[ad_1] The post You Need a Budget Review 2021 | The Truth About YNAB appeared first on Millennial Money. You Need a Budget — or YNAB, for short — is a popular budget app. In fact, Millennial Money has chosen YNAB as the top budgeting app for 2021. Why? Simple: YNAB can help you visualize and understand budgeting at a glance. And it also offers valuable tools to track and monitor your progress. The app is great for beginner budgeters and advanced users alike. Plus, YNAB syncs with more than 12,000 banks, giving you a deeper understanding of your financial situation at any given time. YouNeedaBudget Overall Rating 9 Bottom Line YNAB is one of the best budgeting apps out there to help you save money and get a handle on your finances. They also provide a risk-free, 34-day free trial. Pros Save hundreds or thousands per year Helpful graphs and reports Goal-setting feature for long-term tracking Dual budgeting component 34-day free trial Cons Not free The platform can be buggy No phone supoort Budgeting only – no additional financial functions Mobile App 9.5 User Friendliness 8.0 Promotions 9.0 Security 9.0 Keep reading our YNAB review for all the reasons we think the You Need a Budget app belongs on your mobile phone. or, skip straight to the section on how to sign up for YNAB What Is YNAB? You Need a Budget is a personal finance app created to help you monitor your spending, keep tabs on your financial accounts, and reach your savings goal. Unlike some of the other financial apps we’ve reviewed, YNAB charges a monthly fee. But if you’re serious about managing your money, You Need a Budget is definitely worth it. Launched in 2004, YNAB uses the envelope budgeting method. What is envelope budgeting? Envelope budgeting — also known as zero-based budgeting — involves dividing each paycheck into different spending categories. These can include necessities like your mortgage or rent, utility bills, transportation, and groceries. You should also have an “envelope” for fun stuff, like eating out and going to the movies. This system prevents overspending by earmarking certain amounts for each category. If you run out of funds in one spending category, you must borrow money from another. But you should avoid doing that. Unlike many other budgeting apps, YNAB asks you to budget with the money that you have. So you’re not budgeting based on future cash flows, but instead with the money that’s already in your account. YouNeedABudget YNAB is one of the best budgeting apps out there to help you save money and get a handle on your finances. Get started today, risk-free, with their 34 day free trial. Start Budgeting How Does YNAB Work? YNAB operates on four rules for successful budgeting. Follow them to improve your financial situation. 1. Give every dollar a job One of the core concepts of YNAB is to determine how you spend your money the moment you get it. Do this by analyzing your bank accounts and allocating money into specific budget categories — like bills, groceries, housing expenses, and emergency funds. 2. Embrace your true expenses YNAB refers to large, infrequent expenses as true expenses. This may be an annual insurance premium, car tires, or a new roof for your house. You can plan for true expenses using the YNAB app. By planning, you can more easily account for these expenses when they occur. 3. Roll with the punches Overspending happens. For example, a friend may tie the knot — forcing you to dig a little deeper into your pockets for the wedding and its associated expenses, including travel, attire, and gifts. YNAB advises adjusting your budget as necessary. If you overspend in one category, simply take money from another to cover the difference. 4. Age your money YNAB helps you budget by planning to spend last month’s income, rather than your current paycheck. It calls this strategy “aging money.” By aging your money, you can increase savings, reduce stress, and never worry about living paycheck to paycheck. YNAB Features Here are some of the top features included with YNAB. Reports Highly visual learners sometimes struggle with spreadsheet-style budgeting. YNAB offers easy-to-understand reports like charts and graphs, which make it simple to track your progress. You can access your reports directly in the YNAB app at any time. Goal tracking As YNAB explains on its website, budgeting isn’t about restriction. Instead, it’s about setting and reaching goals. You can use the YNAB app to set different financial goals. The app lets you divide your budgeting goals for both the short and long terms. Dual budgeting One of the top reasons why household budgets fail is due to a lack of cooperation. For example, you may start budgeting, but your partner might keep overspending. When managing household expenses, you have to work as a team. YNAB makes this possible using its dual budgeting tool. Mobile app Like most people today, you probably spend a lot of time on your smartphone — maybe even more than you care to admit. Many personal finance apps have great desktop versions but skimp on the mobile app. Not YNAB. You Need a Budget offers a fully loaded mobile app for Android and iOS devices. You can even access your budget with your Apple Watch. Manual or automatic data entry YNAB lets you choose whether to enter transaction information yourself or upload data directly from your bank account. Some people prefer the manual approach because it forces you to pay more attention. The more time and effort you put into budgeting, the better the results. If you automate the process, the experience may not be as effective. Think about what style works for you and proceed from there. You can always adjust this process as time goes on. YNAB Pricing The YNAB app doesn’t cost anything to download. But you’ll need to purchase a subscription plan if you want to use the service. YNAB costs $11.99 monthly or $84
