I've been using YNAB4 for the last few years, and I like it so much that I haven't switched to the web version (new YNAB) yet.
![ynab 4 pre-ynab debt ynab 4 pre-ynab debt](https://www.lessdebtmorewine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Screen-Shot-2017-09-07-at-12.11.52-PM.png)
So how is the "Credit Card Payments" category supposed to work in YNAB? The first option seems too tedious, and the second option seems like it doesn't really reflect the reality of how credit cards work. So if I thought I'd charge $600 for the month, but I only charge $500 for the month, then I have $100 roll over to next month. Budget ahead of time how much I think I'll pay to my credit card into the "Credit Card Payments" category, and then hope that how much I spend is under how much I budgeted.
![ynab 4 pre-ynab debt ynab 4 pre-ynab debt](https://www.listenmoneymatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ynab-review.jpg)
Go to each of those 15 budget categories and manually subtract the amount of money I spent, then add it to the "Credit Card Payments" category.Over the course of a few weeks, I make 20 transactions from 15 of my YNAB categories and create a total debt of $500. Say that I have $0 on my credit card at the start of the month (so no debt). However, I can't wrap my head around how I'm supposed to actually use the credit card categories in practice. It notes that you still need to pay it back, which comes later. The transition guide gives a story of going to buy a shirt, which you put on credit and have to pay back. One of the big changes to the web version of YNAB is that credit cards are handled differently, as described in the YNAB 4 transition guide.
![ynab 4 pre-ynab debt ynab 4 pre-ynab debt](https://i2.wp.com/www.sixfiguresunder.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/YNAB-BF1.jpg)
I am using the web version of You Need a Budget (YNAB) after previously using YNAB 3 and 4.