![]() We have a lot of good things to say about YNAB. With that information in mind, we can move to the pros and cons. There’s a lot more to YNAB than the above, but those are the important basics to understand. This is a flexible approach that ensures you won’t go into debt. ![]() If YNAB detects that you’ve spent more than you budgeted on a category, it will make you move that money from another category to cover the overspending. You can also do this in the YNAB mobile app. Adding a transaction in the YNAB web app. This spending then gets deducted from your budget.Īlternatively, you can link your bank or credit card to YNAB and have it automatically import transactions for you. Once you’ve created your budget, the real work begins.Įach time you make a purchase, you’ll need to record it in the YNAB app with the appropriate budget category. Obviously, this is just for illustrative purposes. You can’t assign more money than you have, which helps you avoid debt. Instead, YNAB uses the amount of cash available in your bank account to tell you how much you have available to assign. But unlike with other apps, these amounts aren’t arbitrary numbers. You can create as many categories and sub-categories as you want.Īs with other apps, you assign the amount you plan to spend to each item in your budget. The app’s main screen is a list of general categories of expenses such as “Immediate Obligations” and “Debt Payments.” Within each of these general categories, you’ll find more specific items such as “Rent” or “Student Loan Payment.” A sample of budget categories in YNAB. Create Your BudgetĪt its core, YNAB is a budgeting app much like you’re used to. This way, you can see how it differs from other budgeting and personal finance apps. How Does YNAB Work?īefore I get into specific pros and cons, I’ll give a brief overview of how YNAB works. Need help creating a budget? Read this next. Keep reading to find out what sets it apart. If they help you make better financial decisions, then please keep using them.īut if you’re dissatisfied with the state of your finances and looking for a different way of managing your money, then YNAB could be for you. I’m not saying that apps like Mint or Personal Capital are useless. To be clear, this was just my experience. Finally, I’d feel a bit guilty and then continue with my usual ways.I’d think something like, “Dang, I spent a lot eating out last month.”.At the end of each month, I’d get a report showing what I’d spent.They provided me with lots of information, but they didn’t help me take action. What I now realize, however, is that those apps did nothing to change my behavior. With this much information at my fingertips, I would finally be in control of my money. They seemed like a great idea: a unified view of all my financial accounts, plus detailed reports on my spending each week. Until I started working on this review, I couldn’t pinpoint why I never stuck with budgeting apps such as Mint or Personal Capital. In the end, you’ll be able to tell if the app is right for you. Below, I’ll take a look at the pros and cons of YNAB, as well as how it differs from other personal finance apps. To help you decide if you should give YNAB a try, we’ve put together this review. If you’ve been interested in budgeting, or just want to try a different way of managing your money, then YNAB could be the solution you’re looking for. Now, I’m convinced that while budgeting may not be for everyone, it can make a huge difference in your life if you do it the right way. It’s given me a level of control and optimism that I’ve never felt about my money before. After using YNAB for the past month, however, I’m excited to say it’s not like all the other personal finance apps out there. Oh great, I thought, another personal finance app that claims it will change my life. So when a coworker recommended I look into You Need a Budget (YNAB), I was skeptical. Budgeting seemed nice in theory, but it “just didn’t work for me.” But generally, I’d either forget to update the budget, or I’d get tired of the app telling me how much money I’d spent the previous month. I’d even tried creating a budget in a fancy spreadsheet. Sure, I’d tried budgeting software like Mint. I used to think budgeting was for other people. Helps You Break the Paycheck to Paycheck Cycle.Zero-Based Budgeting Puts You in Control.
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