[Courtney]

YNAB opinions please.
I’ve been a pen and paper reverse budget person for over 35 years.

We save first, with a budget of fixed expenses and then spend what’s left.

With the rise of cost for all types of insurance, groceries and property taxes I’m a little freaked out to retire.

Plus life has gotten a bit complicated with health and family.

We are debt free, live fairly modest but our lives take about 40% more than what they did 6.5 years ago.

We hit our FI number a few years ago and at the time it was comfortable but now it feels lean.

I downloaded YNAB and I would like feedback from those who use it.

I want to track better and get a sense of where the money goes before we retire.

[Juliett]

Did you account for inflation? Did you account to live to be 110? (You probably won’t, but if you save like you will, you’ll probably fare better)

And you don’t have to go from working FT to 0.

There can be a taper dropping to PT or some hobby income like work at a bike shop or a yarn store 1-2 days a week so it at least pays for groceries.

[Joyce]

I just use excel. There isn’t anything I need to pay for in my budget tracking.

It’s a little more work and doesn’t have the fancy features, but it could if I wrote macros and such.

I’ve used the same excel format for twelve years effectively.

[Noreen]

I use it and love it now but it took me some time to get used to it. I just tracked stuff for a few months while watching their videos before I started to use it as a budget.

I did do a restart after some major changes in our lives (like when we had a kid and I quit working) but by then I was comfortable with it.

[Holly]

I have been using YNAB since 2014 and I am a huge fan. In fact it was the YNAB fan group that introduced me to Choose FI in 2016.

I am a certified YNAB coach.

Do you need it? Probably not and excel is great too.

It does allow you to create a plan for your money and makes it easy to see what money you have and where you see it going.

Targets help plan for everything..car insurance, home insurance, christmas and vacations.

Life changing!

I did the unbudget method before but after YNAB we realized how much we spent on certain things and we could have control and change that.

With inflation lately we have been able to adjust (move money between categories) easily.

It is interesting to see all of the data over time.

YNAB recently updated their reports and call it Reflect and it really helps to see over time how much we spend on house or clothing or food.

I suggest taking the free classes, and watching videos.

Give it a good try for at least two months and see if it fits your needs.

[Erin]

Could you speak to what has doubled? I track expenses very closely. From 2017 to present, my mandatory expenses have increased by $400.

I’m not doubting you, rather I am interested in what other people are encountering that is so much more extreme than what I’ve been encountering.

[Jenny]

YNAB 100%! You have a great start with your current pen and paper expense tracking.

You can set up spending targets on YNAB for monthly expenses.

Most importantly, you set up targets for yearly expenses or longer term large projects “sinking funds”.

These are your “true expenses”.

You will know your real spending needs. It’s more than you think when you add up all of the one-offs that are not monthly bills.

When you set up targets, YNAB helps you save monthly for all of your expenses.

If you can’t meet your target a particular month, it will recalculate your next month’s needs.

As mentioned above, there are a ton of YouTube videos explaining how to use YNAB.

They have a great support team through their website and a tutorial there to get started.

There is a learning curve to getting started, don’t give up! Ask for help from the support team if needed!

[Megan]

You mention “I downloaded YNAB”. The app is a great in the go expension but the “home planet” is the web based interface.

I am a big YNAB fan.

I have been a hands on money management tool all my adult life.

Quicken for decades, YNAB since 2018.

I love a good ledger based program.

[Ellen]

I drank the YNAB Kool Aid last year and I love it! As a natural saver it helps me spend on activities I value without anxiety or guilt.

I can see right in front of me that my savings goals are met, my true expenses are funded and my monthly expenses are covered.

I don’t want to retire any time soon, but I know I could retire today and be fine because I can see it right there in YNAB.

[Erica]

YNAB was life changing for me. I now save/invest nearly 40% of my income.

The real benefits start after about a year of use when you start utilizing your fully funded sinking funds (“$600 tabs renewal?

No problem as I’ve already set the funds aside!”).

I whole heartedly recommend it BUT you have to commit to stick it out for several months to get the hang of it and reap the benefits.

The cost is $100/year and I save at least triple that in hidden charges, recurring fees I don’t want, etc.

YNAB is just the best little cult you can join!

[Dawn]

I use a very simple app called Spending. I created my own categories, and I track everything I spend.

Then I go through my credit cards statements once a month and make sure I didn’t miss any entries.

[Rick]

I definitely think you need expense tracking of some kind. Yes the three expenses you mention are up but enough to double your total budget?

There has to be some significant expense bleed going on elsewhere.

YNAB is a solid app but you must drink the koolaid specific to money moving between accounts and especially the credit card subset of that if you are to get the most out of YNAB and avoid hating it.

You can probably accomplish what you want without a $100 annual commitment but YNAB is worth it if you get into it.

[Anna]

I use YNAB exactly for tracking purposes, not budgeting. I want to get an idea of where the money goes and what expenses I expect would decrease in time.

There’s definitely a learning curve but there are a bajillion helpful videos out there.

YNAB has a very robust online educational platform via classes, videos and written how-tos.

[Author]

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