You Need a Budget - and Maybe Some Software

August 27, 2008 By Debbie Dragon

Every personal finance blogger I’ve come across promotes the benefits of having a  budget you can live with.  If you don’t set up a budget, it’s far too easy to spend more than you should on different items because you don’t have any boundaries set up.  Living without a budget is one of the fastest ways to get into debt that becomes increasingly difficult to pay off the larger it gets.

You Need a Budget is software created by a newly married couple, when they were working part-time jobs and dealing with student loans and living expenses.  Some of the features of the software include:

• Import bank transactions.  If your bank is compatible with MS Money or Quicken for importing transactions, then it’s compatible with You Need a Budget (YNAB).
• Create customized spending categories.  Set up categories based on how you actually spend money, not on pre-set assumptions.  You can give each category it’s own budget and track spending within each of the categories - if you UNDERSPEND, your available money the following month within that category increases.
• Use the envelope budgeting method.  If you like, you can easily use the envelope method of budgetign within the YNAB software interface.
• Choice of software formats.  YNAB is available as an interactive spreadsheet or as stand-alone software.

You Need a Budget offers a bit more than your traditional budgeting software.  In addition to the tools that help you manage your money, YNAB comes with Four Rules that can help you with your money management skills more effectively.  The Four Rules is basically a money management methodology that you can follow while using the software, and they are:

• Rule One: Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck
• Rule Two: Give Every Dollar a Job
• Rule Three: Prepare for Rain
• Rule Four: Roll with the Punches

The software is available in two versions, You Need a Budget and You  Need a Budget Pro.  The PRO version of the sofware offers several additional features that aren’t included with the basic version, but it all depends on what your unique needs are as to whether it is the better solution.  Visit the You Need a Budget site to see all options - the different versions range in price from $11.95 to $49.95.

Posted in budgeting, financial planners, miscellaneous, personal finance

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