Technology is making it increasingly easier to get a handle on personal finances.
The You Need a Budget app, or YNAB for short, is one of the most popular personal finance apps out there. Based on a budgeting system that founder Jesse Mecham used to gain control over his finances with his wife, YNAB stresses accountability and flexibility, and encourages users to be more active in their financial planning.
YNAB costs $83.99 a year to use, but the app offers a 34-day free trial for anyone who wants to test it out.
I decided to try out the YNAB app for a week to see if its system could help me get excited about budgeting.
Here’s how my experience on YNAB went.
I signed up for a 34-day free trial of the app, although YNAB usually costs $83.99 a year to use.Isabel Galupo
While $83.99 seems like a steep price to pay for an app that is supposed to help you save more money, the app claims most people save an average of $200 while using the app during their free trial.
The app gave me three choices: 1) create a goal to pay off my balance over time, 2) budget for my entire balance, or 3) skip this for now. Since I knew that I in fact had enough money in my checking account to pay off the balance in full, I chose option two. Once I made my choice, the app reminded me to manually record $173.88 in the corresponding “Credit Card” budget.
YNAB quickly alerted me that I had overspent in the category in blue text at the top of the app’s interface.
I really appreciated the level of flexibility offered by YNAB – it made the usually daunting task of tracking every single purchase not only easy but also enjoyable.
I’ve never been the kind of person who checked or even thought about her bank account daily until I downloaded the YNAB app.
Now, I’m not only more curious about my finances, but also excited to be more involved with them.