You Need A Budget (YNAB)

Name: You Need A Budget (YNAB)
Rating: 4.4

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4.4

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21 User Reviews

4.4

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21 User Reviews

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Author: Kaitlyn Short

LAST UPDATED: October 13th, 2023

You Need A Budget, or YNAB, as it’s commonly known, is powerful financial budgeting software. YNAB has created an advanced spread-sheet type format that allows consumers to setup and view their financials under one user-friendly platform. YNAB utilizes a methodology that gets you started by learning, and implementing the “4 rules” they say will help you stop living paycheck to paycheck.

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The Good

Free trial
Educational course
Track spending habits

For consumers interested in budget software, You Need A Budget (YNAB) offers a full-featured 34-day free trial to demo the software and make sure you get the hang of it. YNAB runs on Windows and Mac operating systems with the capability to sync in-between devices with one license, with free minor updates included. In addition to the tutorials, they offer a 9-day course that may change the way consumers think about money and their finances. Each day delivers new information and 'rules' on how to plan, manage, and even have fun with your money. YNAB is powerful financial budgeting software with an advanced spread-sheet type format. The following are a few things we like:

Free trial
Multi-device capabilities
Tutorials
Free live classes
9-day course
Global currencies
"All Accounts" view

With their updated budgeting tool you can see your spending habits at a glance and see which transactions got you to where you are financially. They have included an automatic cloud sync option enabling changes to your budget to show up on any device instantly, making it easy to monitor transactions, taking the guess work out when it comes to spending decisions. With their updated YNAB 4 version they have included what's called "Error Checking" which is enabled by default. This tool flags transactions that require attention. They have added three types of alerts:

Reminders for when one or more transactions that have not been approved after importing and when a scheduled transaction has been entered into the register automatically.
Warnings whenever one or more approved transactions in a budget account hasn't been categorized.
Errors which appear when a transfer from one budget account to another has been recorded with a category.

They have walk-through tutorials that instruct new users of software basics so they can get their account up and running more quickly than ever. They offer free live classes that run daily such as "Getting Started with YNAB", "Budget Workshop", "Improving Workflow" and a few others that may function as an added bonus when it comes to financial education. You Need A Budget supports global currencies, such as:

Dollars
Euros
Pounds
Rupees
Reals
Rands

A new feature, an "All Accounts" view, has been included to enable YNAB users to locate all transactions from their various accounts at one platform. The software also saves automatically at regular intervals, and when you exit out of the program. This worry-free feature is fantastic in the case that your power goes out or other emergencies arise. YNAB also offers mobile apps for iPhone and Android, plus iPad and Kindle capabilities. The developers of this software have implemented a variety of security measures to ensure safety of personal information. All sensitive personal information is transmitted via SSL technology and encrypted into their payment gateway provider database. Information is only accessible to those authorized with access rights. Once transactions are entered, private information such as credit cards, social security numbers, financials, etc. are kept for more than 60 days to maintain accurate transactional records for tax compliance purposes.

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The Bad

Time consuming
No automatic transactions

This software enables users to set up accounts by entering in the balance as it currently stands and any pending transactions that may not reflect the total. Users will find that multiple accounts can be merged with goal accounts and a budget can be set under each category, such as car, home, food, etc. Each category may be personalized to suit your needs, and should any issues arise during the process, there is a helpful "Members Forum" where many questions to concerns will be answered. As far as the ease of getting all set up, many consumers have found the process too time consuming and tedious. While they offer an array of tutorials, many consumers have found that they are simply too time consuming. There is a lot of information to take in when learning to use this software, and if you do watch the tutorials, they'll be well worth your time - and money. Also, for consumers who've purchased the product, it seems that many don't like that each transaction must be entered in manually when many comparable programs allow for automatic reconciliations.

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The Bottom Line

This software forces consumers to take a seat and enter each transaction either on their desktop or mobile device. By using this method, consumers can ensure they can see where every single penny of their hard earned income is going. Although it is more expensive compared to other companies free plans, we believe it is worth your time to check out their free full-featured demo without obligation. Those that use YNAB can expect the following from the service:

Effective budgeting tools
Device syncing
Lack of automation
Limited investing resources

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User Reviews

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4.4

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21 Reviews

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star star star star star

Dee Blackstone, MA

I love this software. I find it very helpful, but I need to improve my habits for me to get the most out of it. Which is a good thing because it's pushing me to be more responsible. Excellent customer service, too. They have helped me with every question I had so far.

1 year ago

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Carnan Fort Collins, CO

My husband started using YNAB about 3 months ago. My husband is ultra OCD about the budget and knowing where all of the money is going. I only use YNAB indirectly - you know, he'll get a notification about something I spent money on and he'll ask me what it was for, yada yada yada. He's happy because he is always on top of our incoming and outgoing and I'm happy because he's happy ;-).

2 years ago

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Taylor Cordova Provo, UT

I started using YNAB with recommendation from a family member and love the ability for my husband and I to both track our finances in a hassle free way. In the beginning, I had a lot I’d trouble with getting a bank account to connect through the app, and they extended my free trial to make sure It worked properly for me before committing. I would have trouble using it if I had to upload all my transactions, but love the feature of linking accounts so it uploads all transactions automatically. Great app!

3 years ago

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Luke Swierczynski Troy, MI

This program makes budgeting so easy. Well worth the investment for the tracking. When my wife and I have our monthly "CFO" meeting this turned a couple hour event into about 15 minutes.

3 years ago

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TTeep Smithfield, UT

We use YNAB all the time. I'm going to give them a 5 star, but it's probably more like 4 1/2. Overall they do great, but they lack a few features such as syncing with your bank to find errant entries when trying to budget, and a restore feature. But otherwise, we love the ability to track future payments and build up a fund for future purchases.

3 years ago

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Ryan Larsen Logan, UT

We recently purchased YNAB to track our family finances. We purchased it based on recommendations from family and friends. The software and app are awesome. They are well designed and easy to use. This has changed the way my wife and I discuss money. Before YNAB, we would always fight about money. With this app on both of our phones, we always know our budget and money situation.

4 years ago

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Lori Fletcher Saratoga Springs, UT

I have used YNAB for years. I love it! It’s very user friendly. I kept the older version because I don’t need all the fancy stuff for their monthly subscription fee. I wish they had kept the older version for students and kids to use instead of a subscription.

5 years ago

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Mary Alice M. Orem, UT

I did the free trial of YNAB and I love the idea of it. My co-workers swear by this, and they said this app has saved them thousands of dollars. When using the free trial I could see how they make it easy to use the extra money from what you buy and save it.

3 years ago Edited September 14, 2021

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August Moulton Lehi, UT

I tried this app for a couple of months and did not find it to be user friendly. We have some friends who use it and absolutely love it. The interface just wasn’t right for me but I have seen it successfully used by others, which is why I still highly recommend it.

5 years ago

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Gary Shumway Seattle, WA

YNAB was a very good and helpful software program that helped us get money under control in our reduced income retirement. When they upgraded to the new web-based app, several things have stopped working and/or make no sense! Endless strings of emails to Support have gotten us nowhere because they don't understand what we don't understand. We think being able to talk to someone might help us solve our problems, but they do not offer this service. A great application has died!

8 years ago

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Kurt Didenhover Salt Lake City, UT

Best budgeting site on the web! I'm borderline obsessed with their tools for managing my money and tracking accounts. I have much more peace of mind when spending money.

2 years ago

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Lars Hamilton Carmel, IN

Meh. It’s okay. Nothing complex. No advanced statistics or breakdowns. Just the basics. In all, didn’t affect behavior or help budget. Paid for years and they never could connect with half my national bank accounts. Paying for the integration isn’t worth it if it doesn’t work.

3 years ago

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Shante Reeder Ogden, UT

I really liked this budgeting tool! It is easy to customize, and once you get the hang of it, easy to navigate. Perfect for anyone looking to perfect their budgeting!

4 years ago

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Hailey Nilson Salt Lake City, UT

You Need A Budget is the perfect app for a poor, naive, college student who is bad with her money. I am so bad with overspending, and this app has really kept me in check.

5 years ago

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Brooke Harris Tuscaloosa, AL

I am able to tracking spending, mortgages, and investing all in one place! Little pricey for a subscription

1 year ago

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Heather Greenburg ,

I have used YNAB for several years and have purchased it for my children. I love their concept of giving every dollar a job.

3 years ago

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Sathvik Aithala Portland, OR

Used YNAB briefly, but found other tools to be easier to use. Great for people who really need help budgeting!

2 years ago

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AlisaD Salt Lake City, UT

B est budgeting app that we have used, We have actually saved money using this service.

2 years ago

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Valerie Beus Richland, WA

All of our family are users of YNAB. It is a really useful service and has helped us financially.

3 years ago

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Shayla Jones Eagle Mountain, UT

We have loved this app! It’s helped us get out of Debt and give our money a name and a place!

4 years ago

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Rachael Berhan Salt Lake City, UT

I got on this app a year or two ago and it was pretty overwhelming and you have to pay a large sum of money to have the app long term. Not a fan.

3 years ago