YNAB’s debt snowball program is okay (it’s nothing fancy and very simple), but I prefer the free debt snowball spreadsheet I found at another site to it. They are both very similar though.
At the end of the month I expect to have an additional $500 left over, ear marked for a slush fund, and paying for medicines and such. Also, I set aside mad money for my wife to use on herself, not me, or clothes, hygiene, just on stuff of $150.
I can transfer transactions between accounts. I could go on and on!
I saw my parents struggle and argue in regards to money. I’m 31 and I have been struggling with money my entire adult life.
The YNAB web site has all the information you need to get up and running, and the forums are a friendly place with very knowledgeable participants to help with any questions you have. The original developer and his team participate in the forums and quite often a suggestion by a user is adapted as a new feature. Yes, you could build an excel spreadsheet to do the same thing, but this program just makes things more convenient. When I started using YNAB, it was such a relief because it took my budget out of my head and down “on paper”, so I no longer have to think about it! On the other hand if, like me, you’ve never had much luck with the budgeting parts of quasi-accounting packages like Quicken and/or if you’re tired of spending so much time keeping track of your finances, give YNAB a shot. YNAB didn’t make a lot of sense to me at first, but after attending the free into webinar I was offered via email as soon as I downloaded the trial it all made sense. I’ve used several budgeting tools before and I always get bored with them. For some reason, this YNAB made it more fun for me. He does have an online budget tool you can subscribe to, but I don’t want to manage my personal information online. We have been looking for software to make Ramsey’s manual forms easier while still maintaining the frequent interaction required to really manage a budget. There aren’t too many negatives to YNAB at this point. You currently cannot download (automatically) your transactions from your bank. Otherwise, I would give NYAB a 5 star rating. Its USB portable too unlike Quicken and they don’t try to send your personal business out all over the Internet, like Intuit insists on doing, which is a big plus!
I have tried various budgeting techniques, such as what Dave Ramsey recommends (envelope system), but failed every time. This worked better for me, since you have something that is a little more specific and that you can look at on a daily basis.
This program is a must have to get your financial house in order. I was looking for this type of program since Money 2000!
The truth is Quicken and Money are more about having fancy checkbook registers than they are about helping you identify and conform to a budget. This is where they fail.
This program is exactly was it claims. Our only issue is that is takes a lot of time & focus to set up.
YNAB, where have you been all my life” Electric Indoor Grill.
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