You Need a Budget!
Personal finance has become a deep passion of mine. I love talking about money, budgeting, investing, saving...everything money! Recently I've found a love for budgeting, and it's all thanks to one app: You Need a Budget.
Excel spreadsheets have never thrilled me. I took a computer class in high school where I had to learn how to input formulas and it was seriously the most mundane thing I've ever done. I entered number upon number upon number to figure out the sum, input multiple formulas, and to figure out how to set a certain calculation to an entire column in Excel. Yawn. One thing is for certain, my brain does not function on spreadsheets. I use them when I need to (read: 1-2 times per year...if I have to...) and that's about it.
Years ago, still relatively fresh out of college I wanted to start budgeting. I loyally dug out Excel on my laptop and put in my anticipated income and expenses. I put in formulas and sums (incorrectly). I still remember my bare bones budgeting and writing down all the bills as they came in hoping they would match up with my anticipated expenses. A week or two later I would forget to enter it into Excel, or the formulas wouldn't work quite right and I got bored and frustrated with budgeting. I would start the process over again 2 months later, with the same result.
That is...until I found You Need a Budget (YNAB)! I am a newfound lover of budgeting and I can attribute it all to this app. YNAB literally changed my husband's and my financial life.
"What does it do?" you might ask. The best way to describe it is a spreadsheet on steroids. It is an app that you enter the money you currently have in and budget to zero. An electronic "envelope" system if you will. An envelope system that you can use your debit or credit card with. Most importantly YNAB is a spreadsheet that I love and actually use.
You give every dollar in your account a "job" by assigning it to part of your budget. You are telling your money what to do instead of spending in a reactionary fashion. Then, saving for a rainy day...for those surprise car repairs, those health emergencies, those pet emergencies. "Roll with the punches" means that the budget is always fluctuating as it needs to. There may be times when you need to move money from the "fun money" category to the "groceries" category. Something might come up that wasn't expected, you merely rearrange the money to meet your needs.
The final "rule": live on last month's income. This is a game changer. Right now for us January's income is paying for expenses in March. Right now we have rent, groceries, gas, bills, and everything else COVERED for two full months. This allows us a lot of flexibility within our budget. We are more confident with our bills because the money is there. The peace of mind is incredible.
I could go on and on and on about this program and how it works for us. This program works for any and everyone in every different financial situation. See what YNAB can do for you!
Excel spreadsheets have never thrilled me. I took a computer class in high school where I had to learn how to input formulas and it was seriously the most mundane thing I've ever done. I entered number upon number upon number to figure out the sum, input multiple formulas, and to figure out how to set a certain calculation to an entire column in Excel. Yawn. One thing is for certain, my brain does not function on spreadsheets. I use them when I need to (read: 1-2 times per year...if I have to...) and that's about it.
Years ago, still relatively fresh out of college I wanted to start budgeting. I loyally dug out Excel on my laptop and put in my anticipated income and expenses. I put in formulas and sums (incorrectly). I still remember my bare bones budgeting and writing down all the bills as they came in hoping they would match up with my anticipated expenses. A week or two later I would forget to enter it into Excel, or the formulas wouldn't work quite right and I got bored and frustrated with budgeting. I would start the process over again 2 months later, with the same result.
That is...until I found You Need a Budget (YNAB)! I am a newfound lover of budgeting and I can attribute it all to this app. YNAB literally changed my husband's and my financial life.
"What does it do?" you might ask. The best way to describe it is a spreadsheet on steroids. It is an app that you enter the money you currently have in and budget to zero. An electronic "envelope" system if you will. An envelope system that you can use your debit or credit card with. Most importantly YNAB is a spreadsheet that I love and actually use.
You give every dollar in your account a "job" by assigning it to part of your budget. You are telling your money what to do instead of spending in a reactionary fashion. Then, saving for a rainy day...for those surprise car repairs, those health emergencies, those pet emergencies. "Roll with the punches" means that the budget is always fluctuating as it needs to. There may be times when you need to move money from the "fun money" category to the "groceries" category. Something might come up that wasn't expected, you merely rearrange the money to meet your needs.
The final "rule": live on last month's income. This is a game changer. Right now for us January's income is paying for expenses in March. Right now we have rent, groceries, gas, bills, and everything else COVERED for two full months. This allows us a lot of flexibility within our budget. We are more confident with our bills because the money is there. The peace of mind is incredible.
I could go on and on and on about this program and how it works for us. This program works for any and everyone in every different financial situation. See what YNAB can do for you!
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