Pay Off Your Debt First? Or Build Your Savings?!
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- Опубликовано: 7 июл 2024
- We have debt to pay off. We have savings we need to build. How do we save without taking out more debt? Is it safe to pay off my debt if I don't have any savings to back me up? Learn how to build debt prevention into your budget to ward off future debt and pave the way for the savings you've always wanted.
Timestamps
0:00 I Want to Pay Off My Debt
0:56 Pay Off Debt? Or Build My Savings?
1:46 Treat Savings as an Expense
2:45 How to Budget Your Paycheck
3:09 Why We End Up with MORE Debt
4:22 Budgeting for Debt Prevention
5:25 How You Need a Budget Can Help
6:03 YNAB Wins!
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2nd year ynaber age of money 67 days. 2 months fully funded. Christmas fully funded.
Woo hooooo!! Way to go Elaine!! Serious victory, and can't wait for Christmas to be worry-free for you!!
-Hannah 🌻
It has been two more years. How are you doinf, Elaine?
Hannah, whatever they pay you, it's not enough. Your videos are great, very informative and bring joy. Thank you!
Thank you so much Martin!! Love doing what I do :)
-Hannah 🌻
A new Hannah YNAB video on savings is exactly the antidote Cyber Monday "deals" that I need today😂
Antidote?
😎😎😎
-Hannah 🌻
I've used YNAB for 4 years now and it feels like a cheat code for life. It took me awhile to really understand YNAB and how it works, but once you do, it's like magic! After paying off debt and building an emergency fund, I now have monthly savings for every little thing (water filters, air filters, birthdays, vacations, Christmas, Thanksgiving, YNAB annual fee, annual credit card fees, etc etc). Not only will I always have the money for whatever that comes due, it's also somewhat like a reminder in life for things you need to replace buy purchase (like upcoming birthdays, maintenance items, etc).
Okay. Cheat code to life is my new favorite phrase. I feel the exact same way. Life hack? I think YEAH.
-Hannah 🌻
I sure could have used this years ago. The whole program is a stress reliever. I never learned this stuff in school and folks just went to a fight cage once a month to entrench poverty and want inside my child brain.
Sinking funds have been so clutch while paying off debt. Just like you said, build your savings into your expenses. We’ve done that and since we’ve been able to handle unexpected expenses without adding debt. We’ve paid about $40k so far 🙌🏽
😳😳😳 $40k is no joke. Dang, my friend. That's impressive. Keep up the good work!! You've SO got this!
-Hannah 🌻
Excellent topic! About a year into YNAB, I felt I wasn’t growing my saving near enough. To solve that problem, I created an Expense named “Paying Me”. I now have a target for it and move it off budget into investments.
Oh wow. That is a smart and really unique concept. Thanks for sharing, D Payne! Inspiring!
-Hannah 🌻
My stuff I forgot to budget for fund is called "🍌 The Banana Stand."
I LOVE THAT. So brilliant 😂
-Hannah 🌻
This video is pretty recent, but that was how we managed to pay off a huge amount of credit card debt four months after using YNAB, while building savings at the same time. And that featured comment, it's true, I no longer get surprised too often because I'm now doing what I call "defensive budgeting". Like for our recent car battery replacement, I told YNAB to expect this again in 3 years. So it's not just the budget you're looking out for, but also the scheduling issues that might occur when the car battery breaks down (e.g. you have a trip scheduled around a certain month, and you don't want to be ordering and installing the battery on the same day your trip will happen).
Defensive budgeting!! I LOVE that. And wow, preparing for the car battery to be replaced three years from now... that is the sign of an ultimate budgeter right there. So dang smart. Wow, kudos my friend.
-Hannah 🌻
Ah yes! We were living paycheck to paycheck for years and now our money is 47 days old. we are using ynab since May. But honestly we really need the home appliance category too, our dishwasher just died.. on the happier note tho, ynab was the best decision we ever made!
WOW. That is the actual best news (not about the dishwasher). Congrats on gettin' that money aged, and keep up the solid work!!
-Hannah 🌻
@@YNABofficial Ha Ha, thank you!😊
The first video that explains the situation very well !! most of the videos are confusing us a lot 😊
Thank you, exactly something we have finally discovered! This lesson is a game changer! You look great at any hairstyle! Thanks so much for these videos!
Best budget idea
Hannah you are SO fun to watch!!!
Thanks friend!!
-Hannah 🌻
YNAB makes so wonderful videos! please do more. I keep tracking expenses and budgeting for 8 years and still getting a lot of ideas and great tricks from your youtube channel. thank you!
Woo hooooo!! We love that! Thanks for joining in and I'm SO glad you've gotten so much out of it!
🌻Hannah
YNAB Win: I don’t like paying property taxes. When the tax bill arrives, I don’t worry about it because I have the money saved up.
Underrated comment
I felt really frustrated with my credit card debt and getting charged high interest, and beginner mistake - I paid off all of my credit card debt with my work bonus and savings. Now, my savings is kind of low and I'm only at 17 days old money. I am closer to being debt free, and now don't pay interest, but I'm still feeling the pinch.
You are a true gem for the YNAB team. The hair wasn't giving me space gladiator vibes at all, I didn't even notice! lol
PHEW-glad to hear it 🪐👩🏻🚀👽 Thanks, friend!! 😊
-Hannah 🌻
Well, this is a game changer for me. I was sure I should pay off my debts first to save money which I pay for percentage. But your point of view convinced me to build savings first. Thanks so much!
YESSSS!! It feels backwards, or like you'll lose ground on paying off you debt, but you're actually protecting yourself against future debt so you can pay that dang debt off once and for all. Best of luck Krzysztof!
-Hannah 🌻
‘The joke’s on you, Life!’ 🤣
Think I’ll use this instead of ‘Sporadic Expenses’ …
Makes sense!
I have that same mug now! ;)
Love it! Always starts great conversations with coworkers where I get to nerd out about YNAB :)
It has actually led to my first successful referral haha!
Ha! That's AMAZING. I've just been waiting and waiting for Julep to see my mug and ask me about YNAB. (Truth be told, I don't think she budgets at ALL. Absolute dare devil.) 😉🐕
-Hannah 🌻
Love YNAB. It’s changed my life
Thank you! I HATE the slowness of paying off loans and I was tempted to take my true expense categories (which I’ve named my “Debt Prevention” categories) and pay off the two loans I have. Then I remembered you had done a video on this exact issue. This video has calmed me, and I’ll keep patiently paying the loans while first adding to my debt prevention categories. Thanks!! 💕
Thank you!!!! This comment is amazing!!!!!I am going to label mine like that!!!!!
I love Hannah!
She is low key HILARIOUS
I pay myself first with automated savings and the same with debt payments. This I learned from YNAB years ago and it has worked well. Anytime I get a raise, my savings do as well!
That is so wise! Dodge that lifestyle creep and send those raises straight to your savings. I dig it!
-Hannah 🌻
Great video. Great reminder for me of where to focus. I just celebrated my YNAB budget's 6 month birthday. When I first started, I focused on my credit card debt. Then, I took part in one of the workshops that explained more about savings and I shifted my focus. I've already benefitted due to some unexpected medical expenses that I was able to cover. Yeah! It's important to me though to make sure my debts not increasing while I'm saving. What worked for me was creating a budget item for my credit card interest. I make sure it's covered every month. Seeing it there also helps me stay focused on not charging anything else on the card. Since I started using YNAB, my age of money has gone from 10 days to 21 days.🙌🎉
YESSSS!! Seeing that Age of Money grow is such a special experience. So empowering and motivating and such good feedback to know "Hey, I'm really doing something right, here!" Congrats on your 6 months with YNAB!! Maybe throw an extra $5 or $10 in the Fun Money category this month and find a special way to celebrate!!
-Hannah 🌻
I come back to Hannah's videos and her personality never gets old. =^, ,^=
I have sinking funds for car taxes, car registration, , miscellaneous, household, car insurance. It definitely helps to stay on track! I’ve become so accustomed to saving for every category it’s like second nature and when the bill is due I’m not scrambling for money because I saved slowly for the past couple of months to a year!
YES! Isn't it the best?! I got a reminder that Julep (our dog) would need to get a dental cleaning in TWO YEARS, and you can bet your bottom dollar we made a category for it RIGHT AWAY. Those things are expaaaaansive.
🌻Hannah
It depends a lot on the type of debt though. If you have high interest credit cards you are much better off paying them down than putting money in a checking/savings account for “just in case” stuff like car repairs. If you do need it you have the option of using the freed up credit but you will have saved a lot of interest in the process.
Very valid point! All debts are different and all situations are different, so you may need to slightly alter the plan to get yourself to more stable ground. Nevertheless, I will always advocate for true expenses being built at all times, no matter how much is going to debt!
-Hannah 🌻
I was looking for this comment. She should have distinguished between the two types of debt.
The order would go like this for me:
Credit Card Debt (15%+ APR) -> Savings Account -> Student Loan/Mortgage (3%)
You should really have a $1k emergency fund first, no matter what those interest rates are. The only exception is if you're dealing with a loan shark. In pretty much all other situations, you'd want that emergency fund in order to prevent backsliding and give yourself some room to breathe.
Bottom line is that if you don't have that emergency fund, you're going to feel it. $1k, even at 20% interest isn't that much compared with what happens if you don't have that money and need it.
@@SmallSpoonBrigade Credit cards are loan sharks.
Also, if you pay off your credit card debt before building up your emergency fund, and then an emergency happens, you now have more available credit to take back out.
So in the end, you're only saving the interest rate you would be paying by not paying off the debt first.
Good
Lints,😊
Great video Hannah, be struggling with this issue!!
Gives me big ideas
Saving for holidays while in debt? I hear Dave R. screaming in the background :-)
Me too but YNAB allows you to live while getting out of debt and how to effectively use credit cards in our credit/electronic society.
And a vacation too! Nonsense lol
Seriously though I stopped following him long ago
🤷🏻♀️🙃🎄
-Hannah 🌻
@@taylorwhaley9901 Same here, there's a lot of truth to it, but he's lost his sense of what ordinary people are up to. You should be saving up for things like the holidays because you're far less likely to actually follow through if you don't. I wouldn't personally consider budgeting for your expenses to be saving.
That being said, scaling back on things like the holidays and vacations is definitely appropriate.
This seems to make sense for debt at interest rates at or below the inflation rate, but not for high-interest-rate credit cards.... if it's between saving the $100 and paying extra on a very low-rate mortgage, then yeah, this approach makes sense. however, if i put $100 in my savings account instead of paying off a credit card, i'm paying 15-20% interest on that $100 between now and the time when i might use that $100 in the future. but i do get the benefit of establishing a savings habit...
I love the hair!! I have been using YNAB for a few years now and it helped me save for my shiny new to me car. (: Still making payments but tracking to pay it off in 3 years instead of 5!
Thank Kayla!! And yeah girl-the best part about YNAB is it gives the ability to PLAN and know what you can afford. Cars are *not* cheap, so knowing how to fit a big payment plan like that into your budget is a total game changer. Kudos on speeding up the pay off! That's always an amazing feeling!
-Hannah 🌻
Funny thing is I literally was able to pay off a debt plus save some today THEN come around Friday I have to take out money for rent when my other paycheck comes.
Thanks to YNAB, I'm going to eliminate one of my debts by January. I'd been setting a lot of money aside for when student loan payments come back so I could hopefully pay off all or most of it (I have $5,000 left.). Saving up kind of stalled around $2,000 because of moving and current bills taking priority. HOWEVER, I realized that I have enough saved up to pay off a personal loan I took out to pay rent (stupid idea in retrospect.). Which would free up the money I was paying monthly to go toward my student loans come February. And I'd be able to pay THAT off in 12-17 months. While it wasn't my original plan, it makes so much more sense for my current situation. :)
Kait! Yes! That's everything that YNAB is about. Helping you see your finances clearly and making a plan that fits the moment. The plan may change in a month or a week or even tomorrow, but it helps you see the best thing for your budget and, inadvertently, you life as a whole :) Way to go for diligently saving during this season of no student loan payments!
-Hannah 🌻
I completely agree with saving while paying off debt and they way you explained it just supports that all the more. Still, I can't help thinking about the accumulating interest on the debt as you pay it off slower by saving at the same time. Do we even look at that.. should we ignore that? Will saving at the same time end up costing us more money in interest than we ever saved? Would love to hear your thoughts on this.
I have the same question.
So debt prevention = debt insurance, and like insurance the premium goes up every year 🧐
did you say "gezondheid"? hahaha I didn't expect it 😆😅
I appreciate YNAB because I have a MUCH clearer picture of where my money is going. That picture isn't as pretty as I'd like it to be, but I now have a plan to change it. Also, that anxiety about stuff breaking is real. I just hope that my car lasts long enough to get a solid replacement fund, because car payments suuuuuuck.
I lovvvve what you said. Money can be SO up and down, because *life* can be so up and down. But having that tangible plan, no matter how messy it can get at times, is the roadmap that helps us keep our eyes on our destination!
Here's an older video with some tips on how to scrape up some extra money here and there! Hopefully it can help you build up that replacement fund even sooner!
ruclips.net/video/LaNZbPz6JFs/видео.html
🌻 Hannah
Me = totally distracted from the video because I'm so excited that Hannah and I have the same coffee mug...
YEAHHH GURRRRL. Except do you have four like I do?! #rollinginmugs #itsrainingmugs
-Hannah 🌻
@@YNABofficial Where can we get that mug! I must have one now. (I promise I will budget for it!)
Hey Laurie! We have a surprise merch sale once a year where we release unique YNAB products for just three days. Our last sale was back in October, but is sure to come back around again!
-Hannah 🌻
Dont forget to put those home, car and vacation and whatever else savings in a high interest savings account.
Hey Hannah! Would you and the YNAB team consider making a student loan video? The pause is ending and we will have to pay them back soon and it would be cool to have a Heard it From Hannah about YNAB's loan tools! Your vids are the BEST!
Hi Miles! Ben M here. I've been waiting LITERALLY YEARS NOW to make a student loan video for people coming off the pause. So expect one in the near future! :)
- Ben M 🎨
Love the video but the background music is a bit too loud.❤
that is a great idea! gasundheit. ive been planning on doing a no buy year next year in order to save for paying off my student loans/starting an IRA/adding to my savings but i wasnt sure which should come first. this helps with adding "savings" to my budget. thanks!
YES Brittany! Sounds like you plan to kick some major booty this year, and we 1,000% support that. Move at whatever pace feels best to you, and no matter which route you choose to go, always keep savings in mind! We promise you won't regret it.
-Hannah 🌻
I worked for about three years, and now have paid off $20,000 in credit card debt. I took a break, and now it’s time to pay of my last $11,000. Paying off that $20,000 was extremely stressful and depressing. But while paying off the remainder of my debt, I thought of one thing that I use daily on a regular basis, and budget in a luxury version of that item. And to make it an item that needs replacing on a semi regular basis, so I can be reminded that through all the hard and stressful times of paying back, I can be reminded that every time I repurchase it, I can be reminded that yes, this is a luxury item, and things again seem bearable. I chose coffee. I love coffee, and drink it every day. So I have started purchasing luxury coffee that cannot be found in stores, and that way, I can be reminded that at least I have one luxury vice through this difficult part of my life. It helps, I think. Do you thing this is wasteful?
Okay, you, my friend... are brilliant. First of all, I LOVE how hard you worked at paying down that $20,000, and I love just as much that you recognized "I need a break" and slowed down your pace a little bit. While of course we all want to get rid of our debt, it is more than okay to take some down time to rebuild, recover, rejuvenate, and reenergize. Like you said, it is a LOT of work paying off all that debt-emotional, mental, social, and even physical! Take care of yourself first and your debt second.
I also love that you found something extra special that brings you joy and you prioritized it in a draining season. It's unrealistic to think we can pump out hard work and ginormous debt payments at 110% energy sustained over yearrrrrs at a time. You need some kind of R&R, a motivator-something that keeps you going and satisfies you. For you, it sounds like luxury coffee is it! It's not wasteful if it's important to you and your joy, and especially if it's what gives you the momentum to keep pushing forward on your debts. Absolutely.
I think you're doing a HUGE and hard thing right now and I think you're doing it very well!! So enjoy your coffee, and I can't wait for you to one day feel that debt-free feeling!! It's gonna be sweet as a carmel macchiato latte. 🥰
🌻 Hannah
Or you could do Ramsey’s rice and beans debt method. That’s what I did….
Yes, having some Debt Prevention is crucial to preventing a debt cycle (or debt spiral?), but I more often hear it called an Emergency Fund. I wonder if there was a specific reason they avoided that terminology here...
Hey there! You're totally right-an emergency fund is a form of savings for sure. But it's just for emergencies-the things we could never possibly predict! There are plenty of expenses we *know* will eventually happen (like car repairs and vet visits and home repairs), so we like to save for each of those eventual known expenses intentionally, and in addition to that it's wise to build up an emergency fund on the side for any total emergencies you wouldn't have been able to foresee. In the end, it helps you to feel even more prepared and able to combat flat tires and broken dishwashers and still have a back-up emergency fund when you get hit with a speeding ticket out of the blue. 🤓
-Hannah 🌻
Quick question - I have a credit card that has 0% interest for a certain time frame (21 months). Basically I combined my debts and transferred the balances onto one card. *Not the best idea* I know but to save interest -- especially with how high interest rates are. I did a plan in Excell of how much I need to pay per month to pay off the card in time before interest accrues. The monthly payment by my math is higher than the minimum payment. Should I still do the my math payment to get the card paid off or should I do the minimum payment so I can even out my budget? (Meaning in about 21 months if the balance isn't paid off -- I'll start accruing interest).
I did the same thing a few years back! When I first started leaning into YNAB, I had accrued about $4k in consumer credit card debt because I didn't realize my initial 0% interest period had RUN OUT. So I applied for a "balance transfer" card that have 0% interest for 18 months, "paid off" the interest-accruing card with the no-interest card, and made a goal to pay off the entirety of the balance transfer card BEFORE the 18 months was up. I ended up getting super motivated to just GET RID of it, so I ended up paying off the whole balance in just six months.
Really, the question to ask yourself is what are your priorities right now? If money is SUPER tight and paying that minimum balance beyond the 21-month interest-free period would help you save for other things/get ahead in other areas, it might be worth sticking with the minimum payment amount as long as you're okay with also paying any extra interest that starts accruing after that 21-month period is up.
BUT if you feel like you could afford to pay 1/20th of the balance every month over the next 20 months in order to avoid entering that interest-accruing period altogether, that will ultimately save you money in the long run!
There's flexibility-just determine which situation serves you best right now, and you can ALWAYS change down the road. For instance, if you pay the minimum balance for the first year in order to financially "get your feet under you" a little more, then you could switch gears and start totally hammering down on that remaining balance more to get it paid off before the interest-free period runs out!
🌻 Hannah
I can see why this is good for consistency and maybe even a better way to frame your finances psychologically (for those who are disheartened by seeing debt increase and decrease), but doesn't this just not math right? If I'm borrowing at %20 on a credit card, and my savings accrues %3 on the same schedule (probably less) then I pay a lot more in interest than I can gain by holding money in a savings account. I'm always coming out ahead paying down the debt first, unexpected expenses or no. Am I missing something entirely?
If an emergency comes, you'll be saving 20% on that expense for whatever you pay from savings versus putting on a CC. That's the point - no (or less) new debt. Additionally, if your savings have a target, you'll only save to a certain amount and stop. You'll be able to resume paying down debt more rapidly while preventing putting yourself in that position again.
For the unexpected things, you should have an emergency fund. I tend to like $1k to start, it saves the interest if something unexpected happens so that you don't get forced to reopen credit lines. Even Dave Ramsey that is ridiculously overfocused on debt elimination, suggests saving that $1k first before paying off debt.
Most of these "savings" aren't really savings, they're ensuring that you've got the cash on hand to cover expected expenses. It's not really savings if you're planning to spend it in the near future.
¿Por que no los dos?
I'm paying off my debt and building my savings. I paused savings for now because I'm focusing on building the vacation fund for my boyfriend and me, but I'm still paying off debt while saving for the vacation. You can do both if income allows.
Naw, no one sneezed. That would have been a Gesundheit. Or it means healt in a sentence. But it was a try.
So where does saving (or investing) for retirement fit into this scheme? Should it be more like an expense that gets allocated as soon as possible, or something that gets added to the budget after paying down some percentage of debt? I'm tempted to assume that I'll never stop working, but that's probably unrealistic 😆
Ha! It's hard to picture retirement being real, right?! 😂 I neglected saving for retirement for yearrrrs. I finally realized that if I don't budget for it as a necessary expense right away then I'll NEVER get around to starting it. Luckily, we have a way for part of my paycheck to automatically be sent to retirement before my paycheck is even directly deposited into the bank, so that's really helped me to keep my retirement money going where it should right off the bat.
-Hannah 🌻
Ha! It's hard to picture retirement being real, right?! 😂 I neglected saving for retirement for yearrrrs. I finally realized that if I don't budget for it as a necessary expense right away then I'll NEVER get around to starting it. Luckily, we have a way for part of my paycheck to automatically be sent to retirement before my paycheck is even directly deposited into the bank, so that's really helped me to keep my retirement money going where it should right off the bat.
-Hannah 🌻
Why don’t you guys make the Android app like iOS. I feel my self going to my iPad to use the app verses my Android phone that is on me at all times. Can we get a WIN here.
I assume because the way they developed the apps was to make them platform native, so they aren't able to implement things the same way on iOS and Android. My educated guess as a software developer 🤓
@@meganstewart2832 what steps can I take to become a software developer?
Hey Christopher! We totally understand the frustration! We've just recently brought on more Android developers, and are working to make them platform native as Megan said, so Android will be catching up to iOS! Just this week we've released reconciliation for Android, widgets for Android, and pending transactions for Android! If you're not already subscribed to our newsletter, you can get all the latest updates on Android development there. We're excited to be putting Android and iOS on more even ground! Hope you like it!
-Hannah 🌻
@@ecs2sy501, there are many. I chose to get an undergrad in computer science, but people are also known to break into the business doing short-term boot camps or learning through online tutorials and books. Depending on what you want to do with those skills is the best determinant of the path you should take. A search engine should provide more tailored advice. Good luck!
Baby step 1. Save 1k
Baby step 2. Pay off debt
Baby step 3. Fully fund emergency fund (3-6)
I saved 1500 instead but that's faster. If you need to use the 1k stop paying on debt and rebuild the fund.
Stupid baby steps. They don’t work.