#Budgeting you need a budget how to#
#Budgeting you need a budget install#
#Budgeting you need a budget upgrade#
#Budgeting you need a budget software#
#Budgeting you need a budget trial#

#Budgeting you need a budget software#

If you are a new user, the program asks if you are going to use the software for personal or small business use.

#Budgeting you need a budget upgrade#

As you can see, you are invited to open up your most recent file, create a new budget or open or upgrade an existing YNAB file. When I clicked on the icon, the program opened immediately and it showed me the pretty picture above. I like that the designers have made it easy from the start.

#Budgeting you need a budget install#

It took me about a minute to install YNAB and it was a good omen. This software is designed to help you when you hit those life bumps. If you’ve ever started a budget “diet” only to fall off the wagon, you know how important a lifeline is. It’s OK to blow it but it’s not OK to give up. They actually build that into the system. I guess they figured out that nobody’s perfect. This rule throws you a lifeline when you break one (or more) of the three rules above. You might be pretty good at handling your day-to-day expenses, but how do you handle those unusual bills? Do you panic when the insurance bill comes due? Property taxes? When it’s time to fix the roof? The software is designed to get rid of this roller coaster ride by smoothing out your true expenses. (I know you never do this, but somebody you know might benefit from having this constraint. This is beautiful because it makes it almost impossible for you to spend without thinking. After the first month, you can handle this task in about 20 seconds.) A particular dollar’s job can be to pay for current needs or it can be to provide for future needs or saving…but every dollar has a specific task.

(It takes about 20 minutes the first time. You basically assign every single dollar you earn a role. This is something I’ve never done but I can see how important it is. And thousands of others have used YNAB to stop living paycheck to paycheck.

#Budgeting you need a budget how to#

The folks at YNAB give you some great ideas on how to get this done and even build up to it. However, saving a month’s earnings isn’t as difficult as you might imagine. If you are in debt, accomplishing this may seem daunting. In order to achieve this, the software actually helps you stash a month’s earnings away. This system helps get you out of the habit of living on money you don’t have. This is a stroke of genius, and frankly I’m disappointed I didn’t come up with it myself. You don’t spend money you earned this month – or the money you think you’ll earn in the future. The idea is that you use the money you earned last month to support yourself this month. Rule #1 – Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck

#Budgeting you need a budget trial#

Sign up for a 34-day free trial of YNAB.Get it? Using this method, you don’t spend more than you have. You enter your income for the month and then budget how it’s going to be spent or saved. To start off, it’s important that you understand that the program has a mission: to help you stop living paycheck to paycheck, get out of debt and save more money faster. I kicked myself for missing out on the benefits, but I wasn’t about to let any more time go by.

Once I took a look “under the hood,” I realized how powerful an agent it could be to help people really get their financial houses in order.

As a result, I figured it was worthwhile to look into.

I constantly receive unsolicited endorsements of the program from clients, readers and friends.

I’ve joined the ranks of the “true believers” for two reasons: In case you aren’t familiar with You Need A Budget (YNAB), it’s a nifty little software package that allows you to track your spending and budget for your future and generally helps you fix your financial problems. While I still think this “big picture” approach is really important, I’ve recently become a convert to the You Need A Budget crowd. One of my favorites is using your bank statement to tell you how much you spend on average each month. If you’re a regular reader, you know that I’ve suggested a few different approaches to mastering your budget. The best predictor of your financial security is how much you know about and control your budget. Let me say that again a little differently. The balance you strike between income and spending is the most important predictor of your financial future there is. (Maybe this is hard to believe, but I see this every day.)

Don’t spend enough and therefore fail to enjoy the life they could.

I say that because of my experience.Īnd my experience tells me that folks who don’t use a budget either: That’s right.Įven if you had Warren Buffet working for you, it would be useless if you didn’t know where and how you spent your money. And even though I’m a professional financial advisor and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional, what you do financially dwarfs the importance of my work. I finally broke down and decided to review YNAB, better known to some as You Need A Budget, the premier personal budget software package.