You Need A Budget (YNAB)!

[Buck]

As a matter of fact, a whole lot is changing for me Feb 1st, including the cat. I'm moving to a new place, paying more rent, etc....I'm not sure if I should start now, or wait until after then.

[The Rick]

Originally Posted by Buck

Here's a question. What if you don't know how much to budget towards something?

For instance, starting in February, I'll be the owner of a cat...I don't know what the repeat monthly cost of the cat nor the surprise (vet) costs of the cat are.

How do you go about something like that?

Originally Posted by Buck

As a matter of fact, a whole lot is changing for me Feb 1st, including the cat. I'm moving to a new place, paying more rent, etc....I'm not sure if I should start now, or wait until after then.

I'd recommend checking out some of the links I posted above, particularly this methodology:

http://www.youneedabudget.com/method

I'm certainly no expert on the software or even budgeting in general, but part of their mantra is to "give every dollar a job", and then "roll with the punches".

One of the things they say is that often times, someone will do a budget and then when it doesn't go exactly as planned, they get discouraged and give up. They teach you how to adjust and the software makes it really easy to do and keep track of everything. Here's the specific info on "rolling with the punches":

http://www.youneedabudget.com/method/rule-three

I think in your case, with the cat thing, you just make your best guess and adjust if necessary. As time goes on, you'll get a better idea of what the "cat budget category" should be each month and the software will help you determine that.

I've done that with some categories. I wasn't quite sure how much to budget for, so I just made my best guess. Then, if I needed more, I adjusted and transferred money from one category to another. If I didn't need as much, I transferred money out and added it somewhere else instead. I'm still doing this today...I think it's an ongoing process. Don't worry though if it sounds hard...it's not.

When you start is up to you, but I personally believe there's no time better than the present. They make it easy to get started. You don't have to wait until payday or anything, it's all based on how much money you have right now. You can start giving those dollars "jobs" right away.

Good luck! I'll keep trying to answer any questions as best I can!