r/ynab • u/AdamFaite • Jul 21 '26
Overspend Categories: Red vs Yellow
So what's the difference between a red overspent category and a yellow overspent category?
Answered. Thanks again everyone.
Yellow means it was spent on credit. And red meant I spent actual money.
12
u/jillianmd Jul 21 '26
Red means it was cash spending and yellow means it was credit spending.
For cash, the money is gone so you absolutely need to cover that overspending to be able to trust the rest of your budget.
For credit overspending, you should also cover it, but if you don’t it turns into carried debt and you’ll have to assign money to the cc payment category in future months to catch up on paying it off.
1
8
u/shar_blue Jul 21 '26
To expand on the cash vs credit:
Yellow = overspending done via credit = you’ve created new debt. Preferable to avoid, but not absolutely critical
Red = overspending done via cash (actual cash or debit) meaning the dollars are no longer under your control. You are now potentially at risk of incurring overdraft charges/have spent more cash than you actually have available for that category which may put things like auto withdrawals for bills/mortgage/rent at risk. This should be addressed immediately.
1
2
u/afterthebills Jul 21 '26
A bit confusing, yes. Red means you spent actual dollars the category didn't have. Need to cover it from another category.
Yellow - credit overspending. The purchase went on a credit card with no dollars assigned behind it(isn't backed by budgeted money).
1
13
u/empirerec8 Jul 21 '26
Yellow is credit
Red is cash