![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif)
I switched to using YNAB for tracking my expenses. I bought version 4 more than a year ago, and now I have started using it. I'm not using it completely as I should use it.
For one, so far every month it tells me that I'm budgeting with money that I don't have (because I get paid around the 25th of the month, most expenses are planned at the end of the month, but still plan ahead starting on the first of the month; and because I made most of my investment accounts (which hold a lot of money) off-budget). As I earn more income every month than I spend, I slowly am "overspending" less per month, and I hope to reach the situation by March that YNAB is happy with me, because by them my end-of February income will hopefully also cover all of March's expenses, even when I know I won't have to pay most before the salary at the end of March has been paid.
Secondly, I definitely have some irregular expenses. One month I pay the annual contribution to a charity, the next I won't, but I will need to pay a magazine subscription. Stuff like that. At the beginning of the year I've made an annual budget, and have divided each annual budget by twelve to get a monthly budget. This has also led to some red angry marks in YNAB, because I've overstepped the budget for January, for example for my insurances, which are paid quarterly. I guess by the time I get to April it won't be red anymore and then it'll become red yet again as I pay the quarterly fee in April.
Finally, YNAB thinks investing is spending. If I put money away from budgeted accounts (my bank account) to off-budget accounts (like my investment accounts), it believes I'm spending. Luckily at least in the summary I can say that I don't want to take those kind of "expenses" into account when it calculates total spending for the month.
So while YNAB is giving me all kinds of unhappy faces about overspending, actually think I did pretty okay in January. The only category where I really went over was "fun/extra spending", and I went over by 50 euros which I can and will make up for in February. The plan is to spend roughly 1500 euros/month in 2016, when all is said and done. So far, so (almost) good.
I also met my boss a good week ago, to discuss how many hours I'll work in 2016. We've decided to keep it at 28 hours/week, which is the same as I officially worked in 2015. In reality I worked a bit more hours per week in 2015 (luckily I got paid for them too), which we agreed to NOT do anymore in 2016. 28 hours per week and that's it. If I work more in one week, I have to work less in the next couple of weeks to make up for it. For me, this will hopefully help me balance work and private life more. For me, that's necessary and it's wonderful that it's possible. Meanwhile, in the upcoming year I'll definitely also spend some hours every month helping my boyfriend's business grow and thrive, so it's not like I will get bored
![Smile :-)](./images/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif)
My net worth went up just a little bit in January, due to the stock market going down (and due to me putting in more money, otherwise it would have gone down). I think I have been hovering around 30k in investments in one specific investment account since July now; faithfully putting in more money every month, but seeing it being absorbed by the stock market all the time. Hopefully I'll be rewarded at some point for sticking with it and for continuing to buy more shares (at lower prices, which is nice).
Winter isn't my best season of the year. I notice how I am sometimes down, or very tired. I've been ill, too, it was just a cold but it makes life more of a struggle, even when you still manage to get to work et cetera. Today the sun is shining, and that makes a big difference. So I'm glad that I have the afternoon to myself and can bathe in that sunlight (while inside, because it's still cold out). And I also must remember that life's usually a bit more fun, especially when I'm biking through the rain in the dark battling with the wind...
Finally, I saw an article recently that claimed cars and car transport costs the average Dutch person 600-800 euros/month. I'm generally saving 1000-1400 euros/month; and now I think that a lot of that is due to me NOT owning a car. My train tickets and bike will cost me roughly 140 euros/month, instead. Seems like a good decision, then, to stick with public transport! And luckily it's also possible.
@steveo: nice that we're more or less on the same trajectory. I hope we'll both enjoy it.