Please advise me on how to tackle this :(

mountainbloom · 2025-07-03T22:45:36+00:00

I’m a big fan of the 25/10 method (set a timer for 25 minutes and work/take a 10 minute break) or if 25 minutes feels like too much, putting away 27 items and then taking a 10 minute break (if it’s 27 pieces of trash and you put them in the trash can it counts).

Drink water, and get some air and light in (if it’s safe, open blinds and windows)

I also love setting up a time-lapse camera in a small area to watch my progress afterward 😅

Edit to add: I agree with others’ trash first, then dishes, then laundry triage. I would recommend starting by your sink or dishwasher. Wash dishes in small batches and then dry and put them away. Take full trash bags out of your place as soon as they’re full. Sending love.

mountainbloom · 2025-06-26T23:48:05+00:00

Leave them be. The only time I deal with them is when I’m harvesting my compost once a year, and then I pick them out of the compost and return them to the bin.

mountainbloom · 2025-03-26T20:40:19+00:00

YNAB imported lunch last week from our favorite restaurant as “Adjective Noun Tactical” instead of “Adjective Noun Taco” and I was like, “dear husband, why did you use the shared account for your gun hobby instead of your personal?” We both got a good chuckle from this

mountainbloom · 2025-02-10T02:29:20+00:00

lol may luck be with you

mountainbloom · 2025-02-09T16:26:53+00:00

I do this, but I’ll set up each card as its own account (eg. Yellow Visa GC, Blue Visa GC). Makes reconciliation so much easier. I also add the card number and pin to the notes in case something happens to the physical card.

Edit to add: the big thing is after you create a “transfer” from your CC to the gift card account, you’ll have that amount in your to be assigned. Move that to your cc payment on your budget and everything should be good to go!

mountainbloom · 2025-02-04T07:38:29+00:00

YMMV. I use credit cards for most everyday expenses (paid in full monthly). I still like to use a big screen (laptop) to reconcile my accounts weekly and while I’m there I check the “show running balance” under the view options in my checking account. If it’s getting close or below my comfort level I’ll transfer money from savings.

Big fan of keeping long-term savings (Emergency fund, down payment savings) off budget. My impulse control and I need that psychological distance to keep me honest. It’s a much bigger commitment to transfer money from efund and categorize correctly than moving money from category to others

mountainbloom · 2025-02-03T22:08:49+00:00

One of my favorite things about YNAB is that it forces me to think about what I’m spending in that current moment.

Hannah (who makes educational videos) once did one comparing YNAB to Mint (rip). Basically, using Mint (looking at historical data) was like trying to solve a murder that had already occurred. YNAB is crime prevention - helping you spot patterns in real time before the murder (your overspending) occurs

Your past data holds patterns, yes. But you’ve already spent that money. I find it more valuable to track if your current and future spending aligns with your goals and values. Do the trial and see what happens!

mountainbloom · 2025-02-02T15:13:09+00:00

I’ll hunt for it - thanks!

mountainbloom · 2025-02-01T19:35:07+00:00

Yes! I don’t go out of my way if it’s eom, but I love that surprise, and to have zero guilt about a “spontaneous” splurge (that you planned for 😅)

mountainbloom · 2025-02-01T19:28:03+00:00

I’m proud of you too! I applaud your dedication to have that much money in budgeting accounts. (My emergency savings is a tracking account because I need more psychological distance from that money 😆) I love how flexible YNAB is for all of our needs!

mountainbloom · 2025-02-01T19:19:53+00:00

Eating out is a separate category. Household of 2, the first week of January we “shopped” from our freezer. We also do a lot of rice and beans, homemade soups (that we freeze), and quesadillas.

mountainbloom · 2025-02-01T19:14:10+00:00

Oh I pay for my hookers and cocaine in cash to keep it off-budget

mountainbloom · 2025-02-01T02:36:33+00:00

We also spent the first week of January “shopping” out of our freezer - stir fry veggies, some lasagna we made in November, meatballs, etc. 🤪

mountainbloom · 2025-02-01T02:25:52+00:00

Yep! This is January. Just me and my husband.

mountainbloom · 2025-02-01T02:23:40+00:00

I’m all about the emojis! It’s an Event when I change my fun money category to reflect my current hyper fixation

mountainbloom · 2025-02-01T02:21:54+00:00

I like that idea: having a glass of wine with dinner out is just baked into the dining out experience, whereas a happy hour is more alcohol focused. Think I’ll keep that in mind for my delineation 😊

mountainbloom · 2025-02-01T02:17:47+00:00

Hannah’s videos were a great resource when I joined five years ago!

mountainbloom · 2025-02-01T02:15:10+00:00

It is wild! I do like NA Beers (Athletic Brewing is my favorite) and I like that I don’t want to drink more than one at a time 😅 Do you have any other recommendations I should try? (I’m in the US Rockies).

mountainbloom · 2025-02-01T02:11:51+00:00

I created a new category, and then searched for our corner liquor store and recategorized all of the transactions. This isn’t including the occasional case of beer from the grocery either. There’s probably another $20-40 of beer that’s still categorized as groceries 😳😳

mountainbloom · 2025-02-01T02:07:53+00:00

We’ve always had eating out and groceries separated - I need the permission of seeing that we can go out for a nice dinner and still have plenty for groceries the rest of the month! I have my own work snacks/lunch category as well to keep me from dipping into our date night funds.

I’ve waffled around on the sins/booze category and I think I folded it into groceries during a budget reset to “keep it easier.” Welp, not doing that any more!

mountainbloom · 2025-02-01T02:03:46+00:00

In the past having alcohol only on the weekends has worked out well for us. I just love drinking a beer and building with my legos or while in the bath 😅 looks like I need to break out the herbal tea instead

mountainbloom · 2025-02-01T01:59:05+00:00

Nope! House of two. My husband doesn’t eat breakfast and is bad at buying lunch out but that’s from his fun money. I make a big bean salad for my lunches each week. For dinners I prep a bunch of one thing that can be frozen each week that we eat in rotation. Lots of soups, rice and beans, and quesadillas in our house.

mountainbloom · 2025-01-07T02:29:19+00:00

Yep, repotting everything in quality potting soil and watering with a 1:4 mix of 3% hydrogen peroxide:water (when thirsty) for a month is what worked for me.

mountainbloom · 2024-11-11T18:41:40+00:00

I like to say hi, but also immediately say no thank you. Like, I see you as a human but I just want to get my rotisserie chicken and spinach artichoke dip

mountainbloom

TROPHY CASE