YNAB

Snwps

Hi, 

I've been using YNAB for a few years now and pay the subscription annually. Its been a massive help in me sorting my finances and improving my spending habbits. Ive just seen a notification that from 1st December the subscription renewal price will increase to almost $100 a year. This is almost double what I pay at the moment. Its taken a long time and a lot of work to get it suited to me and our lifestyle and I dont really want to be without it. 

So I was wondering if there are any other sites/apps or methods other people use or can suggest as an alternative. Even better if they're free. I have a couple of months to run both side by side to compare. 

I like the fact that YNAB monitors and tracks your spending habbits and also helps you plan and budget for forthcoming bills and expenses and recurring payments. I dont use the link feature but I've heard that there are some apps that can do this in the UK, are these safe?

What do you use? I think a spreadsheet is going to be a lot of work.

Thanks.

Sensory

Open banking is safe, although you sacrifice some privacy.

https://aspirebudget.com [ Free ]
Web
Free using Google Sheets.

https://www.budgetwithbuckets.com [ Free / $49 one-off to remove reminders ]
Windows / macOS / Linux (desktop only, mobile coming soon).
One-man developer who created it initially for himself, and continues to use it himself.

https://www.firefly-iii.org [ Free* ]
Web
Open-source but requires some technical knowledge (self-hosted).

https://actualbudget.com [ $4 monthly ]
Web / Windows / macOS / Linux / iOS / Android

https://goodbudget.com [ Free / $7 monthly / $5 monthly; $60 annually ] 
Web / iOS / Android
Free plan with reduced features (envelopes/accounts/devices/history).

https://www.monarchmoney.com [ $9.99 monthly / $7.50 monthly; $89.99 annually ]
Web / iOS / Android
Has budgeting features, but it's also a full wealth management app with financial planning and investment tracking (may not link to UK accounts).

nyermen

Both the reddit and their own support forums (currently?) have discussions about alternatives that are worth reading.  Aspire Budget (FREE - google sheets) seems to be the closest - it seems to attempt to replicate in fact.  The main complaint is lack of bank import, but none of us in the UK had that anyway (despite paying the same as the US - albeit apparently it might be coming finally to the UK but I prefer manual entry anywy).

Regardless of debates about whether its fair, whether the lower price was a promise for life etc, its the poor communications that I think have many people upset, including me.  

It is indeed a big rise - 17% for late subscribers, and up to 100% for earlier ones (or 150% if paying monthly).    What stops it going up next year? (nothing) Why the sudden change (money troubles? Trying to grow where growth just isn't there?).  And the founder stood down as CEO earlier this year.  All warning signs (acquisition?)

Could I afford the increase? Sure.  Will I pay it? I have until late January to decide.  Right now my feeling is no, but if I do go, as a measure of good will to the YNAB community I will contact the company and buy a gift card for one year for someone who is struggling to afford it but needs it, as recognition that YNAB (v4 to be fair) made a huge difference to my financial sense.

It helps hugely that I've been able to resurrect & fix (64bit conversion) my YNAB v4 app on my mac, and I've never really cared about the mobile apps.

newlywed

I am a late subscriber to ynab so the increase isn’t huge for me.

my personal view is that I could never manage to budget and track spending for more than a week before it went to pot. Now that I have ynab and the mobile app, I have no excuse to add to my budget even when at the till. 

My first month of using it saved me way more than the annual subscription fee, so for me it is worth it.  However if you are in the habit of budgeting and tracking then another method may be best for you… and if you miss ynab then you can always purchase at a later date.

The additional content they give, the development and releases that rarely have any bugs (so are well tested), the tips videos and help guides… they all need someone to be paid to make them. 

FZwanab

I’m still happy with ynab4 got it on a steam sale for about £12 recommended on this site, years ago, possibly 2011.  Looks like it was the best bargain ever! 

Emmia

Not a YNAB user, but the $100 annual fee equates to about £6 to £7 a month - it's a product that people will have written and updated... and they deserve to be paid. 

Whether the app is worth continuing with though, depends on how much you a) value your time in terms of finding a replacement and setting it up b) want to avoid the hassle of finding an equivalent replacement that's cheaper c) whether by using the app you save more than the monthly fee in terms of better money management. 

I used to use Yolt, who are pulling out of this area, and I'm now using (and paying for) Emma - which overall I find a better product.

Pixie5740

Emmia said:

Not a YNAB user, but the $100 annual fee equates to about £6 to £7 a month - it's a product that people will have written and updated... and they deserve to be paid. 

Whether the app is worth continuing with though, depends on how much you a) value your time in terms of finding a replacement and setting it up b) want to avoid the hassle of finding an equivalent replacement that's cheaper c) whether by using the app you save more than the monthly fee in terms of better money management. 

I used to use Yolt, who are pulling out of this area, and I'm now using (and paying for) Emma - which overall I find a better product.

The early adopters of nYNAB deserve what they were promised. YNAB has essentially turned round and given those people the two-fingered salute whilst trying to gaslight them into believing they were offered a 10% discount for life rather than $45 per year. YNAB has since backtracked on this. It seems YNAB have gone to the same PR school as Randy Andy. 

Subscribers outside of the USA don’t have access to most of the new features and once you’ve taken into account fluctuations in exchange rate it just wasn’t worth it for me. 

I’ve resurrected my YNAB4 and that’s what I’ll be using until it eventually dies. 

KeepOnKnitting

I am another user feeling that the price increase is just more than the app is worth to me. I started using it in 2017 and had it at about £40 per year which I didn't mind. $100 just seems too much, so thanks for the suggestions above.

mr_stripey

I've been a YNAB user for almost a year now (after a couple of false starts previously). It has revolutionised my finances and I have already saved way more than the new subscription fee. I'm certainly going to renew this year but the Aspire sheet mentioned above does look interesting so I will certainly take a look over the next few months to see what it offers. Obviously being free is a huge bonus but we will see about it's useability.

I guess $100 a year might seem expensive, but considering some months I waste more than that on take aways and other crap, the $100 to YNAB is probably good value overall!

RG2015

This is not intended to be critical of anyone’s choices, but I don’t understand the need for this, let alone paying a subscription.

I use spreadsheets and am completely in control of my budget. The majority of my elective spend is by credit card, hence recorded and the rest on my bank statement, also recorded.

If it is a psychological thing then so be it, and I accept that it is down to how different people process information differently.

mr_stripey

RG2015 said:

This is not intended to be critical of anyone’s choices, but I don’t understand the need for this, let alone paying a subscription.

I use spreadsheets and am completely in control of my budget. The majority of my elective spend is by credit card, hence recorded and the rest on my bank statement, also recorded.

If it is a psychological thing then so be it, and I accept that it is down to how different people process information differently.

It certainly isn't for everyone I accept, but it definately works for me and lots of others (I had spreadsheets coming out of my ears but none quite did what YNAB has done for me).

Getting in the YNAB mindset for budgeting for "real expenses" has been a big plus for me; my budgets (like many of us) have failed in the past something like this:

I get paid £2000 (yay!). I add up my fixed bills and they come to £1000. Great, I have £1000 left

But wait, why am I skint? Because I failed to budget for Christmas, the car MOT, a new boiler, school uniforms, meals out, holidays etc

YNAB asks that you put money into these pots every month and keeps a nice track of them. Christmas just gone for the first time practically ever I had money ready and could buy presents stress free.

I accept that all of this could be achieved without YNAB but for me at least it works and I can justify the subscription fee considering how much it has helped me.