Usually I give stuff away on this site because someone sends it to me or asks me to review it. Today I’m reviewing a product because I love it LOVE IT and I’m giving it away because I asked the creator if I could have a copy to give away. So here goes the longest review ever with a little embarrassing personal history thrown in.
Dan and I have never been great at budgeting. I was taught to budget and balance a checkbook when I was really young. My dad’s an accountant for the love of chicken and I vividly remember him sitting at the kitchen table paying bills and balancing the checkbook. He and my mom were always careful with money and they taught me to be as well.
Then college hit and I got a bit lax. I learned to only start thinking about money when it ran out and I was always confused. “Like, how come my check totally bounced?” Now, I’m a smart girl but I guess I just decided that I was too smart to waste time tracking every penny. I always did okay, made my rent and tuition payments on time and graduated college with very little debt. I think I only called my parents for a massive bailout package once or twice.
Then after graduation, Dan and I got married. I was supporting him through school, working full time while he held down a part-time job. Suddenly the expenses were shared and the income was more than I’d had before. We weren’t rich by any stretch of the imagination but for college students we were doing fine. We had a TWO bedroom apartment with no holes in the walls and a non-shag carpet. I didn’t think we needed to be strict with money.
I planned on staying home once we had kids but I was nervous about how it would feel to be financially dependent on another person. Somehow I got Dan to agree to let me plan and budget our money. I thought that being “in charge” would help me feel like I had a stake in our finances even though I wasn’t the one bringing home the bacon once I became a mom.
But I never really got a handle on the situation. I tried budgeting software, Excel spreadsheets, using a cash-only budget, where when I ran out of cash I ran out of spending power. I bounced from plan to plan but never found a good fit.
Dan and I have grown to equate money with fear. We don’t know how much we have and we don’t always know how much is coming. To me, unexpected income is “free money” and although we (especially Dan) feel a sense of duty to put it towards upcoming major expenses, we want to spend some for fun too and then end up feeling guilty about it. We don’t really have any debt and we have a good amount of savings but we’re not progressing and it seems like we dip more and more into our emergency reserves because our paycheck didn’t quite cover what we spent the previous month.
We make a good living but feel guilty when we spend money on wants because we don’t know if we should and we’re always worried that we’re not managing things right. Financial lame-ish-ness is one of the major causes of stress in our marriage. I’m in charge so whenever we want to buy something, Dan will ask, “Do we have it in the budget?” and I’ll look down at my shoes and say, “We have it in the bank, I think.” And he’ll decide we probably can’t afford it. But then sometimes I’ll buy it anyway and then we’ll be happy for a minute with a vague feeling of guilt. It’s not okay.
So a couple of months ago my sister called me ranting and raving about the new budgeting software she’s using. It’s called YNAB, which stands for You Need a Budget. I winced at the B-word but decided to hear her out. By the end of our conversation I was convinced that I’d at least give it a try, knowing that they offer a money-back guarantee.
Well, it’s $50 I won’t be getting back because I cannot say enough positive things about this software. It’s easy to use. It lets me feel like I’m controlling my money, not the other way around. It’s intuitive. It’s fast and simple to set up. It’s complex enough to do everything I need it to do without being so confusing I want to beat my head against the keyboard, a problem I’ve had with budgeting software in the past. It’s created for families, not businesses and that’s very apparent, although my sister uses it to track her business expenses as well. It comes with instructional material that focuses on living within your means, building up a buffer so you’re not living paycheck to paycheck and really being accountable to yourself and your spouse.
The company is small and they really want to get it right. They have helpful forums and great response time. When I posted a question, I received a personal email and a fix for my problem within a few short hours, even though it was on a weekend.
I set up all the categories in my budget and then Dan and I have a meeting to go over everything. There has been no tension in our meetings, just sort of a giddy feeling of relief. Relief that we have a plan. Relief that there is enough money to do the things that are really important. Relief that he can finally trust me with our family finances.
We have a category for fun money for each of us and one for clothes. We can’t put a lot of money into these categories each month but the money accrues so next month if I haven’t spent my $10, I’ll have $20 and eventually I’ll be able to buy a whole sweater. In the past if I’d budgeted $10 for clothes, I’d rush to spend it so I wouldn’t lose it. The same thing goes with birthday money. I knew that if I didn’t spend my $20 from Grandma right away, it would be absorbed and end up paying for pull-ups or something so I’d buy a $20 piece of uselessness just so I could spend the money on me.
Now I just add my birthday money to my fun-money budget and watch it grow.
This accumulation feature allows us to do things like set up small budgets for several different projects without needing actual separate accounts. I have an account for haircuts and I budget a third of a hair cut each month so I can go in and have it done every three months with no worry about whether or not we can afford for me to live without split ends.
But if I overspend one of my categories, I’m not penalized for it specifically the next month. If Magoo suddenly outgrows all his clothes and I go $100 over-budget on the kids’ clothing category, $100 is taken from the OVERALL budget the next month. I love this feature because sometimes things come up and I don’t want to feel like if I overspend in an area, I’m toast in that area for months. I like that I can spread out the squeeze.
My favorite thing about it is the honesty. Sometimes in the past, when I’d go shopping, I’d hurry to get everything put away before Dan got home so I wouldn’t have to explain to him what I’d purchased and where the money came from. When he’d ask me a week later if the shirt I was wearing was new, I’d mumble something and he’d wonder if I had some whole new secret wardrobe he’d paid for with our life savings without knowing it.
Now I come home from shopping and show him everything with excitement because I know that he knows that it’s all budgeted and accounted for.
We’re achieving goals. We’re learning to have positive feelings about money. We’re strengthening our relationship. We’re gaining self-control and security about our future.
You should too.
Seriously. Go check out the site. Read what they’re all about. I know I can’t be the only one who finds herself at war with money.
If you’d like to win a free copy of YNAB Pro, and I’d highly recommend ordering Pro, leave a comment on this post and I’ll draw a winner on Saturday night. We saved more than $50 the first week we used it by cutting unnecessary spending and noticing strange charges on various accounts we hadn’t been monitoring closely enough. So even if you don’t win, it’s worth the investment. Good luck!
I’d love to win this. I have been planning to set up a real, honest-to-goodness grownup budget this year, but I haven’t yet.
This may be just the tool for such a job.
What a great blog!! I found it from your “Mom today” blog and have been reading since, and had to (finally!) comment, as budgeting is my HUGE downfall – something I need to do, and have been an utter failure at. This sounds like something I might actually be able to do. Thanks for the link, and the contest (I’m crossing my fingers!)
Whoa, this would be utterly awesome. This could be me and mine, we’ve had the same thing going for the last 4 years, since we made a household together. This could be our story. 🙂 Thanks for putting the words to it!
WE need a budget. Or better yet, I need a budget since I’m in charge of the finances. I know what we have, but I just don’t know exactly what we need. I’m trying to save, but save what and put it where is eluding me. Thanks for the contest and the heads up on this software.
This sounds too good to be true! I would LOVE to have a budget that sounds as painless as YNAB.
I need a budget too. I am exactly like how you describe you were 🙁
This looks like great software. My husband has taken care of the money for the last couple years, but this looks like a way we could both be involved.
I’m so in. We use Quicken. I hate it.
Oh wow, this sounds amazing!
Like you two, my husband and I have struggled with money since day 1. It isn’t that we don’t have enough, just that we handle money in our heads and on paper so differently that conversation is difficult.
Something that has been really tough is that, in our household, I do most of the spending. So when it comes time to reconcile bills, I feel like any blame for overspending rests on my shoulders.
Anyway, this sounds perfect – I’d love to win a copy!
I dread the lets sit down and talk about the money talk especially because Im in charge. yuck. i need this software.
YES, we need this!!!! The start of a new year is a great time to finally get it together!!!!! Thanks
Good jorb!
I, too, learned to balance a checkbook young, and I handled my finances well in highschool and college, but then I got married and eagerly threw the responsibility in my husband’s lap. To be honest being “in charge” of money terrifies me. But even the thought of handing over the reins causes a sick feeling in a the pit of my stomach which, I think, is a combination of guilt, self-doubt, and relief. I’m pretty smart, and I’m really good at organization – it’s not that I’d be bad at it. I’m a worrier, so it both bothers me and makes me feel guilty that I avoid all the money monitoring. My husband has a budgeting system, but I know the vagueness of the cost of our various home projects and free-spending bothers him and it isn’t easy to create definite plans for all those things. It would be nice to see how much we really do spend when we embark on a home improvement project, how much we spend on dvd’s, and how much we could save. I tend to avoid things that stress me out – doctor’s appointments, budgets, checkbook balancing… but I know better. Maybe this program would help.
I would love to win a copy of this. We’ve been working on our budget but could use some help.
My budget so far has been summed up as, “I spend as little as I can”, does that count? My husband claims no, and after reading your post I agree with him a bit more. Please put me in the YNAB sweepstakes!
I would love YNAB. I feel that my husband expects me to magically come up with money whenever he deems something suddenly necessary. I’m a stay at home mom and feel the pressure to keep it together.
Your story could have been my story (except for the doing all right for college students). I don’t balance my checkbook–not because I can’t but because I equate it with this pit of sick fear in my stomach.
*sigh*
So yes, I do need a budget!
I NEED this!
Thanks
This sounds so great!
WOW! You just described our story. We just pay attention when it runs low. I too have tried several different methods and have yet to find one that fits our needs. Thanks for the review.
That sounds great. We need a budget really bad. I would love to stay home with our son, but at this point we are not there. If we could create and follow a good budget plan….I think it would be managable.
I would absolutely love this software. Mike and I have a terrible time with our budget, because we have set up a home-made system that is WAY to complicated to use. So we just don’t. And therefore, we don’t save, and therefore we will probably never be able to move out of this house. I’m glad you found some software that works for you – I’d love to have a chance to see if it will work for me too!
Wow. This post couldn’t have better timing. Our goal has been to track our expenses this month in order to set up a budget. Unlike you, we do have debt that we’re trying to reign in. This sounds great because I’m not a big fan of other accounting software. I want something that my husband can use and like too. I’m in charge of the money, which means I’m usually the one saying we can’t afford it. Then I feel guilty, and we go ahead and get it, even is we REALLY can’t afford it. Ugh. Things are going to improve though!
By the way, is there a Canadian version, or would this work for Canadians? I sometimes find software country-specific.
I, too, need a budget. I just started reading The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, and found a forum (www.llnoe.com) that has been so helpul to my husband and I in the journey. They all speak so highly of YNAB, but I just really do not have the money to pay for it at this time, so would love to win it.
How great it is for you all that your sister brought it up, and that it is working so well for you! Congratulations, and I hope it continues to work for you.
I have an engineer friend who uses quicken. She makes spreadsheets and has a ROOF budgeted in for when she may need a new one in 10 years. She makes me sick. I just want to get our bills paid off. I’ve tried everything. I’ve used Quicken, several different online money managers that are supposed to help budget, and I’ve even spent hours on my own excel spreadsheets. Every time I swear that it will work but it never lasts and I’m left at the end of the month wondering where the money went.
Please help me! 🙂
Even if I don’t win, I’m looking at the site right now. IF you say its a winner, I may have to try it.
We currently have a budget, but it’s one that only my husband really understands. I would love something that’s more “user-friendly” for the whole family 🙂
I’m totally sold. We’ve tried a lot of different things, too, but most of it was just plain too confusing and too much work. This program looks much better.
OMG! This would be perfect! We recently made the transition from military family to civilian family and GAH! We are having a hard time because um we have bills, that he doesn’t get a special allowance for. We have yet to find a budget plan that works for us and this sounds perfect.
I think we all could use some help with budgeting. Add me to your list
I would love this software. I’ve been trying for years to set up a budget and nothing seems to work for us!
Wow. I want this. I need this.
oh awesome! I could use that!
Good for you for finding good solutions, not giving up, sharing, working things out in great ways,being wise…..and sign me up too, ,please. 🙂
Wow – that sounds great. In the past I’ve used more complicated software that just allowed me to track my expenses and not actually create a budget. The software took a while to use and it wasn’t really what I wanted, but this sounds great! I’d love a copy.
wish the mac version was available…
I just spent 20 minutes browsing the site and I’m totally impressed! I would love to have a better plan because like you guys, we have sort of floundered from plan to plan and none fit just right.
I would love a copy of this program. We too have a war with money!
I like this post. Thanks.
I’d love to win this! The hubs promoted me to CFO this year and I’d love to try something different than the budgeting program we’ve been using forever. I’m not an accountant and the easier the system the better.
we do okay with our current budget, but we could definitely be tighter. the software would help immensely! my hubs has some pretty confusing (to me) spreadsheets that make no sense . . . sounds like this software would make life a lot easier!
thanks for the chance to win!
Hi!
I’m a new reader to your blog, and I love your attitude toward being a mom. So far your posts make me laugh and feel happy about being a mom. Thanks.
I would love to get a better handle on things money wise, too.
I would love to get my money organized this year. It would be great to win this program.
I’m on round 295,640 of budget plans. And I’m only 22! My husband and I just had a discussion last night about how we’re going to make our money last and work and whatnot… which includes weekly check-up meeting (mostly for me since I’m the one that shops!). This sounds like it would be perfect!
Thanks for a great review! My husband took over the money a while ago, but since I spend most of it, I think I ought to take it back again. I am not the microsoft money type, so this looks GREAT!
The sooner we pay off his grad school loans, the sooner we can finally get ahead.
Count me in to the drawing.
Thanks!
This sounds great,especially now with the economy the way it is and my husbands hours getting cut at work. We really need to get a hold on things so we can come out of this bad economy and still have our house and cars
This looks really fabulous. I desperately need something more than the giant slush fund that is our budget right now.
This is a great idea- my husband and I are very frugal, but we still let a lot of money fall through the cracks every week. And since we’re not sure if I’m going to be working after baby #2 arrives, we need to start watching those things!
I NEED! Not want, NEED!! So, um, yeah. Pick me!
I would so love to win this.
I am always on a budget – like a diet, I falter here and there.
karen
Ok that looks like something I can do. I’m so bad with money. This might help.