Hi all, Another newbie question here. I manage our family’s cellphone plan, which is $199.90/month for 5 lines (two in our household, 3 from other family members). The other family members reimburse me using Venmo each month.

So, I set up a category with the target amount of $199.90, due on the date that our cell phone bill is due, as per YNAB’s recommendations. At the beginning of the month, I assigned $199.90 to that category. Then, when our family members’ venmo payments came in, I categorized those as inflows to the cell phone account. Now, waiting for the bill, I see:

  • $199.90 in “assigned”
  • +$120 in “activity”
  • $319.90 in “available”

All of this makes sense to me. But, it seems like now I should be able to re-assign $120 to another category. If I try that, though, it suddenly shows the category as underfunded, despite the fact that I still have $199.90 available.

Am I misunderstanding how assigned / activity / available work? Why, after $120 of inflow, is YNAB still requiring me to keep $199.90 assigned?

  • @[email protected]English
    2•1 year ago

    (pictures aren’t loading for me, so i’m guessing a bit)

    it sounds like you’ve created a ‘funding target’ goal rather than a ‘needed for spending’ goal. The first one tracks how much you have assigned this month, while the second tracks the account balance,