_us/when-the-month-rolls-over-a-guide-rkyyd6qC9 Last updated: 2026-09-08T17:44:37.529Z Learn what happens when a new month starts in YNAB. Identify what changes and what remains the same and make sure your plan is ready to go for the month ahead. #### In This Article [What Changes in Your Plan](#changes) [Getting Started in the New Month](#started) [Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)](#faq) * * * ## What Changes in Your Plan #### Is this your **first** monthly rollover in YNAB? If so, learn how to [reconcile your accounts](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/reconciling-accounts-a-guide-BJFE3fHys) as it's a crucial part of the rollover routine! And, if you haven't already [created a plan template](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/creating-a-plan-template-ByZJZx_R9), this may be the perfect time to do so! A plan template will allow you to plan ahead for the next monthly rollover. ### Positive Available Amounts Any positive Available amounts in your categories will **not** change. They'll still be sitting there, just where you left them.  ### Negative Available Amounts (Overspending) Categories that were [overspent](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/overspending-in-ynab-a-guide-ryWoxEyi) (or had a negative Available amount) at the end of the month **will** change. In fact, in the new month, the Available will now show as a gray zero. * If your category had been overspent in **cash** (negative **red** Available), that amount will be deducted from Ready to Assign in the new month.  * If your category had been overspent in **credit** (negative **yellow** Available), the amount you overspent will be represented as an [Underfunded alert](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/underfunded-cc-alert-a-guide-rkeh40G5h) in your Credit Card Payment category. If you can't cover this overspending in the month it happens, you'll need to **assign funds directly to the Credit Card Payment category** to pay back the debt. #### **Only Make Changes in the Current and Future Months** As a rule of thumb, **don't** go back in time to make changes to your plan in any past month, even if it's for as noble a cause as covering overspending. If you're unsure how to move forward with your plan, [check out some common troubleshooting steps](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/troubleshooting-your-plan-r19HPofJo). ### Assigned Amounts You'll also notice that your Assigned amounts are reset to $0 (unless you had already assigned money here by [getting a month ahead](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/getting-a-month-ahead-HJidy13C5)). When more income is added to your plan, continue to assign money to categories until Ready to Assign is $0 again. The Assigned column contains the money you've assigned in the current month. Your Available amounts reflect the **total** you have **Available** in each category to spend. **Notice a target still asking you to assign the full amount, even though you have money left over from last month?** That's expected for "Set aside another…" targets — they always prompt for the full amount. If you'd rather the target only ask for the gap between what's already there and the goal, switch it to "Refill up to…" instead. visit [How to Use Targets](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/how-to-use-targets-rk5kkI9ks) for more on choosing a target behavior. ### Ready to Assign What happens to any unassigned money that was left over in Ready to Assign at the end of the month? That depends on whether you had any red negative Available amounts (or cash overspending).  * **With NO Cash Overspending.** The remaining Ready to Assign will roll right over to the new month for you! * **With Cash Overspending.** If you did have some cash overspending in the month that just ended, that amount will be **removed** from the leftover Ready to Assign. Any funds still remaining in Ready to Assign will then rollover for the new month. Because negative amounts do not carry forward, this ensures that your new month's plan accurately reflects money that truly left your plan. [If Ready to Assign becomes negative after a month rolls over](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/when-ready-to-assign-is-negative-an-overview-HylZA0zCc#solution), the most likely solution is to move money from your spending categories until Ready to Assign is back at $0.00. Not sure how to interpret the new month's Ready to Assign number? The **web app** has you covered with a Ready to Assign breakdown. Click on the Ready to Assign amount in the Plan Header and it will show you a breakdown calculation of the Ready to Assign number. Check out more specifics about [what each line means here](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/the-plan-header-BkmiuJ_C9#RTABreakdown).  [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## Getting Started in the New Month YNAB does this rollover for you "automagically" (maintaining your accrued Available amounts, resetting your Assigned amounts, and adjusting for any overspending), so sometimes, things may seem a bit different from what you're expecting when you log in on the first of the month. That's expected! We've got some helpful tips to confirm that all is still right with the world—and how to fix if anything is red or seems wonky.  ### How to Make Sure Your New Month's Plan is Ready to Go 1. Check for a negative number in your Ready to Assign balance. It's best to check this month and all future months. If Ready to Assign [is negative](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/when-ready-to-assign-is-negative-an-overview-HylZA0zCc), remove money from your categories until the Ready to Assign balance is back to $0. 2. If Ready to Assign is positive, feel free to use [Auto-Assign](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/auto-assign-a-guide-r1gBNbBJo) to assign funds to your categories. Tip: When no categories are selected, Auto-Assign options reflect the whole plan, not including hidden categories. You can also select specific categories, and the auto-assign option will only affect those categories. 3. Check over your categories to make sure that your _Available_ amounts reflect your [priorities](https://www.ynab.com/guide/where-does-my-money-go). You can [move money](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/moving-money-in-your-plan-ryyCKbBJi) around, if needed. 4. A new month is always a good opportunity to check over your account balances and make sure they're reconciled, although we encourage everyone to create a [YNAB routine](https://www.ynab.com/blog/five-minute-budget-routine) and reconcile at least once a week! 5. The amounts in your Assigned column will be $0, because you haven't assigned anything yet in the new month. If you move money out of a category (to a different category or up to Ready to Assign), you'll notice a negative amount in the Assigned column for that category. This is perfectly okay! You can read more about this in our overview article on [negative Assigned amounts](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/negative-amounts-in-the-assigned-column-an-overview-rJ2fMFzyo). 6. If you [pay your credit card in full](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/paid-in-full-credit-cards-a-guide-Hk56hPMyo), double-check that your Credit Card Payment category Available amount is green and matches the working balance of your credit card account. 7. Adjust your plan for any [reimbursements](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/reimbursements-in-ynab-H1W7ilhC5) you're still waiting on. 8. If you've taken the above steps, all of your categories are funded, and your Ready to Assign is **still** positive, you can work on [getting a month (or more!) ahead](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/getting-a-month-ahead-HJidy13C5) by assigning remaining money to future months. [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) ### I'm expecting a reimbursement from work. Is there a way to allow overspending in a category to carry over to the next month? No. Cash overspending will always be deducted from Ready to Assign when the month rolls over. We recommend you assign money for the expense up front, and then use the reimbursement elsewhere in your plan.  We do have an alternate approach if your reimbursable expense occurred on a credit card.  We cover both our approaches in detail in [our article on reimbursements](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/reimbursements-in-ynab-H1W7ilhC5). [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. 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