| 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.
