budget software

[ktgrok]

I have used YNAB and liked it, but then got behind and had a lot of trouble with it syncing with my credit union (or rather, NOT syncing with it properly) as well as some other credit accounts so I was constantly having to update stuff, and gave up. 

But I NEED to get back to it. 

I NEED something that adds in transactions automatically, as close to real time as possible. Not something I have to enter in transactions manually every time. (I KNOW I will miss stuff that way, plus DH won't be entering things, etc). 

I don't want to spend $80-$100 up front, as that seems the opposite of financial responsibility at this point, lol. Is there something like YNAB that will let me pay month to month instead of all up front, so I can make sure I stick to it, like it, etc?

[SamanthaCarter]

Following. I’ve never seen one I liked. Most are too many bells and whistles and therefore too buggy/high maintenance. A few just have a really kooky approach. 

I like Excel 😂. But I’m an accountant, we like spreadsheets...

Edited January 7, 2020 by SamanthaCarter

[ktgrok]

20 minutes ago, SamanthaCarter said:

Following. I’ve never seen one I liked. Most are too many bells and whistles and therefore too buggy/high maintenance. A few just have a really kooky approach. 

I like Excel 😂. But I’m an accountant, we like spreadsheets...

I am whatever the exact opposite of an accountant is. Wait, I'm a writer. That probably sums it up, lol. 

[Just Kate]

I know you said Ynab doesn’t work for you, but I just have to say that after YEARS of looking, YNAB is the only budget tool that has worked for dh and me. Now our transactions do import, so that makes it much easier, but if they didn’t, I would just login to my bank/credit card each day and log the transactions from the previous day. 
 

And for anyone else reading, the $84 per year that we’ve spent on YNAB has been completely worth it. The only reason that we are (finally) in a position to buy a house this summer is because YNAB helped us to get a handle on our money. 
 

One website that I liked in the past was called Mvelopes. Have you checked that one out? I still think that YNAB is better, but I would say that that one came in a (distant) second place. 😉

[Carrie12345]

I‘ve tried a bunch of different apps/programs and I’ve never been impressed with any of them.  Especially because I had to do so much manual entering. We spend money at a lot of places that fit more than one category.  It’s just easier for me to do it on paper. (Or a spreadsheet, but I’m a paper person.)

[ktgrok]

1 hour ago, Just Kate said:

I know you said Ynab doesn’t work for you, but I just have to say that after YEARS of looking, YNAB is the only budget tool that has worked for dh and me. Now our transactions do import, so that makes it much easier, but if they didn’t, I would just login to my bank/credit card each day and log the transactions from the previous day. 
 

And for anyone else reading, the $84 per year that we’ve spent on YNAB has been completely worth it. The only reason that we are (finally) in a position to buy a house this summer is because YNAB helped us to get a handle on our money. 
 

One website that I liked in the past was called Mvelopes. Have you checked that one out? I still think that YNAB is better, but I would say that that one came in a (distant) second place. 😉

I actually did like YNAB other than the bugs, but it was my favorite. Mvelopes was okay, but YNAB worked for my brain much better. I'm just not wanting to spend the money, lol. But I may have to. I just am not quite sure how to explain to DH that I spend nearly a hundred bucks to spend less money. Sigh. He'd probably understand though - he is good about business stuff so spending money to make things more efficient/work better/cut costs comes easier to him than me. I come from people that when they don't have a hammer just bang in the nail with whatever is around, you know? But...that's not working for me. 

[retiredHSmom]

I started using Banktivity (I think it is Mac only) and I really like it. Their sync seems to work really well. The software is not a subscription but the bank connect is.

Edited January 8, 2020 by retiredHSmom
to add more information

[Just Kate]

1 hour ago, Ktgrok said:

I actually did like YNAB other than the bugs, but it was my favorite. Mvelopes was okay, but YNAB worked for my brain much better. I'm just not wanting to spend the money, lol. But I may have to. I just am not quite sure how to explain to DH that I spend nearly a hundred bucks to spend less money. Sigh. He'd probably understand though - he is good about business stuff so spending money to make things more efficient/work better/cut costs comes easier to him than me. I come from people that when they don't have a hammer just bang in the nail with whatever is around, you know? But...that's not working for me. 

I felt the exact same as you for years as I was looking for the perfect budget software. Seriously...I tried them all. I even created my own super-complicated spreadsheet. I couldn’t stick with any of them. Finally, at the end of 2018, I had a moment. I was looking at our finances - our income and our debt. I just couldn’t figure out why we couldn’t pay off our last little bit of credit card debt and why we weren’t saving more money. I broke down and did the two month YNAB free trial and at the end of those two months, I could already see the benefit. I happily paid the $84 for a be next year. As I mentioned, we are in a completely different financial situation today, just 14 months later. I just paid my renewal (which I had budgeted for over the past year!) and didn’t blink an eye!

 

[ktgrok]

4 hours ago, retiredHSmom said:

I started using Banktivity (I think it is Mac only) and I really like it. Their sync seems to work really well. The software is not a subscription but the bank connect is.

Ooh! I'd never heard of this! I just downloaded it and entered all my accounts. tomorrow I'll work on the budge part. Doing the free trial for now. I like that it looks like I can pay bills directly from the program!

[matrips]

3 hours ago, Just Kate said:

I broke down and did the two month YNAB free trial and at the end of those two months, I could already see the benefit.

What made the difference?  I’m trying to understand how it helps.  Detail is good!  Thanks.

[matrips]

This compares some top alternatives

https://clubthrifty.com/best-quicken-alternatives/

[vmsurbat1]

4 hours ago, matrips said:

What made the difference?  I’m trying to understand how it helps.  Detail is good!  Thanks.

Not the OP, but we use Ynab (albeit the slightly older desktop only version).  But, what makes it different is that it is an virtual envelope system.  What does this mean?

You keep track of all the money in your checking and savings accounts.  Thinking through your priorities, you put ALL that money into "envelopes" called categories in YNAB.  This ensures that you are not "double-booking" money.  When you have a checking account with say, $1000 or even $10,000 in it, it is easy to say:  Oooh!  We can buy clothes, go on vacation, get that new vacuum, etc. without realizing that you really DON'T have the money to do all that.  

Note:  this is where YNAB differs from most other software.  You don't start with a budget (deciding on how much you *want* to spend in each category and allocating that all out), you start with the money you actually have.  So, if you estimate your monthly expenses at $5000, but only have $4000 on hand, you fill out your categories/envelopes so that $4000 is allocated.  On a more granular level, there are ways to keep track of how much you want in category (eg. putting the amount in the category name "Food $400), but if you only $300 on hand, you only allocate $300 and you only spend $300 until you get more money and decide to fund the envelope.

How do you decide priorities?  Depends on your financial situation.  If you are paycheck to paycheck, you place the money in those categories that MUST be paid before the next paycheck.  When you spend money, you record that transaction.  If you end up needing to buy shoes, you check your clothing category to see how much is in there.  At that point, you can buy shoes that cost no more than that amount OR, if don't have enough in the clothing category, you take the money out of a different, lower priority category (say Entertainment) and move it to clothing so you DO have enough.   Rinse and repeat while learning whether or not you really can live within your means.  Many people who think they can't live within their means find they can as they bring their spending in line with their income. Others find out that no, they really can't, so it spurs to get more income.

For those of us not living paycheck to paycheck (in YNAB-speak it is called "living on last month's income" or "being buffered"), it becomes very clear how much money *is* extra each month beyond monthly expenses.  Then we plan to cover known unknowns--like car repairs--we don't have a repair this month but we can guess that we eventually will.  With that category (and others like it), ordinary life happenings aren't really emergencies--we've planned and saved for them.  We can also begin saving for bigger expenses--like a new car, new house, vacation, or sending money to investments.

Ultimately, YNAB is a fancy spreadsheet tool that helps you manage your money by 1.  making you assigning every dollar to a category (also called "giving it a job"), 2.  asking you to check your CATEGORY (not checking account) before spending from it to see if you have enough in there to spend from that envelope/category, 3. making it easy to reallocate dollars from one category to another, and 4.  making it easy to learn and see one's true expenses and therefore know what is "extra."

You asked for details, HTH!

Edited January 8, 2020 by vmsurbat1

[CTVKath]

I'm a weird mix of an Excel spreadsheet and green columnar pads for our budgeting but it works for me. For those who like Excel spreadsheets, this one has been my absolutely favorite over the years. It's a free "Envelopes" type spreadsheet. It's old - from 2010 - but I'm using it on my Excel for Mac through the 365 subscription and it still works just fine. There's a paid version which includes reconciling features but I have not bought or tried that. I just use the free one. http://www.mdmproofing.com/iym/products/envelope-check-register/

[matrips]

5 hours ago, vmsurbat1 said:

Not the OP, but we use Ynab (albeit the slightly older desktop only version).  But, what makes it different is that it is an virtual envelope system.  What does this mean?

You keep track of all the money in your checking and savings accounts.  Thinking through your priorities, you put ALL that money into "envelopes" called categories in YNAB.  This ensures that you are not "double-booking" money.  When you have a checking account with say, $1000 or even $10,000 in it, it is easy to say:  Oooh!  We can buy clothes, go on vacation, get that new vacuum, etc. without realizing that you really DON'T have the money to do all that.  

Note:  this is where YNAB differs from most other software.  You don't start with a budget (deciding on how much you *want* to spend in each category and allocating that all out), you start with the money you actually have.  So, if you estimate your monthly expenses at $5000, but only have $4000 on hand, you fill out your categories/envelopes so that $4000 is allocated.  On a more granular level, there are ways to keep track of how much you want in category (eg. putting the amount in the category name "Food $400), but if you only $300 on hand, you only allocate $300 and you only spend $300 until you get more money and decide to fund the envelope.

How do you decide priorities?  Depends on your financial situation.  If you are paycheck to paycheck, you place the money in those categories that MUST be paid before the next paycheck.  When you spend money, you record that transaction.  If you end up needing to buy shoes, you check your clothing category to see how much is in there.  At that point, you can buy shoes that cost no more than that amount OR, if don't have enough in the clothing category, you take the money out of a different, lower priority category (say Entertainment) and move it to clothing so you DO have enough.   Rinse and repeat while learning whether or not you really can live within your means.  Many people who think they can't live within their means find they can as they bring their spending in line with their income. Others find out that no, they really can't, so it spurs to get more income.

For those of us not living paycheck to paycheck (in YNAB-speak it is called "living on last month's income" or "being buffered"), it becomes very clear how much money *is* extra each month beyond monthly expenses.  Then we plan to cover known unknowns--like car repairs--we don't have a repair this month but we can guess that we eventually will.  With that category (and others like it), ordinary life happenings aren't really emergencies--we've planned and saved for them.  We can also begin saving for bigger expenses--like a new car, new house, vacation, or sending money to investments.

Ultimately, YNAB is a fancy spreadsheet tool that helps you manage your money by 1.  making you assigning every dollar to a category (also called "giving it a job"), 2.  asking you to check your CATEGORY (not checking account) before spending from it to see if you have enough in there to spend from that envelope/category, 3. making it easy to reallocate dollars from one category to another, and 4.  making it easy to learn and see one's true expenses and therefore know what is "extra."

You asked for details, HTH!

Thank you for the detail!  That’s the piece I’m missing then- seeing if we have the money in the ‘envelope’ before spending it.  I need to think on that.  I use USAAs budget and tracker tool, along with a columnar pad, and have multiple savings accounts (for car repairs/vacation/new roof etc), but there’s no great visual or check before we spend money.  Just categorizing it after the fact. So I have a very detailed budget, but not the envelope factor. Or is that not as important if not living month to month? 

do the envelopes accumulate?  Or is it just a monthly envelope? Like I keep an account for Christmas/birthday gifts that I allot money to monthly throughout the year so I have the money when I need it.

[vmsurbat1]

33 minutes ago, matrips said:

do the envelopes accumulate?  Or is it just a monthly envelope? Like I keep an account for Christmas/birthday gifts that I allot money to monthly throughout the year so I have the money when I need it.

Yes, the money accumulates month after month in their respective envelopes--you'll not need to maintain separate accounts just to make sure you don't spend it.  We have one primary checking and one primary savings accounts (for better interest) plus a few credit cards for the rewards (all paid in full).  But I have over 30 categories (from typical monthly expenses like Groceries, Gas, Electricity, Tithe; for irregular expenses like Web domain Registration, Home Maintenance, Xmas, Birthday for Family, Gifts for others, Personal spending, Subscription fees;  for wishlist categories like Next Vacation, Wedding (our kids are at that age....), and the like.

I think even if not living month-to-month the method makes a huge difference.  That was our situation--we were living within our means but not able to see the truly big picture.  Thinking through categories, prioritizing, realizing that if we choose to spend on X,  it means not spending on Y (or delaying Y), and then by *spending according to our well-thought out plans* means we find money almost effortlessly accruing.  For example, we have a car replacement fund--not a huge priority at this point in our life but every month we tuck some money in there.  I was shocked to realize that it is now well over $6000.  So, while we don't expect to need a new car soon, if for some reason we do, we have a goodly chunk to put towards it (without effecting *any* of our other priorities!), and until then, we are slowly adding to that category.  

 

[matrips]

2 hours ago, vmsurbat1 said:

Yes, the money accumulates month after month in their respective envelopes--you'll not need to maintain separate accounts just to make sure you don't spend it.  We have one primary checking and one primary savings accounts (for better interest) plus a few credit cards for the rewards (all paid in full).  But I have over 30 categories (from typical monthly expenses like Groceries, Gas, Electricity, Tithe; for irregular expenses like Web domain Registration, Home Maintenance, Xmas, Birthday for Family, Gifts for others, Personal spending, Subscription fees;  for wishlist categories like Next Vacation, Wedding (our kids are at that age....), and the like.

I think even if not living month-to-month the method makes a huge difference.  That was our situation--we were living within our means but not able to see the truly big picture.  Thinking through categories, prioritizing, realizing that if we choose to spend on X,  it means not spending on Y (or delaying Y), and then by *spending according to our well-thought out plans* means we find money almost effortlessly accruing.  For example, we have a car replacement fund--not a huge priority at this point in our life but every month we tuck some money in there.  I was shocked to realize that it is now well over $6000.  So, while we don't expect to need a new car soon, if for some reason we do, we have a goodly chunk to put towards it (without effecting *any* of our other priorities!), and until then, we are slowly adding to that category.  

 

Your responses are so helpful, thank you.  How much time does it take you to reconcile or label transactions?  Like if you have an envelope called Christmas money, how do you ‘take’ the money out of there for your Christmas gift purchase?   Or is everything done automatically with the bank and credit cards?  If a charge comes in, do you just label it Christmas and it deducts from that envelope?  This is what I do, but YNAB sounds a step up from what I’m using.  I watched their videos but they don’t show the process. Though I think I might give the trial a go. We’re in a much better place than we were a year ago before the Usaa tracking, but thinking we could do even better.

 

[vmsurbat1]

3 hours ago, matrips said:

How much time does it take you to reconcile or label transactions?  Like if you have an envelope called Christmas money, how do you ‘take’ the money out of there for your Christmas gift purchase?   Or is everything done automatically with the bank and credit cards?  If a charge comes in, do you just label it Christmas and it deducts from that envelope?  This is what I do, but YNAB sounds a step up from what I’m using.  I watched their videos but they don’t show the process. Though I think I might give the trial a go. We’re in a much better place than we were a year ago before the Usaa tracking, but thinking we could do even better.

I'm on the old school YNAB4 because it still works for me, so I don't import anything as far as transactions go.  So, you'll need to visit the forums to ask your questions on the how-to's of linking, downloading, and reconciling with bank accounts automatically.  But, even so, the *recommended* way to use even the most current YNAB is to record your transactions at the time of purchase (via the app for phone) or daily at home via the web and use the download feature as a check.   

What it looks like for me:

Once a day, I sit down at the computer with YNAB open.  I go to our credit card company website.  I see which charges are pending (ie. just made that day or previously) and record it as spent (but not cleared).  Thus:  grocery store charge of $59.50 gets deducted from Groceries.  Costco charge of $169.72 might get deducted into split categories: Groceries 69.72, Gifts 25.00, Personal spending (a book) 25.00, and clothing 50.00.  Each of those categories now has that much less money in it.  

I then see which formerly pending CC charges have cleared.  I clear them in YNAB, see that the balance of YNAB matches what the CC company says I owe and click reconcile.  I now know how much money has been committed via the CC.  YNAB and my CC company are in agreement at this point in time so any future discrepancies are easy to tease out.   This takes like 1-2 minutes per day.  The trick is to stay on top of it. (I can also say that I catch CC fraud right away and the CC company is very grateful for that!)

After that, I go through our cash spending (and we live in a place with lots of cash-only transactions--the CC is much, much easier!).  Between receipts and memories, I record our cash spending.  Every few weeks, my husband and I count our available cash, see how it matches what YNAB says, try to remember any unrecorded expenditures, and reconcile at that point. (Most people don't need to use as much cash as we do and don't have to go through this).

Lastly, I should point out that you can set up *recurring* transactions--so you can schedule transactions and they will pop up--you can either have them pre-filled with set amounts or a dummy amount that you update (ie. electric bill that might vary).  So, you don't need to do a lot of typing once all this gets set up.   Also, after some use, the YNAB software will anticipate which category to use with which payees.  Eg.  Payee:  Aldi  might automatically associate with the Grocery category and Cinemax with Family Entertainment. (These can always be changed, though)

Definitely try the free trial and visit the forums/attend live online classes for any questions you have....

[Just Kate]

4 hours ago, matrips said:

Your responses are so helpful, thank you.  How much time does it take you to reconcile or label transactions?  Like if you have an envelope called Christmas money, how do you ‘take’ the money out of there for your Christmas gift purchase?   Or is everything done automatically with the bank and credit cards?  If a charge comes in, do you just label it Christmas and it deducts from that envelope?  This is what I do, but YNAB sounds a step up from what I’m using.  I watched their videos but they don’t show the process. Though I think I might give the trial a go. We’re in a much better place than we were a year ago before the Usaa tracking, but thinking we could do even better.

 

I use the new version of Ynab, mostly using the app on my phone. I maybe spend 5 minutes per day dealing with transactions. I try to add in my transactions as I make them, and like the poster above, I normally go online and view my pending transactions at our bank and on the credit cards we use. I also have my accounts linked, which means that the transactions come over to Ynab  after they clear the bank. Because I have already listed most of the transactions myself, I only have to approve the linked transactions (they match up directly with the transactions I already entered). 
 

What helped our finances the most has been the credit card features. The idea is that you only spend money that you already have on hand. So when I make a credit card purchase (say $150 for groceries), I tell Ynab about that transaction and that I made the purchase using my credit card. YNAB automatically pulls $150 from my groceries category and puts it in my category for paying my credit card. Dh and I had tried previously to use a credit card for all purchases and pay it off monthly, but we could never seem to get it to work. Now my credit card payment category matches my credit card balance - the money is sitting there to pay it. 
 

I would definitely encourage you to try the free trial. If you look online, there are codes for a three month free trial. I have also heard others say that at the end of their one month free trial, they contacted Ynab support and requested a longer trial and it was given to them. There are many videos put out by Ynab that help to explain just how it works. Also, search “Nick True Ynab” and you will find some other awesome videos. 
 

Let me know if you have other questions!

[matrips]

1 hour ago, Just Kate said:

I use the new version of Ynab, mostly using the app on my phone. I maybe spend 5 minutes per day dealing with transactions. I try to add in my transactions as I make them, and like the poster above, I normally go online and view my pending transactions at our bank and on the credit cards we use. I also have my accounts linked, which means that the transactions come over to Ynab  after they clear the bank. Because I have already listed most of the transactions myself, I only have to approve the linked transactions (they match up directly with the transactions I already entered). 
 

What helped our finances the most has been the credit card features. The idea is that you only spend money that you already have on hand. So when I make a credit card purchase (say $150 for groceries), I tell Ynab about that transaction and that I made the purchase using my credit card. YNAB automatically pulls $150 from my groceries category and puts it in my category for paying my credit card. Dh and I had tried previously to use a credit card for all purchases and pay it off monthly, but we could never seem to get it to work. Now my credit card payment category matches my credit card balance - the money is sitting there to pay it. 
 

I would definitely encourage you to try the free trial. If you look online, there are codes for a three month free trial. I have also heard others say that at the end of their one month free trial, they contacted Ynab support and requested a longer trial and it was given to them. There are many videos put out by Ynab that help to explain just how it works. Also, search “Nick True Ynab” and you will find some other awesome videos. 
 

Let me know if you have other questions!

I signed up for the free  trial and tried working with it today.  I linked my account to and set up my categories.  But, I couldn’t figure out some things and the help desk wasn’t too helpful.  In this situation- how do I do it?  Example- I allot $200/month towards a vacation fund.  It currently has $1000 in it.  I have many other expenses like this too where I set aside the same amount each month. How do I set that up in YNAB?  So that each month it will allocate another $200 to my vacation envelope.  I’m hoping I wouldn’t have to go in manually and do that every month. I have no specific dollar goal to get to; I just save a certain amount each month and let it accumulate.  Same for my car fund and other ones. How do I do this?  Thanks!

just adding that I have watched a lot of videos on their site so far.  But still can’t figure it out.  Thanks 🙂

Edited January 9, 2020 by matrips

[Just Kate]

57 minutes ago, matrips said:

I signed up for the free  trial and tried working with it today.  I linked my account to and set up my categories.  But, I couldn’t figure out some things and the help desk wasn’t too helpful.  In this situation- how do I do it?  Example- I allot $200/month towards a vacation fund.  It currently has $1000 in it.  I have many other expenses like this too where I set aside the same amount each month. How do I set that up in YNAB?  So that each month it will allocate another $200 to my vacation envelope.  I’m hoping I wouldn’t have to go in manually and do that every month. I have no specific dollar goal to get to; I just save a certain amount each month and let it accumulate.  Same for my car fund and other ones. How do I do this?  Thanks!

just adding that I have watched a lot of videos on their site so far.  But still can’t figure it out.  Thanks 🙂

That’s great that you signed up! On payday each month, you take your paycheck and allocate it to your envelopes. So when you get a paycheck that you want to use to put $200 toward vacation, you do it then. The idea behind Ynab is to only budget the money you have (not future money). Does that help at all?

ETA: I’m a bit nerdy when it comes to budgeting, but I get so excited on dh and my paydays because I love allocating our money to the specific categories. I get that not everyone feels like me. 

Edited January 9, 2020 by Just Kate

[Just Kate]

I love these two YNAB videos:

YNAB for Beginners

YNAB Credit Card Guide

[matrips]

2 minutes ago, Just Kate said:

That’s great that you signed up! On payday each month, you take your paycheck and allocate it to your envelopes. So when you get a paycheck that you want to use to put $200 toward vacation, you do it then. The idea behind Ynab is to only budget the money you have (not future money). Does that help at all?

ETA: I’m a bit nerdy when it comes to budgeting, but I get so excited on dh and my paydays because I love allocating our money to the specific categories. I get that not everyone feels like me. 

So I can’t just set it up so when the paychecks come in, the money knows where to go? I was hoping to set it up once and then basically have it repeat itself each month.  At least for 90% of it.  Dh has multiple streams of income that come in during the month.  It would be a pain to have to allocate each and every time. 😟

[vmsurbat1]

6 hours ago, matrips said:

So I can’t just set it up so when the paychecks come in, the money knows where to go? I was hoping to set it up once and then basically have it repeat itself each month.  At least for 90% of it.  Dh has multiple streams of income that come in during the month.  It would be a pain to have to allocate each and every time. 😟

There is a quick budget function--you can select ALL categories or just some and with a click of the button, it will fill the selected categories.   The new YNAB includes goal features  (not in the old) and I think they can help with making sure you meet certain goals.  Something else for you to learn about!

Now, to address the "multiple streams of income" issue.  All the pre-web versions of YNAB stressed the importance of working towards (and getting there) of being one month ahead--meaning income earned in Jan gets earmarked to fund February expenses.  Jan income was automatically placed (unless overridden) to a category called "Income Next Month".  That income never messed with the current month--its job was to wait until next month.  When the next month came around, all the money was there waiting to be allocated.  Since I'm using the earlier edition of YNAB and we are living on last month's income, I only need to fill the budget once per month which is great from several vantage points--less time administrative time, I can see if some categories need less (ie. didn't spend all of Jan's grocery allotment, so it doesn't really need its typical full monthly amount), and again, it easier to see what's truly "extra" and can put be to our prioritized purposes.

In the new YNAB, many people manually create this Income Next Month category and recreate that scenario.  You can go to the forums and search on threads with those words.  You'll see how many people credit budgeting that way as a major breakthrough for their finances and get tips on how to set it up, store the income, and release the funds for use in the month you want them.

 

Edited January 9, 2020 by vmsurbat1

[Just Kate]

5 hours ago, vmsurbat1 said:

There is a quick budget function--you can select ALL categories or just some and with a click of the button, it will fill the selected categories.   The new YNAB includes goal features  (not in the old) and I think they can help with making sure you meet certain goals.  Something else for you to learn about!

Now, to address the "multiple streams of income" issue.  All the pre-web versions of YNAB stressed the importance of working towards (and getting there) of being one month ahead--meaning income earned in Jan gets earmarked to fund February expenses.  Jan income was automatically placed (unless overridden) to a category called "Income Next Month".  That income never messed with the current month--its job was to wait until next month.  When the next month came around, all the money was there waiting to be allocated.  Since I'm using the earlier edition of YNAB and we are living on last month's income, I only need to fill the budget once per month which is great from several vantage points--less time administrative time, I can see if some categories need less (ie. didn't spend all of Jan's grocery allotment, so it doesn't really need its typical full monthly amount), and again, it easier to see what's truly "extra" and can put be to our prioritized purposes.

In the new YNAB, many people manually create this Income Next Month category and recreate that scenario.  You can go to the forums and search on threads with those words.  You'll see how many people credit budgeting that way as a major breakthrough for their finances and get tips on how to set it up, store the income, and release the funds for use in the month you want them.

 

Thanks for responding! Yes, the quick budget feature would likely work for you, if each month is the same. Again, I love budgeting, so I enjoy putting my money in each category on payday. 🤓

If you use Facebook, there is an awesome YNAB  group that has a ton of info. You may want to check it out. 

[carriede]

15 hours ago, matrips said:

So I can’t just set it up so when the paychecks come in, the money knows where to go? I was hoping to set it up once and then basically have it repeat itself each month.  At least for 90% of it.  Dh has multiple streams of income that come in during the month.  It would be a pain to have to allocate each and every time. 😟

This video should help too. More complicated to set up, but easy once you do.

 

[ktgrok]

Update!!!!!!

YNAB now has monthly billing!!!!!!!

Y'all! I may cry! This was what I needed! Later I can do the yearly cost, but right now, right after Christmas and some other stuff going on I really couldn't justify it. But I need to start NOW. And I was all ready to try to see if I could figure something, anything out, and went to log in and up popped monthly billing!!!!!

this is after me trying Banktivity (nope) and checking out everything else. I am SO excited! I loved YNAB. 

[Just Kate]

19 minutes ago, Ktgrok said:

Update!!!!!!

YNAB now has monthly billing!!!!!!!

Y'all! I may cry! This was what I needed! Later I can do the yearly cost, but right now, right after Christmas and some other stuff going on I really couldn't justify it. But I need to start NOW. And I was all ready to try to see if I could figure something, anything out, and went to log in and up popped monthly billing!!!!!

this is after me trying Banktivity (nope) and checking out everything else. I am SO excited! I loved YNAB. 

yay!!! I didn’t realize they offer that now (I pay annually). That’s really cool...and I think more people would be willing to give it a shot with monthly billing too. 

[prairiewindmomma]

2 hours ago, Ktgrok said:

Update!!!!!!

YNAB now has monthly billing!!!!!!!

Y'all! I may cry! This was what I needed! Later I can do the yearly cost, but right now, right after Christmas and some other stuff going on I really couldn't justify it. But I need to start NOW. And I was all ready to try to see if I could figure something, anything out, and went to log in and up popped monthly billing!!!!!

this is after me trying Banktivity (nope) and checking out everything else. I am SO excited! I loved YNAB. 

One of the new features (I had it back with YNAB4) I love is that after a few months of use the budget window gives you a running average of what you have been spending in a given category....seriously eye opening.