Disclosure: I received this software free for review. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

Did you ever put something off because you knew it would hurt?  Perhaps a dentist appointment, getting a bikini wax, or maybe starting a new diet?  Well, I’ve tried several debt-reduction programs with varying success.  In one of the online forums I belong to, I read about the You Need A Budget program and wondered what all this fuss was about.  I kept seeing “YNAB” mentioned and doggone it, I had to be part of it.  It’s kind of like my friend Marsha — she says when she sees a line, she figures she is supposed to be in it.  So after checking out the YNAB program, I thought it was time to get a real-time budget going on.  My little envelope system has long gone by the wayside.  With online checking, I’m sort of out-of-sight-out-of-mind; the checkbook ledger is in the pits of my purse. And really, who has time?  Well, I need to make time because it’s ridiculous (and scandalous) to waste the lion’s share of our income on restaurant meals like we do.

So here we go.  Ripping off the band-aid.

I set up this example for you to see (because let’s face it, no one wants to see my REAL budget.  Including me.)   The first rule in YNAB is to give every dollar a job.  Have a purpose for that dollar.  You can set up the categories as you wish; there are preset lines for you to play with as well.   When you start, plan to work on this for at least 30 minutes or so in order to set up your budgeted spending for the first month.  I found over $2000 that we didn’t have budgeted; in my head, that’s always been blow money that we somehow burned through in a week or two.  So now I’m much more aware of those dollars! 

YNAB also encourages you to plan ahead for expenses.  For example, you know that Christmas comes in December.  Every year.  There is no variance in that fact.  So how much have you saved for it?  Will you be panicked on December 24, worrying about how much you’ve already spent and thinking about paying it off through March?  YNAB helps you to avoid crisis mode by building up that budgeted balance in advance.   I love that!!  This is a great way to plan ahead for birthdays, tag renewal for my car, and all those other expenses that are in the back of my mind but always come as a surprise to my bank statement.  Any money that you left in the budget over the month ends up rolling over to the next month.  In my case, I plan to budget it down to a zero balance in order to more quickly resolve our debt.  Why have $2000 sitting around if it can be paying down a credit card?  

The YNAB program is setup to sync to your Cloud, so you can access your budget from anywhere.  So all those times that I set up a dinky Excel spreadsheet on my computer?  Total flop because I could only get to it when I was at home, exhausted, in the middle of the night.  No budgeting is going to happen at that time of day.  With YNAB, I can check out the real-time status of my spending.  It’s going to take a while to build up the habit of checking in when I spend, but I’m willing to do that.  If you have a spouse, you can link their phone/device right to the budget as well.  It does not link to your bank account, so there’s no concern about someone hacking into your financial information.

It’s super helpful that YNAB offers a free full feature 34-day trial!  There’s absolutely no credit card required; you just get started.  If you like it, you can upgrade to the paid version which is a one-time $60 fee.  For those who purchased the software over 3 years ago, there is a fee to upgrade but for anyone who purchased after December 26, 2011 the upgrade is free. To me, it’s a huge bonus to know that I can likely receive free updates as the program improves.    You can also take advantage of the free online classes at any time.  Okay, so once you get set up on the program, you just need to take a few seconds whenever you’re shopping and update your account.  Take the time do look at the Walkthrough so you know what’s what.  YNAB is extremely easy to manage.  I like that there’s a place to put notes on the expenditure, too, so I can keep track of the excuses reasons I spent money.

Even if you’re not in debt, YNAB is a wonderful tool.  It would be great for business owners to track spending, bloggers to keep up with sponsorships and such, even for college students stay on budget, too.  You can gift YNAB to anyone!

What are your biggest budget struggles?  Would YNAB help you stay on top of your financial goals?  Check back in August because YNAB is sponsoring a giveaway, too!!