Layout:
Home > YNAB

YNAB

August 31st, 2015 at 12:28 pm

We downloaded YNAB this weekend. I've taken one class and entered in some things (primarily savings pots that already exist in our checking account). Tomorrow is payday so seems a good day to start using it! I think initially I'm going to be entering things the old way in my spreadsheet to make sure it is lining up with what I expect YNAB to do.

My husband and I did sit down last night for a discussion. He is now aware of our total cash savings, the current amount on credit cards (not paying any interest), the net income, our expenses and how much we are saving annually for retirement. He seemed very pleased to know all the details. He was a bit surprised that there wasn't as much extra as he thought. He admitted to spending thinking that with his raise there is a lot of extra. There really is plenty. To me, it's about not wasting the extra on lunches out. We need to make sure we are accomplishing what we want with our money.

It was a good start. We didn't make any decisions on buying anything new. No changes have been made to anything yet, which is fine. We'll get where we want to go soon. Smile

The first month of YNAB will be interesting as I'm not entirely sure how much we spend on groceries or gas each month. I will do my best to make an educated guess. The nice thing is I do know how to save cash for non monthly expenses, such as an insurance bill. I already have that part of the budget figured out....well for some things. I'd like to do this for more items as we move forward.

What do you like best about using YNAB? Did anyone try using it and then give up?

2 Responses to “YNAB”

  1. Buendia Says:
    1441059735

    I've been using it since January and love it!! I think what I like best is that it thinks like I do: saving up in categories for some things (like the insurance you mention and Christmas and other things) and the ability to move things around (from groceries if we have extra at the end of the month for example, into something else). I do a lot of "saving up" so it helps. Also - I like that it's tracking our actual accounts so I can see how much we have total in tuition savings even if it's in two different accounts.

  2. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1441163719

    I like the flexibility of it. When you are budgeting with the money you earned the previous month (Rule 4) you know for sure that the money is already there. It also makes it possible for me to do something like putting all my cash into one physical account to earn 2.5% interest on *everything* but still be able to know exactly how much is in the different categories/buckets.

    It will probably take you awhile to figure out your groceries/etc. Until then you can always do WAM - whacking the mole. Smile Also known as rolling with the punches, or adjusting your dollars jobs as needed. But I like WAM the best. Smile

Leave a Reply

(Note: If you were logged in, we could automatically fill in these fields for you.)
*
Will not be published.
   

* Please spell out the number 4.  [ Why? ]

vB Code: You can use these tags: [b] [i] [u] [url] [email]