ynab-age-of-money

name	ynab-age-of-money
description	Checks how healthy the cash cushion is — Age of Money, near-term cash flow forecast, and whether the credit card float is quietly draining the buffer. Use when the user says "check my age of money", "am I living paycheck to paycheck", "how's my cash flow", "will I have enough before payday", or "is my credit card float catching up to me".
license	MIT
compatibility	Requires the ynab-mcp MCP server to be connected.
metadata	{"author":"auzroz","version":"1.0.0","mcp-server":"ynab-mcp"}

YNAB Age of Money

What this does

Implements YNAB's fourth rule — Age Your Money — by checking the current Age of Money metric, the near-term 30-day cash forecast, and a specific check for credit card float (paying the current statement with today's income while the Credit Card Payment category isn't actually funded by this month's spending — "using today's paycheck to pay for last month").

When to use this skill

• "Check my age of money"
• "Am I living paycheck to paycheck?"
• "How's my cash flow?"
• "Will I have enough before payday?"
• "Is my credit card float catching up to me?"

Should NOT trigger on: the overall month scorecard (use ynab-monthly-review, which references Age of Money in one line but doesn't forecast), or fixing overspending that's causing a low Age of Money (use ynab-overspending-triage).

Workflow

Step 1: Get Age of Money

Call MCP tool: ynab_age_of_money Parameters: none

Step 2: Check credit card float

Call MCP tool: ynab_credit_card_status Parameters: none

Step 3: Forecast near-term cash flow

Call MCP tool: ynab_cash_flow_forecast Parameters: days: 30

Step 4: Check savings-rate trend for context

Call MCP tool: ynab_income_expense Parameters: months: 6

Output format

Age of Money: N days [status tier + one relevant tip]
Credit card float check: card balance $X vs. payment category $Y →
  shortfall $Z (or "none — you're covered")
30-day cash forecast: lowest projected balance $X on [date]
Savings rate trend: N%

Troubleshooting

MCP connection failed — confirm the ynab-mcp server is connected.

Unauthorized / token expired — the YNAB connection needs re-authorization.

Age of Money shows as very low or zero on a new budget — this is expected for a budget with little history; note it rather than treating it as a problem needing an immediate fix.

When the skill is NOT the right tool

• The full end-of-month scorecard — use ynab-monthly-review.
• If the numbers point to a structural overspending problem rather than a timing issue — use ynab-overspending-triage.