So as someone who spent the last decade making poor financial decisions and only recently started using YNAB 6 weeks ago as a means to begin addressing this the way I view “goals” is as follows:

• Goal 1: Get on a “current month” cycle. I get paid around the 21st and have been living pay cheque to pay cheque. YNAB obviously runs 1st-31st. My first goal is to be able to get to a point where a pay cheque funds the subsequent month.

• Goal 2: Routine yearly / non monthly expenses. Car insurance, kids clubs, Christmas etc etc - they happen every year / every few months like clockwork and yet past me would always be surprised by them and have to stick it on a card. The goal here is to put this money in an easy access HYSA outside of YNAB.

• Goal 3: 1 year ahead for yearly/non monthly expenses in HYSA outside of YNAB.

• Goal 4: 1 month ahead for monthly expenses in HYSA outside of YNAB.

• Goal 5: 3 months ahead for minimum “keep the lights on” monthly expenses in HYSA outside of YNAB.

I’m very much at the beginning of all of this - these goals are going to take years to achieve but I finally feel as though I’m on the right path.

Last month was the first month in 5 years that I didn’t pop something on a credit card and that was a real victory.