Want to understand your income and spending habits on a deeper level? Gone are the days of paper budgets! If you’re at all tech savvy, it might be time to upgrade to one of the best budgeting apps on the market – You Need a Budget (YNAB).
YNAB’s philosophy is helping their customers to gain total control over their money. They help their customers to stop living paycheck to paycheck, get out of debt and save more money. In fact, they claim that many new budgeters typically save $600 in their first two months and more than $6,000 in their first year.
Those are some amazing results!
The Four Rules of YNAB
YNAB claims their users are so successful because they follow their four simple rules for successful budgeting. These rules can be followed in and out of the app; the app just makes it easier to track.
Their four rules are:
- Give every dollar a job – buy less on mood and stick to your plan
- Embrace your true expenses – break your large, less-frequent, expenses down into manageable monthly “bills.”
- Roll with the punches – Avoid the guilt and learn to adjust between your budget categories
- Age your money – get to the point where you’re paying next month’s bills with dollars from the previous month
YNAB will teach you how to follow these rules and their app just makes it far easier to track and ensure you stay on budget.
The YNAB App
YNAB can sync automatically with your bank accounts, import your data from a file, or allow you to manually enter each transaction (whichever you find is easiest). Automatically syncing your bank accounts, however, makes it a no-brainer solution to staying on top of your finances.
You can also track your goals, use their loan planner tools, and get your net worth and spending in their impressive reports.
Pricing
One downside to YNAB? It’s a bit pricier than some other options. You can sign up for either $98.99/year or $14.99/month. They do, however, offer a free trial for 34 days so you can get a good feel for how the app helps you.
Learning
Another downside to YNAB is that it can feel a bit overwhelming at first, especially if you’re uncomfortable with technology. However, they offer incredible video courses, live workshops, guides, and excellent customer service to help keep you on track! In fact, their customer service and care is far and ahead of their competitors.
Get Proactive About Your Money
The thing we love most about YNAB? It helps you to get proactive about your finances. Instead of just tracking what you spend, its proactive approach not only helps you to get ahead but also to get a better understanding of where your money is going and how to spend it better.
And hey – for a 34 day trial, we certainly think it’s worth a go!
