You Need A Budget — yes you do, and to help spread the word about budgeting the YNAB way, I’m giving away one copy of their software to a randomly selected reader of The Wisdom Journal on February 1st, 2010. All you have to do to be entered in the drawing is leave a comment! Only one entry per person but you get two entries if you give me a topic you’d like to see discussed in the future.
If you just can’t wait until February to start using YNAB and you’re convinced (as I am) that it is the BEST budgeting software available, use coupon code WISDOM when you check out and you’ll receive a 10 percent discount.
Why am I so excited about YNAB? Perhaps it’s their 4 Rules of Budgeting that permeates their system:
1. Stop living paycheck to paycheck. You’ll be blown away by how their system eliminates paycheck-to-paycheck from your life. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.
2. Giver every dollar a job. This is what’s referred to as “zero based budgeting” and it turns the traditional budgeting method on it’s head — completely upside down. Zero based budgeting traditionally is time-consuming and exhaustive but NOT with YNAB.
3. Prepare for the rain. You know the day is coming when you’re going to need a lot of cash to cover an emergency, a semi-annual insurance premium, or new tires for the car, so YNAB helps you prepare for those events.
4. Roll with the punches. Even with the most sophisticated and thorough planning, you can overspend in a category, so YNAB spreads that overage across the next month’s budget where it can be absorbed more readily. YNAB designed their system with a buffer to help you cover accidental overspending.
YNAB isn’t fancied up for intense investing purposes, it isn’t designed to handle your overseas accounts in the Cayman Islands, or your multiple IRA’s. YNAB is designed to be the budgeting software that helps you follow the first basic tenant of sound personal finance: create and live by a budget. But YNAB took it a step further and created a planning system within their software that helps you stop living paycheck-to-paycheck. And since “living within a budget” is a fantasy in most households, I’m hoping that my enthusiastic endorsement of YNAB will help regular readers and others get out of the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle and begin living a better life.
Can you just imagine NOT living paycheck-to-paycheck?
Check out YNAB today and be sure to leave a comment if you’d like to be included in the drawing for a free copy of their software!
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YNAB seems like a great program. And gosh, not having to live paycheck to paycheck is like a dream come true for some of us so I am interested in seeing how this program might be able to help me and others I know that may also be in a tough financial situation.
I just met a guy who works for YNAB while learning to scuba dive! It sounds great and would help me stop tinkering with my excel sheets!
I would love to see some articles comparing things like going to the movies vs. netflicks, cable vs. movies, which home improvment projects are better to do yourself vs hiring, etc.!
I would love to win this. I am trying to work 2 jobs right now and seem to still be falling behind because I am just not budgeting. I could really use it! I’m sure everyone is feeling the crunch right now, I know I sure am. DH and I are trying but you just seem to spin your wheels sometimes.
I NEED A BUDGET!
Thanks
Thanks for offering this. I would love to win
Thanks…i used the free trial and loved it.
Future topic suggestion… 99942 Apophis
Thanks for the opportunity to win this software.
Thanks for the opportunity.
YNAB has been on my radar for a while. How about some posts on determining what you need for retirement..your number.
I like this! Put me in the drawing.
Seems to be a pretty good website here. Keep up the good work.
Diane
Thanks for the opportunity to stop tinkering with my excel sheets.
thanks for doing this! I’d be interested in seeing an article about budgeting while married to someone who’s not so excited about it. I married a bohemian who feels suffocated by the idea of being told where to spend his money, and hates the idea of not using every penny that comes in each month….
Hi,
I found this website by searching for information on YNAB. I’m interested in being entered in the draw.
I’ve been spending quite a bit of time on YNAB’s website. It is very informative – containing tutorials and free coaching. I just signed up for one of their coaching classes.
I’m sold! I took Dave Ramsey’s FPU over the summer but we’ve struggled with creating and maintaining a budget… this looks like it will make it easy AND implements our checkbook register… something we are TERRIBLE about keeping track of! With recent medical issues and then falling and breaking my ankle medical bills prevent me from being able to spend the money on this at a time we need it most. Put my name in the hat please!
And for extra credit… I’d like to see a topic on the financial aspects of estate planning, wills, etc.
I need a budget badly! I tried mint, I just don’t think I’m using it correctly!
As for future discussions, how about how to deal with willpower/saving vs spending? That is a huge HUGE problem for me. Psychologically if I find a deal I talk myself into how it would be good for me, and how I save X amount of money because of it. Thinking about it, its that “If I’ve got it, I’m going to spend it” mentality. I’m sure lots of people have those issues
Put me in for this too!
My suggestion would be a topic on how to recover from small business failure.
I would like to see some info on plans to save for something rather than use credit and how much in the long run in spent using credit versus how long it would take to save.
I would love to see information on locating the right professional to help get started. I have so many things I need to accomplish to be financially sound that I don’t know the best place to start and how to sort out the order of priority
I just started working again after both my husband and I were unemployed for a while (my husband is still looking), an having a program like YNAB would be helpful to better track our new budget plan and our continued development of better habits. Thank you for offering this opportunity to your readers, and for your excellent content!
I’ve been trying to force myself to create a budget for a year now, this looks interesting. I need YOU NEED A BUDGET!! LOL thanks for holding the drawing. Kitty
Oh, as a suggestion of topics of interest would be how to recover from stupid spending or stupidity in general, such as forgetting to pay your home owners til you have to be reinspected when you know you need a roof and don’t have the money for it. I’m starting to feel like we’ve been hit by our own personal hurricane.
Here’s a topic! I would LOVE for some advice on how to choose a good dental plan/insurance (for individuals). My company’s health plan doesn’t cover dental.
Thanks for running this giveaway, and good luck all!
I am always interested in software that can help my clients – I am a financial planner and the one thing that continues to surprise me is how poorly people budget.
This becomes particularly evident when they require an increase in their mortgage as expenses have blown out or they cannot “afford” the minimum levels of life insurance (and related) cover they need. I have read a number of reviews on YNAB and even if I could offer them some basic assistance (at spreadsheet level) I am certain that will help. I am currently assessing YNAB (for my own use as much as anything) to recommend it to clients as well.
If you were to concentrate on providing continual analysis of useful financial software from budgetting (whether computer based or not) through to running a small business I am certain that would be of great assistance to many.
Thanks for running the giveaway.
Thanks for the opportunity to win this software
Please, please. I have looked at YNAB in the past and thought that it looked very solid. I would love to get this.
Thanks
KC
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