Liz CA Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 We are failures at YNAB. Dh did not want to enter everything in manually and I was not much more motivated either. One one hand I complain how all info is now online but then I want a wizard to come in and synchronize everything from my bank to the software. We are looking at mint.com. Any tips, opinions, warnings, raves? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChocolateReignRemix Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 We like it. We don't use it for budgeting but it is useful for tracking our account balances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 We also use it for tracking. I still have a paper budget, but I can see real time on Mint (more or less, sometimes it takes a day for something to show) where I am in each category. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeganCupcake Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 I found it frustrating because it was constantly failing to connect to our various banks. That was a couple of years ago, so maybe it's improved since then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busymotherof4 Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 We love it. It is so automatic. I can clearly see where our money is going. The hardest thing is the trips to target or Walmart. I have to remember to split it into separate categories. We have only been using it a few months so are just starting to switch our behaviors now that we have tracked things for a while Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChocolateReignRemix Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 I found it frustrating because it was constantly failing to connect to our various banks. That was a couple of years ago, so maybe it's improved since then. I want to say we initially had trouble when we signed up a few years ago but all accounts seem to synch really well now. We do seem to occasionally need to reenter our passwords for our Chase accounts but that may be a security feature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Following. YNAB failure here too. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momee Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Awww. Is the constant entering the problem? I've used and love YNAB for quite a while now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 Awww. Is the constant entering the problem? I've used and love YNAB for quite a while now. Yes it is. YNAB supposedly has a feature where you can download it but they don't recommend it. I have never found it on the program. Perhaps it's something that was in progress. Dh is looking at mint.com right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momee Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 We tried mint.com and it seemed to just keep track of the amount spent, I wanted something that would help me budget to know WHERE I could spend. One was proactive (YNAB) the other, reactive (Mint). I see your point, it is work to constantly enter, but it keeps me paying attention to my spending and constantly managing our money. Sorry to derail your post. I'm not trying to change your mind, I was just curious. It took me a while to get a system down but now that I've done that, I really appreciate its advantages. Best of luck to you, money management is ... i dunno...stressful, I think. Whatever system you use :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 We tried mint.com and it seemed to just keep track of the amount spent, I wanted something that would help me budget to know WHERE I could spend. One was proactive (YNAB) the other, reactive (Mint). I see your point, it is work to constantly enter, but it keeps me paying attention to my spending and constantly managing our money. Sorry to derail your post. I'm not trying to change your mind, I was just curious. It took me a while to get a system down but now that I've done that, I really appreciate its advantages. Best of luck to you, money management is ... i dunno...stressful, I think. Whatever system you use :) Don't see it as derailing at all. I welcome all opinions and advice. I was wondering if I had overlooked some vital function and was making it harder than it needed to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaLisa Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 What is YNAB? If constant data entry is hanging you up, what about good 'ol fashioned cash envelopes? That's what I started using 7 years ago when I wanted to really reign in my spending and control where my money was going. We made a budget on paper and paid all of the regular monthly expenses online. I made cash envelopes for the budget categories like grocery, misc, my personal fun $, clothing that fluctuated. Using cash helped me decide whether to make the purchase at all, helped me to gauge how much was left for the month and helped me to decide to trade out some clothing money for a family night out splurge. No data entry necessary. I could not keep up with that kind of system. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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