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!
You could be describing my approach to budgeting exactly…always knowing I need to do it, always bouncing from system to system. If this one is good, I’d love to have it.
I am horrible horrible HORRIBLE
Okay, sorry, didn’t meant to submit that last comment! That’s what I get for typing with an 18-month-old on my lap!
I was going to say: I am horrible with budgets! We use Quicken, and the hubby loves it, but it makes my brain hurt. I just started the “cash only” budget plan because then I know, without having to mess with Quicken (and possibly cause the machine to explode in the process), how much I have to spend, and when it’s gone, it’s gone. But there has got to be an easier way! This software looks perfect for someone like me! Sign me up, sister!
Wow, I would love this.
After the expense of adopting and now a years’ worth of out of pocket fertility expenses, having a concrete budget would really help us pay down our debts!
Take care!
I’d never heard of YNAB before, but after reviewing their website it seems like a really great way to manage money and get a handle of finances.
If I don’t win it, I’ll buy it.
What you say about bouncing from plan to plan really echoes for me – time to check out YNAB!
Jesse from YNAB came and spoke at a parenting conference that I worked with. He was FANTASTIC! I wish everyone understood the value (both literally and figuratively) of having a budget. Everyone seems to smirk at the work “budget” kind of like we do when we hear “diet”. But just like a true diet YNAB helps you reform your lifestyle so you can live – and live within your means! I’m a huge fan!
I’d love to be entered into the contest for the Pro version! I’m ready to step-up my game!
me me me me me!
Even my mad rad Excel skillz aren’t helping us in this department!
Wow, I totally need something like this. I’m buying a small business, and I would love to get my own finances in order so I don’t have to worry about that as well as the business.
Hey ,
I love your awesome blog. We could use some help in the financials department. We want to start saving for a baby and we are having a hard time figuring out that saving thing.
thanks for thinking of us readers!
L
Oh, I sooooo need this product! Budgeting is the thorn in my side, the monkey on my back. I would love for this product to work for us the way it has for you. Reading your story was like therapy for me – we are not alone… I long for the giddy relief you speak of!
I’d love to try it!
Sounds like getting the ducks in a row! Something I could definitely use some help with! Thanks for the review and the chance to win!
We are in our 12th year of marriage and we have never set up the “B” word. Never. We are terrible at saving. We NEED to do something.
Me, please!
Ah … the solution to the non-existent budget issue!
Wow, I can so relate to your budget experiences! I have been struggling with an Excel based budget and hate not knowing if we have the money to spend or not. This sounds great.
I was just talking with my husband about budgeting. Very timely post. I will check them out. Thanks!
You sound a lot like me when it comes to me. A lot like a lot of other people. If this worked for you, I need it too.
Wow! This program sounds incredible! We have a very loose budget plan which is: DON’T SPEND MONEY! It doesn’t always work so well, especially because my husband enjoys to spend a little now and again (okay, okay, I do too). We don’t have any debt except for our mortgage, so it should be easy establish a budget. I think it would be really helpful for both of us to be able to understand what our true budget is, and feel that we have more control over our finances. Thanks for sharing your story and good luck!
We definitely need a budget. I use a software system, but I am just keeping track of what we spend. I am going to look into this.
Oh, please, please pick me! This sounds amazing.
Sounds like a great product, and easy to use.
Count me in on this giveaway. I’m in charge of the budget while my husband is working and school. Sometimes it keeps me up at night trying to figure out what ELSE we could cut from the budget. I’ll take whatever help I can get.
K –
Interesting and timely read. We do ‘okay’ + have great ‘plans’, but the one thing we never seem to get in place is “un-anticipated/emergency $$$” so, when the unanticipated event or emergency hits, we slap it on a cc which we promptly pay off, but still.
I’d sure welcome the opportunity to try the YNAB software. Thx!
I seriously need this! We are trying so much harder to be better budget-following people, but we still haven’t found a system that REALLY works for us!!!!
Great post! I’ll check out that budgeting software.
Your story is like a mirror to mine- only my husband & I have vowed to set up a budget for the last three years and never even came close. I think we have been afraid to confront our spending habits, but we have also never found a program I thought I could use without having to take a class or something. Even if I don’t win, I’ll probably buy this program because it looks great!
This sounds totally up my alley …. would love to win it! Thanks for the great giveaway.
I would love to actually have a budget. My husband and I are just starting out, and are already forming a negative association with money, because it’s all so vague…Pick me, pick me!!!
Thanks for sharing! That software looks great. Really.
A budget would probably help to control the anxiety I have been feeling about money lately – anxiety that increases with every news article I read!
This sounds sweet! You are cool! Thanks for letting us know about it. I would love to get my money spending hands on it.
Thanks!
Thanks for sharing. I’m going to go check it out…hopefully, I’ll win…
Yeah, we could definitely use this. I hope you give it to me, but if not I might just go buy it anyway. Thanks for the review!
wow…looks fun!! please let me win i never win anything!! 😉
I would love this. I am trying to build up a nest egg/rainy day fund.
I’m like that too!! If I don’t spend it – it’s going to go towards buying groceries or diapers. I would LOVE To win this, and I’ll check it out even if I don’t win!!!
Souns like a neat program!
I’m also a BYU accounting grad and I’d love to have a look at this software. Love the feature about carrying over unused amounts in a category over to the next month as well as the spreading during the next month if you have to go over budget in a certain category.
I think I NEED this….money is source of frustration for me – in many of the ways you described…I spend most of the money and therefore feel guilty – I hate asking if the money is there to buy something, maybe with this i could be more involved and yet, not pull my hair out. 🙂
Sounds like something everyone could use! I’d love a chance to win a copy too. Sharing this software with my resident Financial Analyst (and husband) too… 🙂
Thanks!
Looks and sounds like a great program. Thanks for the contest!
Um… I need this! Send it my way!
please please pick me!
great testimonial! Sounds like something I could use!
I’ve actually heard about YNAB; it is currently a top-selling product on Amazon in the finance category. I’d love to try it!
This would be a great way to start the transition into parenthood and my salary dropping to 50%. My hubby and I have done “mental math” about how much we will have once I reduce my work time but it would be nice to have something more concrete than that.
Ooooo, I totally have a Love/Hate relationship with money. Could totally use this!
oh man do we need this. i’ll definitely check out their site. thanks!