YNAB

[GlockSpock]

I've taken a look at quite a bit of budgeting finance software. A few years ago I purchased Quicken Essentials for my Mac. At the time I loved it, even switching banks to get one that offered "Direct Connect" for free. I felt I was really on top of my finances. However, I suppose because I never really saw any change in my financial decisions (and thus outcome), I eventually dropped Quicken Essentials.

 

I gave Mint (Mint.com) a try. It's free! It is ok. It will aggregate most any service (Bank, Auto Loan, Student Loan, etc) automatically. This was its main selling point to me. It offered "budgeting tools", but once again it never really caused any change in my financial decisions.

 

More recently, I've decided that budgeting and finances are something that I am going to take seriously 100%. I did some research, and finally found what is called "YNAB". First, let me just state that it is Windows/Mac (partly Linux) compatible. There are also iOS and Android apps that sync (via Dropbox) and integrate perfectly with the desktop app.

 

Now let me explain a bit about the "theory" behind YNAB. YNAB makes your finances plain and simple: In order to spend money on something, you are having to take that money from somewhere else. Unlike Quicken/Mint,etc, YNAB encourages you to only focus on money that you have now (instead of intangible numbers that you will receive in the future). Essentially, you enter each paycheck as it comes in, all that money gets set as "Income to Budget". You can then take that money and place it into each budgetary category that you wish. Then, as you make transactions, you can see each category's remaining balance. If you over budget (budget more than your income), it lets you know quite plainly that this money has to come from somewhere. You can either reduce and shift your category totals, or YNAB can subtract that "negative balance" from next months "Income to Budget".

 

An example of this would be:

 

I make $500 this month but budget and spend $600, and then next month I make $500 again. Since there was $100 over budgeted, next month my "Income to Budget" amount will be $400 to make up the difference. It doesn't have to be this way, but it helps you remember to pay yourself back if you spend more than you make this month. 

 

Another huge principal of YNAB is to only spend "seasoned" money. I used to essentially live paycheck to paycheck. I'd take extra money and siphon it to my savings account, feeling this was the best thing to do. I'd look 2 months ahead at what paycheck I would get vs. what bills to pay, and I'd set bills to pay on the dates that I were to receive the paychecks. This was very stressful, as it required me to constantly be looking for and bill I might not have accounted for, thus throwing all my payments out of whack. YNAB suggests saving up a "buffer". Essentially, a buffer is a full month's income. Once this has been set, you use that money to budget for the current month. Then, any paychecks you receive you mark as "Income Available for Next Month". Then at the very beginning of next month, you can open YNAB and budget everything you need for the month with a full month's income that you already have. This takes 99.9% of the stress out of bill pay, and you also come out a few cents to a few dollars ahead due to interest earned. I always knew that if I had roughly $2000-3000 as a "safety net" in my checking account that I would be able to slide right through paying bills, but I never actually took the initiative to build the checking account to that. YNAB motivated me to do so.

 

There are essentially 4 rules to YNAB:

 

1. Give Every Dollar a Job
2. Save for a Rainy Day
3. Roll With the Punches
4. Live on Last Month's Income

I would encourage anyone that might not be as financially well of that they'd like to at least give YNAB a try. They offer a free 34 full-featured demo, and free classes where you can win a free copy of the software. I'd say download the free trial and see if it improves your finances and budgeting in the 34 days they give you. Also, signup for at least the first "class" on their website. It is a live web class, and will help you get started. Plus you might win a free copy!

 

There is also a $6 off coupon here: http://ynab.refr.cc/DKV5LHR (whenever you decide to make your purchase, click that link and the coupon will automatically apply).

 

Let me know if anyone has any questions or concerns! 

Edited March 18, 2014 by CZ9MM

[daddyo]

I have been using this since the first of the year. Cant recommend it highly enough. It is essentially the envelope budgeting system that has been around a long time but this is a simplified system. VERY easy to learn and use.

The only complaint I have is that there have been some synchronization issues and the information on my phone app is not correct. I'm still trying to figure it out. It may have more to do with cloudsync than YNAB.

[Guest TankerHC]

I have used Quicken for years, and before that MS Money. My wife has been in Accounting for over 25 years, so I am on an allowance, instituted by me. She handles everything through Excel spreadsheets which she built and are pretty effective. I often go over on mine and have "some splainin to do". But she makes the adjustments and then I make a promise not to go over the next month. lol

 

I use quicken primarily because it helps me track how much I spend on guns, ammo, computers and electronics. I just received an email yesterday saying that it is time to renew for Quicken. Think Im going to drop it and give this a try. I went over their website and they seem to have it tracked pretty good.

 

Thanks for the info, going to give it a shot and see how good it is.

[GlockSpock]

Well, I have to say that everything about this software and the company has been a positive experience for me. I wrote them asking whether they had any significant student discounts. I received a very prompt reply supplying with a $6 off code as well as an "activation code" that provided me with an additional month free. The have very active forums (possibly more active than TGO!). Their free classes are great (essentially a webinar/screencast) and provide a great instance for learning the software as well as clearing up any issues that you might have.

 

If your main goal is budgeting and watching your inflows to outflows, YNAB is great.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

That YNAB sounds like an interesting program.

 

I use quicken for decades, but only for keeping a few accounts balanced and tallying at the end of the year business-deductible expenses. A friend who is a CPA gripes that quicken offends him because it doesn't display debits and credits "quite the right way" to suit his double-entry-accounting soul. I don't use any of the budgeting or investment tracking or planning features in quicken, and am still using a 10 year old version of the program because they haven't offered any new features I want for the last decade.

 

My approach to budgeting, is to quit spending money when I don't have any money left to spend. Which obviously is not a very good method.

[GlockSpock]

In terms of accounting for business, taxes, or profit reasons, I don't think YNAB would make the cut. YNAB's main feature is for personal financing and helping you appoint where your money should go and keeping it there. daddyo is right, it essentially is the envelope method but made to work in a very nice manner electronically. Since I do the majority of my spending and bill pay using electronic methods, YNAB works great for me. 

[GlockSpock]

My approach to budgeting, is to quit spending money when I don't have any money left to spend. Which obviously is not a very good method.

 

As stated in the original post, this was essentially my method. I'd calculate each paycheck to determine how much was appointed to bills, then appoint a certain amount to savings, and then consider the rest "fun money". At that point, I would spend the "fun money" down to when my account was $0. Since my bank has an instant transfer feature that would pull in increments of $100 out of savings if I overdrew, I never worried about overdraws, but it was stressful trying to make sure I wasn't spending more than I should have. 

 

I spent more than I should have way, way too much.

[LagerHead]

Thanks for the write up CZ. I downloaded it, created a budget, and got it installed on my phone and my wife's in under an hour. I like that it syncs across all devices very quickly so we can pretty much update and track our budget in real time. Nicely laid out app and I've signed up for a couple of the classes already. 

[GlockSpock]

Thanks for the write up CZ. I downloaded it, created a budget, and got it installed on my phone and my wife's in under an hour. I like that it syncs across all devices very quickly so we can pretty much update and track our budget in real time. Nicely laid out app and I've signed up for a couple of the classes already. 

 

Great! If when you go to purchase it, $6 off above.

[MacGyver]

I used Quicken for years, and while I wanted to like it, I hated Intuit and their lack of innovation.  I bought new versions every couple of years hoping they would get better.  It got even worse once they bought Mint.com, as the added some of the Mint features into Quicken, quit development on Mint and hoped people would quit complaining. It made me resent them even more.  The only reason I used them at all was because I had data going back forever.

 

I switched to YNAB last year after surveying the current apps on the market.  My requirements are having native desktop clients, good mobile apps and solid synchronization across platforms.  They've got it right.  It's simple and effective. 

 

Intuit can go pound sand.

[Sam1]

Thanks for this, never heard of it before

[GlockSpock]

The only reason I used them at all was because I had data going back forever.

 

Yeah, I used to think like that. It was very refreshing when I was essentially told by YNAB to start fresh. I did, and now I no longer worry about  keeping years worth of transactions. 

[Slasher]

I have used Quicken for years but have recently been looking in to YNAB.  Does YNAB let you reconcile all of your transactions every month like Quicken does?

[MacGyver]

I have used Quicken for years but have recently been looking in to YNAB.  Does YNAB let you reconcile all of your transactions every month like Quicken does?

Yes.

[GlockSpock]

I have used Quicken for years but have recently been looking in to YNAB.  Does YNAB let you reconcile all of your transactions every month like Quicken does?

 

I reconcile essentially every day. There is an option for importing an exported file from your bank. Doing this took more time than simply entering transactions manually. This "reconciles" automatically. I just add everything manually and then reconcile to my bank balance every day. Works great.

[StPatrick]

Intuit can go pound sand.

 

Indeed.  They will not support or service those involved in the firearms industry.  I switched from turbotax to taxact this past year due to that.  Taxact has horrible commercials, but with my simple tax situation, they did just fine.

[GlockSpock]

I'm just saying, I purchased YNAB 3 days ago at $54 ($60 minus $6 coupon). Well, right now they are having a Summer Sale, and have dropped the price to $39.99. I just went halfway through repurchasing it, and the coupon still works! 

 

http://ynab.refr.cc/DKV5LHR

 

That brings your total to $33.99 even! I wrote them an email to see if I could get refunded the difference, hopefully so but if not I am still totally thrilled about the software and will continue to be as long as it stays functional. I highly suggest anyone that is interested in purchasing the software to do so right now because I don't foresee getting it cheaper than $33.99 anytime soon!

 

EDIT: It appears sorta odd. To get it for $33.99, it seems you click the link, click "Take me to the Store", click "Purchase/Purchase Page", add YNAB to your cart (it may show up as being $54, but after you add it and go to your cart it should show $39.99 and then a $6 coupon).

Edited July 11, 2013 by CZ9MM

[GlockSpock]

Wow. Just an update, they did actually end up refunding that $20.01, thus bringing my total purchase price to $33.99. Can't beat it. It will easily pay for it self tens and hundreds of times over.

 

They really are a great company.

Edited July 13, 2013 by CZ9MM

[GlockSpock]

Just another update:

 

Today I finally built up a full month's "buffer" in my checking account. This means I can successfully live on last months income, every month. For the two paychecks I received this month, I marked them as income for next month. Thus, I was able to budget for the entire month of August using the two paychecks I have earned this month. For the three paychecks I will receive in August, I will mark them as income available for September, and then budget September with those three paychecks. 

 

This is as stress free as I have ever budgeted, because today I reached a point in which I no longer have to "shuffle" bills back and forth against future paychecks until I can figure out what combination works best for me. Now I simple pay bills when I get them, and actually have 80% of them or so setup on auto payment (which I never trusted, but now that I have a buffer I can fully trust it. Within the next week, I will have all my bills setup for auto payment. I will eventually get them set to all come out on the same day of the month, probably the 15th.

 

Now I get to create a Firearms category in YNAB. I'll use it as a broad category by which I put ammunition, firearms, accessories, etc in. :usa:

 

YNAB has easily "paid" for itself many times over by allowing me to very easily but strictly spend a calculated amount (which is of course less than I make). Perhaps it wouldn't have the same results for everyone, but for me it has greatly changed the way I do and view finances.

 

Has anyone else tried it? If so, has it made a difference in any significant ways? 

Edited July 19, 2013 by CZ9MM

[Slasher]

Haven't tried it yet but did go ahead and buy it with the sale and rebate included, thanks for that.

We are on vacation this week but when I go to pay bills next week I think I will start using it.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2

[GlockSpock]

Haven't tried it yet but did go ahead and buy it with the sale and rebate included, thanks for that.

We are on vacation this week but when I go to pay bills next week I think I will start using it.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2

 

So you were able to easily use the rebate and the code to get it to $33.99? I thought that you could, but it just required hitting the right combination of buttons in the process of purchasing it:)

[Slasher]

Very easily, I just went by the steps you put in an earlier post and it rang up just fine. Now looking forward to using it.

Thanks again.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2

[GlockSpock]

For anyone that may be interested in purchasing this program, keep this in mind, I just received an email stating that the $39.99 sale ends Monday. So you only have a little bit more time that you can purchase it for $33.99! Then the cheapest you can get it will be $54:(

 

 

http://ynab.refr.cc/DKV5LHR

 

It appears sorta odd. To get it for $33.99, it seems you click the link, click "Take me to the Store", click "Purchase/Purchase Page", add YNAB to your cart (it may show up as being $54, but after you add it and go to your cart it should show $39.99 and then a $6 coupon).

 

[GlockSpock]

Just an update....for Black Friday weekend YNAB is $30 and you can still use the above $6 off coupon to bring it to $24.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk