# YNAB Glossary

> YNAB has a unique language for actions and features in the app. This guide can help translate some of those key terms!

Source: https://support.ynab.com/en_us/ynab-glossary-a-guide-BJd80SORq

Last updated: 2026-09-02T17:25:21.807Z

Review this glossary to become familiar with key terms in YNAB. Improve your YNABing experience by learning our common language for actions and features in our apps.

#### In This Article

[A - K](#A-K)

[L - S](#L-S)

[T - Z](#T-Z)

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## A

**Account Register:** The account register is where your transactions live, and you can add, edit, or delete transactions here. Your account registers should be exact mirrors of your accounts at your banks, and you can verify that by using our [Reconcile](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/reconciling-accounts-a-guide-BJFE3fHys) feature.

**Action Bar:** A floating toolbar that appears near the bottom of the screen when you select one or more transactions. Use it to quickly approve, reject, categorize, and flag transactions without navigating through menus. Additionally, you can enter scheduled transactions early, move transactions to a different account, duplicate, or make them repeat for recurring expenses, mark them as cleared or uncleared, and match or unmatch imported transactions with existing ones.

**Activity Column:** The Activity column is the sum of all transactions that have been made in that category for the current month. This number can be positive or negative. Clicking this number brings up the activity window, showing all transactions in that category from that month.

**Age of Money:** This number indicates how much time has passed from the day you enter money into YNAB to the day you spend that same money. Check out [our Age of Money article](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/age-of-money-H1ZS84W1s) for more information about what this means in YNAB!

**Assets**: An asset is something of value, like cash, your checking account, savings account, or 401k. We're all about simplifying your account structure in YNAB. If your asset contains actual dollars that you can use now, go ahead and add the account as a Cash account in YNAB. But, if it's less accessible money (like a retirement account or crypto), we recommend leaving these accounts off-plan in a tracking account.

**Assigned Column:** YNAB encourages you to make a plan for your spending, and you do this by assigning those dollars to categories. The number in the Assigned column represents the total amount of money you’ve assigned to your category for the month. This number can be negative if you’ve un-assigned, or moved more money out of the category than you originally put in—and that’s okay! 

**Auto-Assign:** The [Auto-Assign options](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/auto-assign-a-guide-r1gBNbBJo) make it easy to plan and assign dollars to multiple categories at a time, based on targets or how much you've spent or assigned in the past. Planning (and math!) are simplified, which keeps your focus where it belongs: on your spending decisions. 

**Available Column:** The Available column guides your spending decisions. It’s the money you have available to spend. Money left in the Available column at the end of the month will carry over into the next month [when the month rolls over](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/when-the-month-rolls-over-a-guide-rkyyd6qC9), while negative amounts do not.

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## C

**Category, Category Group:** Categories in YNAB represent your spending or saving priorities. When you assign dollars to a category, it’s like putting cash in an envelope. You’re making a plan for those dollars (so your categories should represent [your priorities](https://www.ynab.com/guide/simplify-finances/)!). You can group similar categories together in a Category Group to keep your plan (shown in the _Plan_ tab) organized. 

**Cash and Credit Accounts:** These accounts are the bank accounts you usually spend money from, or want to use in the near future. Checking, savings, and credit card accounts are the most common types. The money in Cash accounts is part of your plan (if you have $500 in your checking account, and $500 in your savings account, your plan will have $1,000 in it).

**Cleared Balance:** Your Cleared Balance in YNAB is the sum of all of the cleared transactions in your account register. These are the transactions both you and your bank know about, and they’ve been marked as cleared with your bank, too. When you reconcile your account, you compare your cleared balance in YNAB to your bank balance. Read more about the other [balances in your account register](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/getting-started-with-reconciling-accounts-an-overview-Sy3JWx4Js) here! 

**Cost to Be Me:** This can be found in [Edit Plan](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/plan-and-adjust-with-edit-plan-and-cost-to-be-me-ByR7vpqPyx). It calculates and displays the money you need to fully fund the current month based on this month's targets. It also allows you to enter your expected income for the month, providing you an opportunity to immediately check whether the expected income for the month will cover the amount needed.

**Credit Card Float:** Credit card float is when you use this month's income to pay for last month's credit card spending. It can look different for everyone — maybe you pay your card in full right after each paycheck and run low on cash until the next one, or maybe you rely on your card between paychecks to get by. Learn more and find strategies to get off the float in our [Credit Card Float article](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/float-BytrIDZJi).

**Credit Card Payment Category:** The Credit Card Payment category is automatically created when you add a credit card account in YNAB. The Available amount in this category is the amount of money you’ve set aside in YNAB to pay to the credit card company.

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## D

**Direct Import:** Direct Import brings in transactions to YNAB if you’ve connected your bank accounts. Transactions import once they clear your bank (which can take a day or two), so it's best to enter your spending right away. When transactions are imported, they'll match up with the ones you entered—and reconciling will ensure that no transactions have been missed between you and your bank. Having trouble with a connection? Try our [troubleshooting guide](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/troubleshooting-linked-accounts-BJ9Mv9b1s)!

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## E

**Emergency Fund**: Think of this as the superhero of your plan. Have no fear—your emergency fund is here! In your plan, consider the Emergency Fund category as just another opportunity to decide which goals, large or small, you want to prioritize. Many YNABers build up a nice cushion in their emergency funds to prepare for life's unexpected twists and turns.  

**Envelope System**: With the envelope system, your YNAB categories are represented by actual envelopes. Whenever you have new income, you put the amount of money you want to assign for each category, in cash, into the corresponding envelope. Then, you carry a bunch of envelopes around, I guess? It sounds kinda inconvenient to us, too! It's like the original (OG!) form of zero-based planning, and we've created a digital, much-more-convenient version of it with YNAB.

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## F

**File-Based Import:** [File-based import](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/file-based-import-a-guide-Bkj4Sszyo) happens when you upload your bank account data to YNAB using a file, like a OFX, QFX, QIF, or CSV. This is a great drag-and-drop option if Direct Import isn't available for your bank.

**Forecasting:** YNABing is making a plan with the dollars you already have, whereas forecasting is making plans with **future** money, before you have it. Forecasting is YNABing's slightly wilder, riskier cousin. Let's say you start assigning next month's paycheck dollars to categories—that's forecasting. What if next month's paycheck doesn't come? Then, you might be doing some serious pivoting to afford the basic necessities. 

**Fresh Start**: Sometimes life is complicated, and you just want to hit a "reset" button. Same thing happens with YNABing! YNAB gets it, so we've turned a [Fresh Start](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/plan-resets-and-fresh-starts-HkXYR_c0q) into an action you can perform in the main menu. With one touch of the button, you can safely archive your existing plan and start over with a transaction-free, activity-free plan that still contains your accounts, Scheduled Transactions, categories, targets, notes, and payees. 

**Funded Spending**: When you spend up to the amount in your Available column (but not more!), that is Funded Spending. This also describes credit card spending where there was enough cash Available in the category to cover it, so the money moved to the Credit Card Payment category. It's the opposite of credit overspending.

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## I

**Income v Expense**: If you dabble in data nerd-dom, this is often your favorite way to reflect in YNAB. Loved by accountants, Income v Expense provides a cash flow statement that shows how money came in, and where money went out in one tidy spreadsheet.

**Interest**: Interest is the money that you earn in profit when you invest your money. On the flip side, when you borrow money (like on a credit card or with a loan), interest allows you to buy time. Interest gives you permission to pay the balance back slowly. An interest rate is typically reflected as a percentage of the total money invested or borrowed.

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## L

**Last Used Timestamp**: This shows the last time any action was taken in the plan (even just opening and accessing). This can also be updated by our background server syncs, Direct Import imports, etc. You can find this timestamp on your Plan Dashboard in the web app, or from the _Open Plan_ screen on mobile. Here are platform-specific steps for [accessing timestamps](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/multiple-plans-r1qeOvbC5#list)!

**Liability**: Liabilities are debts—they are the opposite of assets. While assets boost your net worth, liabilities bring it down since you're on the hook for the remaining balance. In YNAB, you'll add things like credit card debt, a mortgage on real estate, a car payment, or student loans as liabilities.

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## M

**Monthly Rollover**: The monthly rollover is the transition period when one month ends and another starts. You'll clear out any overspending from the current month and prepare your plan (or _Plan_ tab) for the month ahead. YNAB does most of this process for you automagically! Check out our [rollover article](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/when-the-month-rolls-over-a-guide-rkyyd6qC9) for more specifics!

**Money Moves**: You can follow a trail of breadcrumbs in your plan with the Money Moves feature. This shows you your recent moves history—whenever you've moved money between, into, or out of categories. This is great for those of us who frequently walk into a room and then can't remember what we were searching for! Use it to diagnose any bizarre numbers or to track back what in the world was going on in the coffee category this month!

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## N

**Net Worth**: Generally speaking, your net worth is your assets minus your liabilities. In YNAB, Net Worth takes all of your accounts (including tracking accounts) and gives you a picture of your cash and assets compared to your debt. These can get quite pretty over time!

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## O

**Overassigning:** If your [Ready to Assign is red](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/when-ready-to-assign-is-negative-an-overview-HylZA0zCc), you've assigned more money to your categories than you have on hand in your accounts! Fortunately, it's an easy fix. Reduce the amount assigned to your categories until Ready to Assign is back to zero.

**Overspending, Cash:** Immediate action is needed! This will show as a red, negative Available amount on a category. It means you have [overspending](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/overspending-in-ynab-a-guide-ryWoxEyi) that happened in a checking, physical cash, or other debit account. You’ve spent dollars that are currently assigned to other categories. Just cover that overspending so you can trust your YNAB numbers. 

**Overspending, Credit:** This will show as a yellow, negative Available amount on a category. You have [overspending that happened on a credit card](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/credit-card-overspending-an-overview-HkMGpSbJs). This means you’ve spent money borrowed from your credit card company that your plan can’t pay back from your checking or cash accounts. If you don’t want to increase your debt, use Rule Three to cover that overspending. 

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## P

**Paid In Full:** You have enough set aside to pay your credit card down to $0, even if you choose to pay the statement balance instead. The Credit Card Payment category Available amount should be a green, positive number that matches the negative working balance owed on your card. If not, here's what to do [when your credit card payment category is red](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/when-your-credit-card-payment-category-is-red-a-guide-SJDSr3Q1i)! We have a whole guide dedicated to [paid in full credit cards](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/paid-in-full-credit-cards-a-guide-Hk56hPMyo) and handling them in YNAB, if you'd like more info!

**Pending Transactions**: If you're a Direct Import user, you're well aware of the lag time between swiping your card and finding that transaction in your YNAB account register. With [pending transactions](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/pending-transactions-an-overview-Bk0WoOcA5), your account register will reflect transactions that are in progress, but haven't yet cleared the bank. This gives you a heads-up for what's coming, so your plan can be even more trustworthy!

**Plan Resets:** [The Plan Reset](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/plan-resets-and-fresh-starts-HkXYR_c0q) tidies up your current YNAB plan while preserving past transactions and spending history. This makes it possible to reflect on the past and spend mindfully, without second-guessing today's decisions.

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## R

**Ready to Assign; Income: Ready to Assign (also called Inflow: Ready to Assign on Web):** Your Ready to Assign amount is the money in your accounts that hasn’t been added to categories yet. If you have $1000 in your accounts, but you've only assigned $750, your Ready to Assign will have $250 left. If your [Ready to Assign is red](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/when-ready-to-assign-is-negative-an-overview-HylZA0zCc), you’ve **over**assigned. This means you need to remove money from your categories until it's back to zero. When you get new money, you’ll categorize it as Income: Ready to Assign, and it will appear in your Ready to Assign so you can make a plan for your spending with those dollars, too. If your Ready to Assign amount seems off (too high, too low), our [YNAB Checkup](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/checkup-S1vJzWGzo) process can help you confirm your numbers!

**Reconcile**: To reconcile, we compare the balance and transaction history of your bank account with the balance and transaction history of your YNAB account register. If they match, you get to do a happy reconciliation dance and congratulate yourself on a job well done. If the balances **don't** match, you can't trust your plan—which means you can't make the best spending decisions. Try to reconcile as often as possible to make sure you're on track and haven't missed anything. It's more than just confirming balances, too. [Reconciling in YNAB](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/reconciling-accounts-a-guide-BJFE3fHys) puts some back-end logic into play to prevent duplicates from importing, and it also puts happy little lock icons on the transactions. This means, the next time you check the balances, you'll know that anything prior to the locks is up to date.

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## T

**Target:** [Targets](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/getting-started-with-targets-ryAEP08xC) allow you to choose how much you would like to spend, save, or set aside over time in a category. When you have targets set up in all of your categories, you’ve created a [template](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/creating-a-plan-template-ByZJZx_R9), which can tell you how much money you need to earn each month. With targets, you can also use [Auto-Assign](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/auto-assign-a-guide-r1gBNbBJo) to help you quickly assign money to your categories! 

**Tracking Account:** [Tracking Accounts](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/account-types-an-overview-BkmGM0qCq) are the loans or investment accounts that you want to keep an eye on, but can’t use the money for in day-to-day spending. The money in Tracking accounts does not affect your plan. You only set up these accounts to track your balance. You can choose an **asset** or **liability** type of tracking account.

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## U

**Uncleared Balance:** Your Uncleared Balance in YNAB is the sum of all of the uncleared transactions in your account register. These are the transactions that your bank doesn’t know about yet, or are still pending with your bank. You can enter your uncleared transactions as soon as they happen so that your plan doesn’t forget about that last-minute Target run you made (even if you do). 

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## W

**Working Balance:** Your Working Balance in YNAB is the sum of your Cleared and Uncleared Balances. The money in your plan is based on your Working Balance, which is why it’s important to [reconcile regularly](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/reconciling-accounts-a-guide-BJFE3fHys) (we recommend once or twice a week)!

**Wish Farm:** This is as magical as it sounds. A Wish Farm is a special Category Group system you create in your plan to track and save for special one-time items. Create a Category Group titled "Wish List", adding as many items as you want, each with its own category line. After you assign each item a small, medium, or large dollar value, create a separate “Wish Farm” Category Group and send your top three highest priority items to it, noting that your wish farm can only contain one small, one medium, and one large wish list item at a time. Trickle any extra money you can into your three wish farm items until they are fully funded. When it’s time to purchase that item, move the money to the appropriate category before purchasing (i.e. new skis to “fun money”, new bookcase to “home improvement”) and repurpose the completed wish farm category to house a new wish list item.

**Whack-a-Mole (WAM):** You know that carnival game where you use the foam mallet to bop mechanical moles on the head as they pop up randomly from their holes? Yeah, we do that with our plans. YNAB whack-a-mole, or WAM, is when you borrow money from one category to cover expenses in another. It happens and it's more than okay—we encourage it! We want a plan that can bend and not break.

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## Z

**Zero-Based Planning:** Make a plan for your spending. If you give more money to one category, you have to give less to another. That is zero-based planning. And it works, because it encourages you to clarify your priorities.

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