However, it is really the best interface I've found for setting a budget. Probably the best feature is that it can naturally incorporate overspending. If you set your grocery budget to $200 and you spend $250, YNAB isn't just like "yo, reduce your grocery spending." It remembers that you overspent by $50 and encourages you to incorporate that into next month's budget in a flexible way.
Unless you're a multimillionaire, you can probably benefit from using it. In fact, even if you are quite wealthy, plenty of celebrities have demonstrated repeatedly that it's still possible to go broke in just a few years.
I'm a big fan of YNAB.
Being fully automated would certainly be nice, but grabbing a set of CSVs from my bank once a month is a not a big deal and the software does a reasonable job of matching categories once it has some data.
>'Unless you're a multimillionaire, you can probably benefit from using it.'
I'd imagine so.
What I think makes YNAB really valuable is that is that it's loose enough so as not to become a mess if you aren't consistent and exacting about keeping it up to date.
You're going to get something out of it even if you don't bother to create a specific allowances. Simply going with suggested categories and generating a budget based on prior outflows will provide a useful perspective.
I used Mint for a number of years, but the automated stuff was constantly wrong and the passive downloads broke all the time after Mint switched away Yodlee's data aggregation.
I tried for years to use Mint, but it's too passive. Too easy to ignore. With YNAB, every purchase goes in when we make the purchase, and I found it keeps us more honest about our budget estimates and also helps to curtail frivolous spending.
To each his own, of course.
I have yet to get it to balance any month too. Some categories (e.g. clothing) we work on an annual budget, so overspending in these categories rolls forward; that doesn't seem to work smoothly.
My partner can't get her head around it at all, which is a bit of a bummer.
What I'd like is a much simpler system based on the old T account (envelope accounts are similar) where each category functions as a virtual account, showing what was spent, inter-category transfers and overall status.
I thought no one did that anymore ?
http://www.youneedabudget.com/support/article/linux-installa...
"Helps you love how you spend every dollar"? While I get the gist of what you're saying, it makes my head hurt a little bit.
Am on Android (Moto G) and every time I tapped the goal amount text box, it requested me to "Rotate device to portrait" despite my portrait lock being turned on, so was unable to add a goal amount.
I like the idea of this app but not quite sure it works for me. I need more than a pretty picture to keep me motivated to save! :) Good luck with it though.
Before you make an impulsive decision, imagine a stranger walks up to you. In one hand, he has the thing you're about to buy. In the other hand, he has the amount of money you are about to spend. He will give you one or the other for free with absolutely no catch. Which one do you take?
Besides that, I like the "hold to add cash" interface and I like that it's a mobile web platform (although I hope an Android widget is in the works). Hopefully they can get their server problems ironed out soon.
I'll try this out when I have more time later, but I think it's worth noting that, of course, saving is only part of the equation. There is so much you can (and should) do to reduce expenses outside of the mundane day-to-day, as well! For great advice on pursuing financial independence or betterment, much of which has changed my life and habits, see: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/ "Financial Freedom Through Badassity"
$ telnet m.trykeep.com 80
Trying 54.87.165.213...
telnet: connect to address 54.87.165.213: Connection refused
telnet: Unable to connect to remote hostI could not find it in the app store either, so is this a browser based solution? If so, I highly recommend getting the touch sensitivity worked out on chrome on the browser.
I do realize this may be load based from your servers getting hit and so if I remember I will try again later.
Also, I get the impression this might require requires server connectivity, if it does then you're excluding so many people without data plans.
I like the idea, just couldn't get the execution to actually work for me in a way I'd consider using it.
I know someone who buys two drinks at Starbucks every day. To them, this was about $7/per day. No big deal. I quickly did the math and showed her the result, $2555 per year. Sometimes, perspective is a huge motivator.
Also, nice job on the design and web based app. I'm happy that I simply needed to navigate to a URL on my phone. I didn't have to install another app, grant permissions etc. etc..
Great work! Good luck!
My approach is a bit broader in that I find it useful to record both the good and bad decisions with a view toward improvement.
I also prompt users for a bit of self-evaluation. When you goof, you are asked something like "What could you have done without in order to stay within your limits?" When you do well, you are asked something like "What was the key to making wise choices today?"
I'm not a big fan of the input mechanism. It's novel and fun, but I'd bet that the fun wears out quickly.
And the mobile app: https://budgetapp.azurewebsites.net/
Otherwise it reminds me a joke about a man who brags to his wife that he saved money by running after the bus instead of taking it and paying the fare. The wife says - next time run after a taxi, you'd save more! Unfortunately, savings don't work exactly like that.
Also I really want to turn this into an iOS app! There's some cool stuff you can do with it natively, like add a buzz + sound when you save a buck, which sure would feel satisfying (ever used the task management app Clear?). Let me know if you wanna go that way and I'd be happy to put a weekend towards it.
Also, it seems to be stuck on the eight dollar screen. It keeps asking me to hold to $8, but never shows me a new photo. This is the stock Note 3 browser.
EDIT: Now I can't even get it to register $3. Perhaps we are hugging the site too hard.
It will be interesting to see if they can create a reward system good enough to be effective.
Much better than asking to create an account first, then walk me through the app.
You would be correct.
It's not (necessarily) just marketing fluff. A lot of people view budgeting as "here's what I can't spend money on". It can be easier to stick to a plan when viewed through the lens of getting the maximal enjoyment for the money. There's a lot of people out there who "don't know where it's all going"; the idea is that you consciously decide if you'll be happier spending $100/month on, say, Starbucks or a Beaglebone. Once you know where it's all going, you can decide if you want to spend it on things that might be more enjoyable.
In Chrome on Android, it's impossible to complete the goal amount, so it's impossible to continue.
What am I missing?
Sure, he takes it to an extreme not all could stomach, but there is practical advice in there for almost anyone in my opinion.
[1] http://newroadmap.pbworks.com/w/page/10458661/The%20Fulfillm... "'Enough' is appreciating and fully enjoying what money brings into our lives, yet never purchasing anything that isn't needed and wanted."
So I just googled "fulfillment curve" and one of the top results was from a mr money mustache forum post: http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/antimustachian-wall-of-sham...
The way he writes it as "fulfillment curve" being in contrast with "MMM" makes me think you have a point.
What am I missing?
I think you're missing that the most gratifing things in live are not shoppable. Learning stuff, producing stuff. Seeing your kids grow. It's the difference between strawberries from the supermarket and strawberries you raised and harvested yourself. The feeling of sleeping the first night in a bed you made with your own hands.
Or, another example I just observed looking out the window: Here in Germany people often seem to think they need special clothing for the most mundane activities. They want to go cycling, first thing they do is go to a store and buy cycling clothes. It's ridiculous. As if you are able to ride longer or faster in pink polyester shorts with stripes. I think that's what that blog is about. Shopping is a distraction from real life.
edit: typo.
I think therein lies the main fallacy he argues so much against, do you need to buy crap to enjoy your life?
He gets to spend all the time he wants with his kid, or doing anything else really, how much is that worth?
MMM is like religion... take 10% of it to heart and you'll likely find something of use... throw the other 90% out.
- sub-goals ("you have already saved x% towards paying of your debts")
- smaller awards (Amount: "$5 saved", Frequency: "3 taps a day award", Time: "you saved something every day this week")
- a ranking (not sure how that would work)
This would not only provide incentive to save, but it would also increase usage, which makes the app harder to forgot/uninstall.
Good luck!
PS: On your website, add a subscribe via e-mail box. Then you can capture people (like me) who would be interested to sign up when you build a native app.
I think the optimal spending for most people -- i.e., the amount of spending that would maximize happiness -- is far lower than the amount that most people actually spend (in large part b/c people work at jobs they don't love to earn money to buy stuff they don't need). Much of it is wasted on mindless luxury that people come to believe is necessary and that doesn't really increase happiness because of hedonic adaptation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_adaptation Here's Mr. Money Mustache's piece on hedonic adaptation: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/10/22/what-is-hedonic-ad...
There is also other random income that's not income. In the UK it's common for savings account interest to be paid back into the linked current account. For me that's not income to be spent each month, that's money to be re-invested.
None of this addresses ease of use though - or does no one else (or their partner) find YNAB confusing and difficult?
It should be uncomplicated once you grok it. I signed up for their free course. It helped.
That's very clearly not what we're talking about here. I wouldn't be surprised if (for personal use, not work) the "bubble" is a more accurate descriptor for those who _do_ need desktop software. The only people I know who use anything on the desktop beyond their browser are software engineers, PC gamers, and people who use niche software, all with a quite-above-average level of computer-savviness.
Walk through an office building, Work+Excel are still the software of the day in most businesses.
Aaaand that makes it the third time that it's been clarified that this conversation is about personal usage, not office work. Jesus dude...
I'll take your downvote (on this and my earlier comment, in the ten minutes since I've posted this) and lack of a response as an admission of your error. It would be nice if you could express that in a less juvenile way though...