| name | ynab-assign-money |
| description | Helps give every dollar a job — assigns unallocated Ready to Assign money to categories, funds underfunded goals, and sets up new categories or category groups. Use when the user says "I have money to assign", "help me budget this month", "what should I fund", "help me set up a new category", "organize my budget categories", or "assign my leftover funds". |
| license | MIT |
| compatibility | Requires the ynab-mcp MCP server to be connected. |
| metadata | {"author":"auzroz","version":"1.0.0","mcp-server":"ynab-mcp"} |
YNAB Assign Money
What this does
Implements YNAB's first rule — Give Every Dollar a Job — by helping decide
where unassigned Ready to Assign money should go this month: underfunded
goals first, then unfunded or negative categories, then general allocation
guided by spending history.
When to use this skill
- "I have money to assign"
- "Help me budget this month"
- "What should I fund?"
- "Help me set up a new category"
- "Organize my budget categories"
- "Assign my leftover funds"
Should NOT trigger on: fixing an already-overspent category (use
ynab-overspending-triage), or structuring a brand-new budget from scratch
(that's a bigger first-time-setup conversation — see the ynab-first-budget-setup
skill if the MCP isn't yet connected or the budget has no history).
Workflow
Step 1: Check Ready to Assign
Call MCP tool: ynab_quick_summary
Parameters: none
Step 2: Find unfunded categories
Call MCP tool: ynab_category_balances
Parameters: filter: "unfunded"
Step 3: Find underfunded goals
Call MCP tool: ynab_goal_progress
Parameters: filter: "underfunded"
Step 4: Get funding suggestions from history
Call MCP tool: ynab_budget_suggestions
Parameters: none
Step 5 (if needed): Create or update categories
Call MCP tool: ynab_create_category_group / ynab_create_category / ynab_update_category
Parameters: as needed — propose first, confirm, then apply
Output format
Ready to Assign: $X to give a job
Priority funding order:
1. [underfunded goal categories, amount needed]
2. [unfunded/negative categories]
3. [suggested amounts from history]
Proposed allocation: [category: $amount, ...] — confirm to apply?
Troubleshooting
MCP connection failed — confirm the ynab-mcp server is connected.
Unauthorized / token expired — walk the user through reconnecting YNAB
rather than retrying.
Ready to Assign is negative — do not proceed with allocation; report the
shortfall and suggest ynab-overspending-triage instead.
When the skill is NOT the right tool
- Ready to Assign is negative, or a category is already overspent — use
ynab-overspending-triage first.
- Planning for a known irregular/annual cost — use
ynab-true-expenses,
which computes the correct monthly contribution math.
