We Use YNAB For Our Envelope Budgeting System

Do you need a budget?  I would argue that everyone does.

A budget is essential because we all need a predefined plan for exactly how we want to use our money.  It will help us get the most out of it.  Otherwise the cash we have just evaporates never to be seen again.

In today’s economy no one can afford to let their money slip through their fingers.  Every dollar needs to perform the job it is assigned.  This is where YNAB and the envelope system can help.

The basics of using an envelope budgeting system

I am very fond of using the envelope budgeting system.  In it’s purest form, you divide your cash into paper envelopes that match your spending categories.

Once the cash from your grocery envelope for this month is gone, then you don’t spend anymore on groceries.  You get by on what’s in the cupboard.  This helps you control your spending.

Of course, technology affects almost everything nowadays and envelope budgeting is no different.  There are a wide-range of software and online systems out there that will allow you to create virtual envelopes instead of using paper ones.

A little over six months ago, I chose YNAB Pro as my new personal finance software.  It has served me well.

The things I really appreciate about YNAB Pro

Since I first started using it, I have grown to really appreciate the ease of YNAB.

I’m a firm believer that technology should enhance your life to be worth its cost.  YNAB makes it simple for me to plan my budget, track my spending and to remain consistent from month-to-month.

Here are the specific YNAB features that I derive the most benefit from:

1.  Ability to quickly copy last month’s budget to this month

I use this every month.  With just a click, I can copy my budgeted amounts in each of my spending categories forward from last month to this month.

I then go through them and tweak things to customize my budget for the current month, but most of the allocations do not change from month-to-month, so this feature saves me some time.  It also reduces the potential for errors.

In the previous system I used, the spending plan wasn’t specific to each month.  It was global.  I could change it monthly, but I couldn’t go back to see what I had allocated in a particular category three months ago.  All I could see was the current value.

I like the added detail I get in YNAB.

2.  YNAB suggests spending categories when I import transactions

I am able to export my transactions from my credit union’s online system in Quicken format and then import them into YNAB.  Being able to import transactions from one or more banking systems saves tons of time, but now YNAB suggests which spending category I should assign to each imported transaction.

It remembers how I assigned similar transactions in the past and then recommends the same category for future transactions.  All I have to do is click to accept YNAB’s suggestion!

This is a relatively new feature and I absolutely love it.  It is just one more way that YNAB has made my life easier.

This feature doesn’t work when I need to split a transaction between multiple categories, but that’s okay.  It handles about 90% of my transactions leaving me only 10% to categorize manually.

3.  Provides numerous at-a-glance features that makes budgeting easy

Each month’s budget is shown in a spreadsheet-type view in YNAB Pro.  At the top, the total amount of money I have left to allocate or budget is clearly displayed. 

If I hover my mouse over that dollar figure, I get a bubble pop-up that displays my total inflows and outflows for the month.

Below that, all my spending categories are grouped according the master categories I created.  Everything is so well organized that it is a cinch to read.

For each category, YNAB plainly displays the amount I budgeted, the total amount I’ve spent month-to-date and the amount I have remaining in that category or envelope.

It is a breeze to scroll through my budget to see exactly where I am at any given time.  Any negative values are shown in red so they immediately jump to my attention.

If I hover my mouse over the amount I’ve spent or the amount remaining in a category, YNAB will pop-up another bubble with more details.

I love how easy it is to drill-down into the detail I need without even having to click the mouse!  I just hover over what I need to know more about and up pops the info!

YNAB really is a great system that makes budgeting easy

I couldn’t be more pleased with choosing YNAB Pro to manage my budget.  It is a comprehensive system with a ton of time-saving features.

Because YNAB is so simple to use and hassle-free, I don’t dread having to manage my money like I did before.  In fact, I’m always amazed at how fast I get everything done.

YNAB has a ton of great testimonials and success stories documented on their web site, so you don’t have to depend solely on my opinion. 

If you are interested, please click the link below to check out YNAB for yourself.  If you make a purchase, then I get paid a little commission that helps me continue to operate this site.

Click here to learn more => How can your money work for you? — You Need A Budget.

The cool thing is that if within 60 days of your purchase you decide you don’t like YNAB for any reason, you can get a full refund!  You can’t beat that.

Do you use YNAB?  What do you like about it or your present system?

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