YNAB – You Need a Budget

Personal Finance Software Review

If you are having trouble with traditional methods of budgeting finances, YNAB personal money management software may be the best solution for your problems.

Everyone can benefit from personal budget planning. It can help you get out of debt, live within your means, save more money, and get control of your finances. But setting up a budget and trying to live within it can be too cumbersome for many people.

You Need A Budget (YNAB) is an awesome budgeting tool for anyone, but especially for those who have trouble with normal ways to budget money. It is more than just personal budget software, it is a whole methodology and support system. And it is easy!

A real strength of this envelope budgeting software is that you don’t have to sit down and plan out a budget for a whole year. You just start with the money that you currently have in your checking account and budget for your immediate expenses.

Then, whenever you receive a paycheck or some other income, you immediately divvy it out to spending categories. Gradually, by spending less than you make, you get to the point where you live on the money you made in prior months rather than the current month. This is called building up a buffer.

The buffer allows you to take control of your finances rather than living paycheck to paycheck. Once in control, you are able to work on other goals like allocating money for non-monthly expenses, building an emergency fund, getting out of debt, and saving money.

YNAB is awesome when it comes to helping with budgeting and spending. It does not track investments.

Even though the software is easy to use, you will find an abundance of ways to get support for any questions you may have. The fully-integrated help feature not only focuses on how to use the software, but also on the methodology itself.

But it doesn’t stop there. There is a whole set of videos as well as live, online classes to help you with a variety of topics. I took one class and found the instructor to be phenomenal! And, if you can’t find the answer to your specific question, you can always contact the support team by email and they will be happy to respond.

Not only do novice budgeters use YNAB, but there is a large base of seasoned money pros who use it as well. They are so enthusiastic about it that they hang out in the You Need A Budget forums, supporting newbies and each other in everything from software and methodology questions, to getting out of debt and other personal finance issues.

There is even a section for success stories resulting from the use of YNAB. One story tells about how a person was able to pay off $200,000 of debt. Another mentioned relieving tensions and misunderstanding in marriage due to financial stress.

Unfortunately, YNAB is not free, and if you have been reading the other pages of this website, you know we do not like to waste money. But, at $59.95, this is a good value for your investment. Consider this:

1. Many people have been very successful using this system.
2. According to a survey of YNAB users about their return on investment, the average turn around after just one month was $200. After nine months it was $3,300!
3. You can try it for free for seven days to see if you like it.
4. After you do purchase it, there is a 30-day, money-back, guarantee.

So, if this sounds like something that could benefit you, visit the You Need a Budget website to try it out or to get more information. If you do make a purchase by going to their website through one of the links from this page, we receive a small commission, so thanks for supporting us!

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