So 4 years ago I was doing MINT faithfully- but feeling like something was missing. Sure it was free... and that was the problem- I knew that sometimes FREE is not always best.
So Dave Ramsey has EveryDollar, and there we YNAB, and another one... I looked online and read real people reviews. I waited almost 1 more year before finally paying for another budget tool- I decided on YNAB.
After 30 days with it-- my first regret--- Why hadn't I switched a year before!!! It is budgeting on CRACK! It makes you account for EVERY penny- no joke.
Mint was very REACTIVE- YNAB allows you to be PROACTIVE with your money- you get paid and give every dollar a job (Dave Ramsey style)- you budget down to 0! Once all money has a job (line category)- you then log your purchases. It does import from banks, and the new improved import is QUICK to import! True budgeting needs to be psychological, you need to feel the money leaving the budget- (sound like Dave Ramsey?) So you need to log it when you spend it (in the mobile app that is EASY to use). We do not log our mortgage and recurring bills, those are preprogrammed to deduct on a certain date in YNAB, I am talking about logging your eating out, shopping, bar-hopping events. Things that you WANT to watch and monitor (and make changes).
Let's play this out:
You enter a bar... pull out your phone and open YNAB- realize you only have $40 left in that acct (because you did create a BAR line category)---so you now make wise choices- 1) keep your spending to $40, 2) only order 1 drink, stick to water, or 3) overspend knowing you have other money in other budgets you can pull from- no big deal, just pull that extra $10 from the grocery budget... You have so many choices!
Fuel, we always budget enough for gas, so I never log that. I just wait for the import transaction to hit, and YNAB learns habits/places and knows thats "fuel".
MINT just shows you current status. YNAB shows me a complete picture- BEFORE I spend money. I know where my money is going, where it went, and where in the future it will be..
The customer support is unreal for YNAB- Like a real person gets back to you within hours! The videos are FUN to watch- and the whole thing is empowering. They have responded to me on Twitter, chat, and email.
A budget takes a few hours to set up- but then just 10 minutes a week- plus 1 hour on payday--- boom--- adulting never felt so good!
When my husband was on a Military training back east and we joined him for 5 weeks he asked me "so how much was this trip... what does the debt look like?" None- said--- "I have YNAB"- I had the cash!!!
So if you are still using MINT and want to try something new- only $5 a month--- they even let you try it for 34 days FREE. Go for it!
Here are more links/blogs I found that are helpful in deciding: Ynab vs Mint Lifehacker.com Mint vs YNAB https://investorjunkie.com/50373/mint-vs-ynab/
As always I explain our my family spends 25K a year on vacations while still have a $630 a month daycare bill.
1) Working REWARDS!
a) Disney Chase Credit card. 2% back. Use if for EVERYTHING except 3 things. We have one of us cruise for free on Disney every other year. AND Disney Vacations are 6 months 0 % interest.
b) Costco Citi card! We make over $1500 a year back from 2 cards and the Executive Membership. That cash (sent as checks you cash at Costco registers) is used to pay for our entire Carnival Cruise this spring break!
c) Alaskan Airlines Credit Card- companion fares, free baggage, miles.
d) EBATES! In 8 days I have made $63 in cash and $30 is pending travel. You start at the EBATES website and simply shop like normal online. The referral link within Ebates makes you money.
ex: Amazon says "hey EBATES send me people to shop" Ebates loads up the % back and posts it. You start on Ebates and click the Amazon link, it sends you to Amazon KNOWING you will earn cash back. You shop on Amazon like normal (be sure to stay in that referral link) and BAM % back in your EBATE account the next day. It is THAT easy!
Cash is sent to your Paypal account (or paper check) every quarter. This alone pays for our spending money for our Thanksgiving Cancun Trip. Here is my snip-it proving what I have earned and (promise, legit)! And the link to sign up.
Below in the photo #1) All money made on Ebates to date (8 days people)! #2) My last PayPal deposit. #3) how I earned cash back on shopping.
LINK to sign up: https://www.ebates.com/r/OOGIEN3?eeid=28187
2) We do not have car payments. Hubby drives a 2003 Accord, me a 2010 Swag Van we paid off in 2 years (hence, didn't travel much those years).
3) Our mortgage is lower. We are both full time educators and could have afforded over 2K a month on a mortgage, instead we opted for a cheaper home for a cheaper mortgage.
4) Shop travel deals online during good sales. Our entire April spring break Carnival cruise is $1400 for all of us. Our Alaskan Cruise we got the alcohol package for FREE when we upgraded to a Balcony (which I had always wanted). In Mexico always Kids Stay FREE deals.
5) YNAB! You Need a Budget is an online cloud budget tool. It is budgeting on steroids! You have to account for EVERY penny! I have been using YNAB for 5 years and I am able to FULLY fund my vacations thru budgeting each month. I set aside 2k a month for travel, this tool allows me to budget monthly and set goals. It tells me what we spend the most money on (ahem, food and shopping) and allows us to have discussions about habits we NEED to change to reach our goals. They have amazing training videos, and a FREE 30 day trial. Try it, no obligation (it is better than MINT which I used for 2 years and EveryDollar). Try it here: https://ynab.com/referral/?ref=G6Kp8nTV4XKAQNSX&utm_source=customer_referral
Travel on Everyone!
-Auggie
So Dave Ramsey has EveryDollar, and there we YNAB, and another one... I looked online and read real people reviews. I waited almost 1 more year before finally paying for another budget tool- I decided on YNAB.
After 30 days with it-- my first regret--- Why hadn't I switched a year before!!! It is budgeting on CRACK! It makes you account for EVERY penny- no joke.
Mint was very REACTIVE- YNAB allows you to be PROACTIVE with your money- you get paid and give every dollar a job (Dave Ramsey style)- you budget down to 0! Once all money has a job (line category)- you then log your purchases. It does import from banks, and the new improved import is QUICK to import! True budgeting needs to be psychological, you need to feel the money leaving the budget- (sound like Dave Ramsey?) So you need to log it when you spend it (in the mobile app that is EASY to use). We do not log our mortgage and recurring bills, those are preprogrammed to deduct on a certain date in YNAB, I am talking about logging your eating out, shopping, bar-hopping events. Things that you WANT to watch and monitor (and make changes).
Let's play this out:
You enter a bar... pull out your phone and open YNAB- realize you only have $40 left in that acct (because you did create a BAR line category)---so you now make wise choices- 1) keep your spending to $40, 2) only order 1 drink, stick to water, or 3) overspend knowing you have other money in other budgets you can pull from- no big deal, just pull that extra $10 from the grocery budget... You have so many choices!
Fuel, we always budget enough for gas, so I never log that. I just wait for the import transaction to hit, and YNAB learns habits/places and knows thats "fuel".
MINT just shows you current status. YNAB shows me a complete picture- BEFORE I spend money. I know where my money is going, where it went, and where in the future it will be..
The customer support is unreal for YNAB- Like a real person gets back to you within hours! The videos are FUN to watch- and the whole thing is empowering. They have responded to me on Twitter, chat, and email.
A budget takes a few hours to set up- but then just 10 minutes a week- plus 1 hour on payday--- boom--- adulting never felt so good!
When my husband was on a Military training back east and we joined him for 5 weeks he asked me "so how much was this trip... what does the debt look like?" None- said--- "I have YNAB"- I had the cash!!!
So if you are still using MINT and want to try something new- only $5 a month--- they even let you try it for 34 days FREE. Go for it!
Here are more links/blogs I found that are helpful in deciding: Ynab vs Mint Lifehacker.com Mint vs YNAB https://investorjunkie.com/50373/mint-vs-ynab/
As always I explain our my family spends 25K a year on vacations while still have a $630 a month daycare bill.
1) Working REWARDS!
a) Disney Chase Credit card. 2% back. Use if for EVERYTHING except 3 things. We have one of us cruise for free on Disney every other year. AND Disney Vacations are 6 months 0 % interest.
b) Costco Citi card! We make over $1500 a year back from 2 cards and the Executive Membership. That cash (sent as checks you cash at Costco registers) is used to pay for our entire Carnival Cruise this spring break!
c) Alaskan Airlines Credit Card- companion fares, free baggage, miles.
d) EBATES! In 8 days I have made $63 in cash and $30 is pending travel. You start at the EBATES website and simply shop like normal online. The referral link within Ebates makes you money.
ex: Amazon says "hey EBATES send me people to shop" Ebates loads up the % back and posts it. You start on Ebates and click the Amazon link, it sends you to Amazon KNOWING you will earn cash back. You shop on Amazon like normal (be sure to stay in that referral link) and BAM % back in your EBATE account the next day. It is THAT easy!
Cash is sent to your Paypal account (or paper check) every quarter. This alone pays for our spending money for our Thanksgiving Cancun Trip. Here is my snip-it proving what I have earned and (promise, legit)! And the link to sign up.
Below in the photo #1) All money made on Ebates to date (8 days people)! #2) My last PayPal deposit. #3) how I earned cash back on shopping.
LINK to sign up: https://www.ebates.com/r/OOGIEN3?eeid=28187
2) We do not have car payments. Hubby drives a 2003 Accord, me a 2010 Swag Van we paid off in 2 years (hence, didn't travel much those years).
3) Our mortgage is lower. We are both full time educators and could have afforded over 2K a month on a mortgage, instead we opted for a cheaper home for a cheaper mortgage.
4) Shop travel deals online during good sales. Our entire April spring break Carnival cruise is $1400 for all of us. Our Alaskan Cruise we got the alcohol package for FREE when we upgraded to a Balcony (which I had always wanted). In Mexico always Kids Stay FREE deals.
5) YNAB! You Need a Budget is an online cloud budget tool. It is budgeting on steroids! You have to account for EVERY penny! I have been using YNAB for 5 years and I am able to FULLY fund my vacations thru budgeting each month. I set aside 2k a month for travel, this tool allows me to budget monthly and set goals. It tells me what we spend the most money on (ahem, food and shopping) and allows us to have discussions about habits we NEED to change to reach our goals. They have amazing training videos, and a FREE 30 day trial. Try it, no obligation (it is better than MINT which I used for 2 years and EveryDollar). Try it here: https://ynab.com/referral/?ref=G6Kp8nTV4XKAQNSX&utm_source=customer_referral
Travel on Everyone!
-Auggie
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