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Does anyone use YNAB (You Need A Budget) and fancy a support/chat thread?

523 replies

lougle · 22/08/2013 08:16

I've just got the trial version and I'm hooked, if not slightly overwhelmed. I'm currently in 'why is it asking me to budget so much money' mode.

I'm hoping that I'll really take off with it because it sounds quite life-transforming.

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lougle · 25/01/2014 22:41

Go for it, dementedma - it really does work.

Fouette - join away Smile

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NotAsTired · 26/01/2014 12:04

Ok, nearly a month of YNABing and these are the things I have found out.

(BTW, I am a supply teacher who likes to bury her head in the sand about money while simultaneously stressing about it constantly. I had no idea how much I needed to earn, how much I was spending, didn't know where my money was going, didn't plan for the future.)

So, here goes. How YNAB has changed my life:

I know exactly how much money I am spending.
I know exactly I much I need to earn in order to pay the bills.
I am really mindful of my own personal spending.
I know to save money aside for leaner times (summer holidays where I don't get paid for six weeks is a killer) and I managed to save a little aside this first month too!
I enjoy budgeting with the money I have. It's fun!
I'm not scared of money anymore because I've taken control of it.

I am so glad that I found this thread because it pointed me towards YNAB.

lougle · 26/01/2014 14:06

NotAsTired, if that's the success after a month, imagine how we'll be after a year Smile

I know I'm all evangelical about it, but it really is 'life-changing' rather than simply another tool to try and discard.

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Crowler · 26/01/2014 15:11

I am definitely the person who is scared to look at the bank balance after a particularly spendy weekend. I feel like a new person.

BabCNesbitt · 26/01/2014 17:54

OK, dissenting voice here. We've been using YNAB since September, and although it has been useful as a spending tracker, it's a royal PITA for us in many other ways. Mainly that's because I'm a SAHM and we have a joint account, and getting DH to actually enter bigger expenditure items when he pays them (like the bloody mortgage) has become a source of stress, having to remind him to do it every month.

Also, he puts quite a few regular expenses on his credit card (hire cars, Netflix, that sort of thing), and then doesn't remember to add these when the payment comes out of the account automatically.

He is pretty good at remembering to add things like coffees and lunches on his mobile app, and he's not a big spender on other things, but missing out the big items means that there's always a substantial discrepancy between our supposed balance and our actual current account. I know that I could do most of that myself, but it's starting to feel like yet another bit of domestic labour that I'm expected to take on (or become a "nag" about).

BabCNesbitt · 26/01/2014 17:57

(Oh, and we have amounts allocated for savings, but he never wants to move it into our savings account because "the app tells us how much we have saved anyway". Angry)

dementedma · 26/01/2014 18:58

I'm not 100% sure it will work for us either,mainly because I don't know if I am doing it right or not. Will report back over the next few weeks and see what's happening.
Worried I will "double count' or miss things but am prepared to give it a go....

lougle · 26/01/2014 19:05

BabCNesbitt correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like it's your DH that hasn't worked with YNAB, rather than YNAB not working for you?

I don't see maintaining the budget as domestic labour. It's just a job that needs doing. DH has actually taken responsibility since we've started using it and wants to be involved in the budget setting, but otherwise, it's a quick job.

I have each regular bill separately itemised on our budget in date order, so that I can allocate money precisely.

If you know the mortgage will be paid, and you know how much it will be, surely you can just allocate the amount in the budget and forget about it?

In terms of moving savings physically, he's right. If it's saved in YNAB, it's saved. If you have trouble not actually spending money you've said is for saving, then that's an issue on a personal level, not YNAB.

I would say that all YNAB has done is highlight where the gaps are in your financial management, and perhaps shown that your DH has a different attitude to spending than you.

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BabCNesbitt · 26/01/2014 21:10

Oh, I'm not saying that it's a problem with YNAB per se, but if you have joint finances and one partner isn't willing or able to get on board with it properly, then it does become a chore, in that it requires that extra bit of prodding.

We can definitely allocate the mortgage in advance, but we're in the US where it's been paid by cheque, and DH never sends the cheque out on the same day each month, so I'm never exactly sure what day it'll come out. We're going to set up automatic payments, though, so hopefully that will get better. But other things, like some utility bills, change each month, so if that's being paid by him, I either have to be watching the bank account to see when the money comes out, or (again) ask him every few days to put it in himself.

The money is meant to go into the savings account as he only gets paid for the academic year, so we're meant to allocate a certain amount of each month's salary towards living on in the summer. I'd like it to go into the savings account so that we earn a wee bit more interest in it in the meantime.

I know it sounds trivial, and I know it's not the fault of the software if both partners are doing it properly, but in my experience, it's led to a bit of extra stress between us, and put me in the position of the shrewish missus trying to find out where the money's gone, just to keep the thing up to date.

lougle · 26/01/2014 21:17

Ahh I see, that makes perfect sense. So it's the practical consequences that make it a struggle.

Do you find that your money is better managed in the end, or has it just added stress?

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BabCNesbitt · 26/01/2014 21:50

It's hard to tell - I think it's better, but we've just bought a house and so we'd have been watching our money anyway without the program. But when we were just tracking spending without an actual budget, I was regularly Shock at how much we'd wind up spending on beer non-essentials. So I guess having a limit up front is helpful.

lougle · 26/01/2014 22:03

Yes, and if you are already in that frame of mind, then YNAB will be a refinement, rather than an overhaul, so you'll see less immediate results, I guess.

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Living · 27/01/2014 03:38

Bab you need to get DH on board or you're right it wont work. Are the credit card payments irregular itemsor regular transactions? If regular then you can schedule them surely. If one offs then it's the same as tracking his coffees - it goes on when spent. You can deal with when it actually clears the account when you're reconciling.

BabCNesbitt · 27/01/2014 04:26

It's a combination of both for the CC payments - Netflix comes off regularly, but everything else is irregular. You're right, the irregular payments should be going on when they're spent, but to get him to do that involves fairly regular reminders! The thing is that he's supportive of it in principle, and apologises every time I mention it, but then doesn't bloody do it!

(Sorry - just needed to vent a bit! He's otherwise pretty great :) )

IAmNotAPrincessIAmAKahleesi · 27/01/2014 04:39

Ok, I'm convinced and about to sign up Grin

Just wanted to say thank you for the really informative thread, I hope you won't mind if I ask some questions while I'm getting the hang of it

Wish me luck!

lougle · 27/01/2014 06:35

Of course, Kahleesi Smile Are you doing the free trial first? It's 34 days, still enough time to decide if it's for you.

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Living · 27/01/2014 06:40

How fat are you in bab? It took DH a while to get into it and he still needs nagging a bit. We're lucky in that herethe bank texts everytime there is activity on our card/ account. I get the texts so I input most stuff. DH only really has to do his cash spending and reconcile from time to time.

It's helped DH - he used to be out of touch with our finances and is much happier knowing how much he has to play with if he wants to do something.

Living · 27/01/2014 06:54

Far are you in not fat are you in!

Crowler · 27/01/2014 09:17

God Bab an irregular mortgage payment would drive me bonkers. Have you considered arranging a direct debit? You may even get a reduction in your interest if you do that. Banks love direct debits, don't they?

IAmNotAPrincessIAmAKahleesi · 27/01/2014 20:22

Yes lougle have signed up for the free trial Smile

I've made a start and I'm hopefully going to be doing one of their classes tonight

It's early days yet but I already love it Grin I normally have a book and spend ages moving money around and robbing Peter to pay Paul, just having it all in front of me with what money is actually available is brilliant and DH seems keen to crack on with it too

Thank you again for posting on this thread, I really think ynab is going to be so helpful and I wouldn't have heard of it if it wasn't for mn Thanks

evertonmint · 27/01/2014 20:51

DH had a bit of a light bulb moment the other day with YNAB finally. He's about to start a new job earning a lot less per month. He queried why I'm saying we are now unable to pay any mortgage overpayment when we used to pay more than just the salary we're losing. When I showed him our list of 'not monthly but definitely needed over the course of the year payments and savings' he instantly realised where the 'missing' overpayment money was going.

Basically our previous budget only covered the actual monthly stuff. And every month there'd be up to £500 or so on unexpected or at least unaccounted for stuff - household maintenance, house insurance, car insurance, car maintenance, holiday deposit etc. And we'd end up dipping into my company money for dividends or his bonus to cover our overdraft while our mortgage was merrily being overpaid by 50%. We had the cash but just not the cashflow nor the knowledge over where it was and what was happening with it. With YNAB these extras are all now in the budget (right down to things like the £8 a month we're saving for our National Trust membership) so we know that we need to sweep that amount aside each month. Anyway we've agreed that we will review every 6 months and if we have more than we feel we need (e.g. if household maintenance has not required any of the money saved then we might not need all of it going forward) then we'll sweep some into our mortgage overpayment fund.

I wouldn't have got it, and nor would he, without YNAB. And it was all there on one screen, without having to dig around in spreadsheets or bank accounts :)

lougle · 27/01/2014 21:19

That's so amazing, evertonmint - Congratulations to MrMint Smile

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GreenMouse · 27/01/2014 21:20

Well I've started with the trial version and so far so good. I'm starting from having an overdraf plus credit card debt so actually seeing how much money I owe is quite hair-raising, but on the other hand it's good, as it's forcing me to face the issue. It's going to take me a while to get rid of the overdraf I think but hopefully YNAB will help with that.

lougle · 27/01/2014 21:21

Oh I have one :D

Our washing machine broke down and I thought we didn't have cover. We pay insurance each month but I thought that was for the dishwasher. Then I found a policy but couldn't remember if we still pay it, etc.

I went to YNAB, typed in the policy number, and there came up all our payments, including this month's. So I confidently called the number for repair -engineer arrives tomorrow.

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IAmNotAPrincessIAmAKahleesi · 28/01/2014 10:03

That's brilliant lougle Smile

Well I have taken the first online lesson and I am now up and running Grin I can see it will take me a little while to become 100% confident with it but I think I've got the hang of the basics

I had some money come in today and it was actually very exciting logging it in and then budgeting it out, I probably need to get out more Wink