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Cost of living

Stretching your budget? Share tips and advice to discuss budgeting and energy saving here. For the latest deals and discounts, sign up for Mumsnet Moneysaver emails.

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Original poster

Would You Need a Budget be useful for someone like me?

11 replies

Http · 14/10/2015 08:04

Hi.

Money is mega mega tight.
We have a mahoosive debt to pay off ( I mean like crazy massive)

Will the software help me do you think? And how does it actually help?

Ive had a brief look online but is it just a posh excel spreadsheet which I can do myself at home or us there something I'm missing

Would love to hear from people who have used it as I really need to get my finances sorted but don't want to waste money buying something I don't really need.

Thanks!

OP posts:

lilacclery · 14/10/2015 10:16

Hi http I have ynab but have not utilised it properly yet.

It comes up on special offer on steam regularly and there is always discount codes for 10% off often.

I'm on this thread and Laska there swears by YNAB October Frugaleers
Useful YNAB Thread

Original poster

Http · 14/10/2015 11:54

Thanks for the links. Reading through the posts I think it would be quite useful. I'm OK with budgeting at the moment but I would like to really step it up a gear and learn new things as at the moment my budgeting skills are mostly down to my own way with money.

Do steam have regular discounts or would I be waiting awhile and should just go ahead and buy it now?

OP posts:

Helgathehairy · 15/10/2015 22:29

I'm pretty certain there's a 30 day free offer always on.

Helgathehairy · 15/10/2015 22:30

Or if you're a student you can get it for free.

lilacclery · 16/10/2015 08:40

Helga is right about the 30 day trial I forgot that, and it gives you full access to the system.

if you look for the student offer they apparently don't look for proof i didn't do this but i think others have

EatSleepWorkRepeat · 16/10/2015 08:43

I love it, I find it focuses the mind more than anything I could produce myself, and makes it harder to forget about irregular bills. The downside is I now have to accept that I have no spare money, even if it is the day after payday and my bank account looks healthy!

Helgathehairy · 16/10/2015 10:05

They do look for proof for the student offer. When I signed up originally I had to submit a copy of DHs student card. but the offer is only a year and when you go to renew they don't look for proof then

Original poster

Http · 16/10/2015 12:41

Thank you. I am actually enrolled with my local college on a part time course. They have asked an email of course confirmation/ student card copy so will try that and hopefully I can get it for a year.

I have also enrolled into a YNAB online webinar tonight which im hoping will explain the software a bit more.

I really really need to get my finances in check because of the massive debt I have. When I've done the maths of how much I will need to take out each month to pay it back it leaves me with very little- just enough to scrape by so I will need to be very careful with every penny.

To make matters worse DH has been out of work for 6m after being made redundant and just can't find a job. It's so so competitive at the moment. He can't even get interviews for jobs which are practically identical to the job he lost!

Hopefully he can find something soon and then I can work out how much we have coming in and work out things from there. I'm hoping the software will help me get a real tight grip on my finances.

OP posts:

ProneUponHerUnmadeBed · 16/10/2015 19:17

Would definitely recommend YNAB - have been using since the beginning of the year (on free student version) and have much clearer picture of our finances and what we can and can't afford. Money is still tight, but it's helped me keep out of overdraft this year. You get most out of it if you stick to the idea of budgeting only what you have in hand rather than projecting ahead to money coming in (I don't always manage this). The seminars and online help are really clear (handling credit cards in the software is hardes to get your head around), and the forums are helpful. Definitely more than a souped up Excel spreadsheet.

Original poster

Http · 16/10/2015 19:24

I'm on my webinar class right now and it really looks fab! I got an email to say that I can have it free till the end of the year as I'm a student. So really pleased.

OP posts:

dementedma · 02/12/2015 20:30

I've tried it a few times, including the webinars, but just got in a mess with it each time. Dh and I get paid at different times and as it runs in calendar months, it got all mixed up. I freely admit this is because I am not techy and crap at spreadsheets but it just got me more confused and I was disappointed as I really wanted it to work for us!

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