I think I’m going to buy a copy for one of my other sisters as well. Again I can’t say enough about how good this package is. It also gives you more control over what transactions are imported. My bank overdraft fees were signaling poor record keeping but I wanted more than a Quicken check register – I wanted to easily track my savings goals without resorting to cash envelopes!
I’ll just make a few points and give my take on a few common criticisms which in my opinion are overblown. As such, some people complain that it is that it is “like balancing a checkbox 24×7″. I no longer have to worry about whether a check I’ve written will get to the bank before my paycheck does! No more late payments, no more late fees!
Using the program as it was designed requires a change of focus from the dollars you have in your bank account to the dollars you have in your budget categories. This sounded a bit weird at first as I was used to frantically checking bank account balances to make sure we weren’t about to overdraw, but once you start living within your budget categories the bank account balances take care of themselves. I even tried putting cash in envelopes with various labels, but that idea was quickly foiled because I use my debit card or online bill pay nearly everything. YNAB was a breath of fresh air; I was able to get it up and going in a matter of minutes.
I was willing to give up some of the quicken features like investment tracking, and extensive reporting, for good budgeting. I design user interfaces, and I find the interface to this very well thought-out, and easy to use. While that’s too much for me, there will be some who won’t be bothered by it. I’d recommend to the software designers fewer fancy graphics effects and more text-based reports. I simply set up more “fields” to track the money in that fashion instead of by “payee”. If you are new to budgeting or a veteran looking for something to make your life easier, this software is fantastic.
As things turned out, she was entitled to six months’ severance pay under the terms of a merger agreement when her company was bought out. In addition, she found a new job with a 30% pay increase within two weeks of her severance date.
I have saved much more money using it. It is well worth the $39.95.
There was not a steep learning curve like I’ve experienced with other software programs that I spent hours and hours setting up only to be completely burned out and baffled afterward and give it all up. This program really teaches you how to budget and provides accountability. I think it’s a great program, with solid concepts. It almost feels like it’s been programmed in (god forbid) Visual Basic or something. The success of YNAB is in its approach (the 4 rules, which are key to its success) and the customer service (which is pretty much unrivaled in my experience). And there’s a pretty fabulous forum community as well (shout out to all my fellow YNAB users). I got YNAB Pro, paid my one-time fee and I was up and running. I love the “buffer” concept, something D.R did not have.
While other employees at my office are rushing to the bank immediately after getting their checks, I can relax and deposit it the next week if I want to. WHITE CONTEMPORARY COFFEE TABLE.
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