ynab-monthly-review

name	ynab-monthly-review
description	Runs a complete end-of-month budget review — this month's performance vs. plan, goal progress, income/savings trend, net worth change, and suggested targets for next month. Use when the user says "let's do my monthly budget review", "end of month check-in", "how did this month go", "review my budget", "close out this month", or "help me plan next month's budget".
license	MIT
compatibility	Requires the ynab-mcp MCP server to be connected.
metadata	{"author":"auzroz","version":"1.0.0","mcp-server":"ynab-mcp"}

YNAB Monthly Review

What this does

Orchestrates a full end-of-month budget review in one sitting: category-level plan vs. actual, what changed since last month, goal progress, the income and savings trend, net worth movement, and a proposed budget for next month. This matches YNAB's own recommended end-of-month routine — reflect on what deviated, reconcile, and set next month's targets — rather than a quick daily glance.

When to use this skill

• "Let's do my monthly budget review"
• "End of month check-in"
• "How did [month] go?"
• "Review my budget"
• "Close out this month"
• "Help me plan next month's budget"

Should NOT trigger on: a quick "how am I doing" gut-check (use ynab-pulse-check), or a request to deep-dive reconciliation or cash flow specifically (use ynab-reconcile-cleanup / ynab-age-of-money — this skill flags those but doesn't do the full workup).

Workflow

Step 1: Category-level plan vs. actual

Call MCP tool: ynab_budget_vs_actuals Parameters: month (optional, defaults to current), include_previous: true

Step 2: Month-over-month comparison

Call MCP tool: ynab_monthly_comparison Parameters: none

Step 3: Income and savings trend

Call MCP tool: ynab_income_expense Parameters: months: 6

Step 4: Goal progress

Call MCP tool: ynab_goal_progress Parameters: filter: "all"

Step 5: Net worth

Call MCP tool: ynab_net_worth Parameters: none

Step 6: Age of Money (one-line check, not a deep dive)

Call MCP tool: ynab_age_of_money Parameters: none

Step 7: Reconciliation status (flag only, not a deep dive)

Call MCP tool: ynab_reconciliation_helper Parameters: none

Step 8: Next month's suggested budget

Call MCP tool: ynab_budget_suggestions Parameters: months: 3

Output format

Monthly Review — [Month Year]
1. Scorecard: budgeted vs. actual by category group, variance %, status
2. What changed vs. last month (top 3 movers)
3. Goals: on-track / behind / underfunded (counts + names)
4. Income & savings rate trend (6mo)
5. Net worth: this month vs. last
6. Housekeeping flags: Age of Money = N days; N uncleared transactions
   (if > 0, suggest running ynab-reconcile-cleanup)
7. Next month's suggested budget (per category) — offer for confirmation
   before creating or changing anything

Troubleshooting

MCP connection failed — confirm the ynab-mcp server shows as connected before retrying.

Unauthorized / token expired — the YNAB connection needs re-authorization; walk the user through reconnecting.

A tool in the sequence fails partway through — report the partial results gathered so far rather than discarding everything; note which section is missing and why.

When the skill is NOT the right tool

• A fast status check with no historical comparison — use ynab-pulse-check.
• Actually fixing overspending — use ynab-overspending-triage.
• A deep reconciliation walk-through or category cleanup — use ynab-reconcile-cleanup.
• A deep cash-flow forecast — use ynab-age-of-money.