Ynab

bobobski

I keep seeing people talking about YNAB on here but only in passing. I've read its 4 principles on its website and it all makes sense and sounds good, but does it really save you enough money to justify the cost? Is a basic Excel budget a good replacement?

Archi_Bald

You can do everything in Excel that YNAB does but you'll have to spend hours on end to set it all up.

If you want to scrimp and still have a ready-made application, look for a free version of MS Money

ChesterDog

I suppose it depends on your mindset.

I was amused at their strapline: Gain Total Control of Your Money...

(...by giving some of it to us).

Superscrooge

If it helps you to budget it could be money well spent.

For me it would be a waste of $60 because I am happy looking after my own finances without needing computer software to help me budget.

Having looked at the website I do like their rules of; 'Save for a rainy day' and 'Live on last months income'

If everyone did this there would be less people with debt problems

bobobski

Archi_Bald wrote: »

You can do everything in Excel that YNAB does but you'll have to spend hours on end to set it all up.

If you want to scrimp and still have a ready-made application, look for a free version of MS Money

I am an Excel idiot so wasn't suggesting I could mimic YNAB sadly, although I have prepared spreadsheets for each month in 2016 with categories. I even managed some conditional formatting. Red = bad!

ChesterDog wrote: »

I suppose it depends on your mindset.

I was amused at their strapline: Gain Total Control of Your Money...

(...by giving some of it to us).

My thinking entirely. It's, what, £40 or so to buy it as a one off cost... But unless it's going to save me £40 fairly quickly the whole thing seems very anti MSE...

Money_Muppet

I don't know if they still do it, but if you watch the live tutorials it was possible to get a free copy. I won my copy (and learnt how to use it properly) by watching all the tutorials twice, until I won a copy. I haven't given YNAB a penny, yet it has enabled me to transform my finances. I'm not out of debt yet, but I finally have full view of where every penny is going. Would (and do) recommend it to anyone trying to get their finances under control.

Archi_Bald

Spending £40 on a personal finance software package sounds a complete bargain to me for anyone who wants to take serious control of their finances. That's about 11 pence a day if you keep the package for just a year - and you'd no doubt be using it for many years. So it's probably a penny or two a day, for a superb way to manage your finances. I think it's completely false economy to save on a financial control tool.

I have been using my MS Money (which I did get for free) for over a decade now, and I can't imagine to be without it as I have dozens of active accounts at any one point in time.

If you can a free YNAB copy by sitting through some financial education sessions, even better. I know that Steam sometimes do special offers for it, too. A friend of mine got a full copy for some £7. I think you can also get free downloads of backlevel versions: http://www.youneedabudget.com/download/ynab3, and if you are a student.

ItchyFeet

I'm with Money Muppet on this - I won my copy too by watching the tutorials. Even if i hadn't won it, i think it's definitely worth the cost.

I was thinking just yesterday how much healthier my finances are since i've been using it - even just after Christmas. I believe they do a discount from time to time via steampowered.com.

bobobski

I've just watched 2 tutorials and about to go into the third and final one. I'd tried to do this before but it wasn't working, probably because only today they launched the latest "model". Not sure if the free copy applies at the mo (because of the new model and also because I can't see it on the website anymore) but I've gotta say, it looks fantastic. Made me realise I have a problem that I'd considered not a problem, i.e. always £500 "behind" on my credit card. Cashback, no interest paid, but I was treating it as next month's spending. I'm rarely impressed by software but this does look fab.

bobobski

I should have asked, when did y'all find out you'd won the free copy? (Sorry, lots of American/Canadian presenters...)

Was it during/straight after the class? Or a few days?

bobobski

Ahhhh the new YNAB launched today is a monthly payment for the life of the product, not a lump sum. Presumably that's why I can't find reference to a free copy. YNAB 4 will only be supported for one more year.