#ynab

[brehaaorgana]

ADHD money/budgeting system I'm currently using for my benefit is going well (I've been using it for like half a year now?), and I wanna recommend it.

You Need a Budget is EXCELLENT. 10/10 do recommend. Uhhh rambling about it and my generic disclaimers + gushing extensively under the cut but TL;DR I think it's great for ADHD ppl, I've used it for 6+ months now and I find it super SUPER helpful. also weirdly fun.

DISCLAIMERS:

Budgeting helps you understand/know your money, it can't make money appear where there is none.

Everyone should learn to budget even if you don't have much money (especially then)

This is NOT a magic trick solution. Just like everything else, it is an assistive tool. This is one of those adult things we can't simply opt out of without negative consequences, though.

My advice is based on something I am currently able to do. That is, I can spend an amount of money on this specific thing that works well for me. If you have no extra money to spend then previously I was tracking things in a notebook. So you can still do this.

I believe Dave Ramsey is a fundie fraud/hack and no one should listen to him about money.

DID YOU KNOW THEY CANCELLED MINT???

Okay? OKAY.

Ahem.

You Need a Budget is EXCELLENT.

It is called YNAB for short. The first 34 days are your free trial, and that is my referral link. If anyone uses it and then signs up for a subscription, we both get a month free. Also you can share a subscription with up to six people (account owner can see everything but individuals can pick and choose what they share amongst each other) so like...idk your whole polycule can be on one account. Or your kids. Whatever.

If you are a student, it's free for a year. If you aren't, a subscription is $99 for a year (paid all at once) or $14.99 monthly, which is equivalent to paying Amazon prime. Go cancel Prime and get this instead tbh.

They got a whole article just on ynab and ADHD. They also have like...a big variety of ways to access their info? They have a book, podcast episodes, YouTube videos, blog posts, q&A's, free live workshops you can join (you can request live captioning), emails they can send (if you want) a wiki, and so on. They got workshops on all kinds of topics!!

So whatever ends up working for your brain. It also has a matching app.

If you lost Mint this year they have a gajillion things for moving from Mint.

Also they have a "got five minutes?" Page which has a slider so you can decide how much attention/time you have before going on lol:

They only have 4 rules of the budget, they're simple and practical, and it doesn't get judgey or like...mean about your spending.

1. Give every dollar a job 2. Embrace your true expenses 3. Roll with the punches 4. Age your money.

THEN THEY BREAK THESE DOWN INTO SMALL STEPS FOR YOU! They even have a printable! Also these rules are great because there's built in expectations that things WILL HAPPEN and it's NOT all or nothing with a fear of total collapse into failure. Reality and The Plan don't always align, especially if you have ADHD. So it's directing our energy towards the true expenses and not clinging to The Plan!! over reality.

You can automate a lot of shit (you can sync with your bank accounts just like mint, but also automate tagging the categories of regular expenses/transactions). And if for whatever reason you accidentally do something that makes the budget look weird or wrong:

A) you can usually fix it somehow OR b) they have like, a button you can press that gives you a clean slate and archives the previous version of the budget for you.

So if you forget for a few weeks or months, or accidentally input something wildly wrong, or just don't want to look at a really terrible month anymore and feel like you need a fresh start you can usually either fix it or start fresh which is really nice.

The app also (for whatever reason) scratches my itch to have things like...have incentives or little game-like goals in a way mint never did? I don't know why. Filling up the bars or putting money into the categories to cover my expenses is satisfying lmao. You can also make a big wish expense category for all the fun shit you want, and fund it whenever you can and then you can see the little bar go up and that's fun.

Anyways I've been using it for like 6+ months now and I think it's really helped me when I use it.

[bitchesgetriches]

Just saw your post about Mint, Credit Karma, and YNAB and would like to toss my two cents in. I found out about Mint late in 2023 and really liked it, but then they shut down. Looked far and wide for another free budgeting app and tbh they all kinda… sucked. Which led me to the unfortunate conclusion that if you want something decent you’re gonna have to pay for it. The three apps that have come out on top in my opinion are YNAB, Copilot, and Monarch Money. YNAB is zero based budgeting, the other two aren’t, and none of them do *everything* I want in a budgeting/personal finance app but all of them are damn good. I personally am a major proponent of Copilot, I check it daily, I adore it, I’ve been telling all my friends about it. Unfortunately it’s only available for iPhone/Mac rn but it is my absolute favorite. The other two are definitely great too. 12/10 recommend

Thanks babycakes!!! This is a great endorsement for all of us Mint refugees.

Do you guys want more content on budgeting? Traditionally we haven't been ANTI-budget, but we both use slightly different systems so we haven't written about them from personal experience. But if that's what our babies want, that's what our babies get!

Budgets Don’t Work for Everyone—Try the Spending Tracker System Instead 

Season 1, Episode 7: "I'm Terrible at Budgeting. Do I Suck It Up---Or Is There Another Way?" 

Did we just help you out? Tip us!

[robotslenderman]

my budget app wants to charge me $180AUD for a year's subscription. Not only is this more than what they're charging the Americans (by about $5USD when you convert it) but we don't get all the features the Americans do and have to put all our transactions in manually.

I'm trying out Actual Budget. It doesn't have a mobile app but as long as it's not annoying to use on the go I'll change to it as PikaPods, which you can host it on, is only a fraction of the cost of YNAB.

[faranae]

I'm still using a budgeting program last updated in 2016. If it works, it works!

(They will pry YNAB 4 out of my cold, dead hands.)

[ailelie]

YNAB Convert

So I've been using YNAB for about a week or two now and it is the best.

I thought checking my budget before making purchases would make my financial anxiety worse, but it is the actually the opposite.

I actually feel in control of my finances for the first time in...a while. When I check my budget, I can see whether or not I have money for the thing in front of me. If that category is empty, I can see how the rest of my dollars are assigned and decide if the thing in front of me is more important than some of my other priorities.

Instead of trying to calculate my upcoming bills vs my bank balance, I can just look at my budget and see 'yes' or 'no.' And if it is a 'yes,' I can spend that money without fear or guilt.

Instead of always looking backward and wondering where my money went, I can look ahead and see how my future bills are taken care of. It is a very good feeling.

The system does require though that you use.

Before you buy something, glance at your budget. If the relevant category (e.g., dining out, fun money, books, rideshares, etc) doesn't have funds, decide then where you'll pull the extra money from.

Each time you make a purchase, log the transaction. When YNAB imports the transaction from your bank, the app will match the two so you're not stuck with doubles. This is important because it ensures that your numbers are always accurate and you don't accidentally spend the same $10 twice.

The other task is reconciling. You should do this at least once a week, but, honestly, I do it every time I wake up in the morning and it is a good feeling. Basically you just log into your bank and compare your bank account ledger to your YNAB account ledger and make sure they match. Then you compare cleared balance (the balance NOT including transactions that are still processing) to the cleared balance in YNAB. If they match, you're golden. This is annoying the first time you do it, but after that? It takes me 3-5 minutes in the morning max.

Oh, and you have to set your budget up in the first place. That will take some work. I printed out a month of transactions from my bank and figured out how I had been spending money. I also identified all of my monthly charges and when they hit my bank account. Then I used that information to set up my budget.

...and promptly realized that my category spending limits and goals were too generous and so started thinking about how I could adjust my spending habits, without going cold turkey on anything.

One thing I did was separate my Lyft spending into two categories: transport to/from church and random rides. I cannot lower the costs of the first Lyft category, but I can commit to taking public transport more than I had been--especially with summer coming. I'll have to reassess when the weather turns again.

But I also love it because I am certain I am setting aside enough money for the things I care about. And, since that money is tucked away into its own category, I don't accidentally spend it. Way too often I'd just look at my account balance and utterly forget I needed, say, $50 for a Mother's Day gift. Then Mother's Day is a week away and I have no money to buy a gift. Not this year!

Meanwhile, I am already saving money to get a new laptop next year--something I've been planning on buying. Of course, I'd planned on just doing a payment plan. It is going to feel so good to be able to buy my preferred laptop out of pocket.

Christmas always puts me in a tailspin, but now I am already saving money. And it is there in my budget and the only way I use those dollars is if something else comes up that is more important to me than being able to buy presents.

And that's something else I love. I'm not comparing the purchase in front of me with some nebulous 'other' I could spend the money on. I'm comparing ordering in because I don't feel like cooking with the weaving class I'm super excited about.

When weaving is on the line, I realize I have enough energy to drop some frozen fake chicken nuggets and tater tots on a tray to bake.

Anyway. This app is so far fantastic and also? I'm making a plan for getting out of debt because that feels possible now.

YNAB

Working hard with nothing to show for it? Use your money more efficiently and control your spending and saving with the YNAB app.

They'll give you a 34-day free trial, no credit card needed. If you're a college student, I think you can get a full year free.

[thirddeadlysin]

I haven't fully reconciled my budget and spending in YNAB for like 18 months because ~that's the magic of ADHD and depression~ but I'm mostly functional rn so I'm trying to get caught up before the end of the year (mostly so I can start January first with a comprehensive debt payment plan) and oh wow yeah that's right my cat got progressively sicker and died last Christmas and I've been mostly in a fog since. like, good work, brain, deciding to do this when you have to look at all these vet bills and food orders and increasingly desperate attempts to keep her healthy and comfortable and myself distracted as the anniversary looms 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[thesaltyoncologist]

When life sucks, you work all the time, are deep in debt, and are paid shit... it’s really difficult to think about finances beyond just making things vaguely work from paycheck-to-paycheck.

My life has improved drastically since switching to research time so in the last few weeks I’ve strapped on my big boy pants and starting figuring out a budget. I’ve been using the YNAB app... and I like it. Since starting, I definitely feel a whole lot less anxiety about being able to make rent and other scheduled payments than usual. There has been a whole lot less spontaneous Amazon binges. Ive slimmed down my subscription services. I’ve got more in my savings account now than in a long time. I feel way more in control. I like it. Pretty sure I’ll be forking over the $84 for a year’s subscription.

NOTE: I get no kickbacks for anything I’ve written. I just think it’s a good service. They have a free 34-day trial for those who are interested. If nothing else, they have some nice videos on YouTube about the principles involved, which with a little extra work on your part, can be done manually without the app.

[frogl3gs]

So I’ve had you need a budget (ynab) for a month. And it’s been great! I can do a write up if anyone is interested?

Otherwise, it’s great and amazing because I finally got my head around the methodology and I foresee myself using it for a long while because it has been tremendously helpful. Could I do it on my own? Absolutely. Do I have the willpower and stickwithitness to do so? Not yet. Maybe some day but for the foreseeable future, I’m using ynab.