Giveaway!
Hello, YNABers! We're hoping to get more folks to join the forum, so we're doing a little giveaway! We'll be sending a t-shirt and the YNAB book to five winners. We'd like to include new folks as well as current forum users, so even if you're not new, please participate!
So here's how it will work:
- Leave a comment below with one thing you love about YNAB.
- On Wednesday, 4/25 I will choose five people at random.
- That day, I'll contact the winners privately to get some information so we can send a prize!
A few notes for new folks:
If you haven't created an account with the forum yet, you'll just need to do so before you can comment. Click 'Login' at the top of the screen. If you're already logged in to your budget in the same browser, you'll automatically be signed into the forum. If not, sign in with the same email and password you use to log in to the YNAB app. If you haven't used YNAB before, you'll need to create an account first.
New folks will be assigned a random name, avatar, and username, but you can change your name and avatar if you like! Just click your user icon in the upper right corner and select Edit Profile.
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I love the way it lets me know just how much money I can get away with throwing at our debts without endangering my ability to pay our bills.
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I really like that YNAB makes budgeting exciting since I now get to see where what my income does for me and my priorities.
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Thank you for this contest. I love reading everyone's entries. It's inspiring.
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One thing?! Oy. Okay, well, I love the credit card system. (Although I wish it could handle interest payments as part of that system.) Placing all budgeted amounts into the payment category and seeing interest as its own charge coming out of the budget...it all just transformed my understanding of what's going on with credit cards, and really motivated me to change our habits.
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I really love the fact that it can import the transactions right from my bank. I had been using YNAB on and off for a few years but never really stuck with it because I would have to manually import anything I missed. I wouldn't open the program for weeks at a time because there was no accountability and then when I did, I'd get so overwhelmed with the backlog and just give up.
With the automatic import I get a notification on my phone to check the app and approve any of the transactions. It keeps me on top of actually using the program the way it was intended. Now I go into the app multiple times a week and really analyze where I'm allocating my money and what needs to change so I can meet my savings goals.
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I love that I've been able to set up my kids with their own budgets that are connected to their savings accounts. When we're out and they want to buy something on a whim, I can whip out my phone to show them their budgets. Most of the time they decide not to purchase whatever candy or trinket caught their fancy because they are reminded by their own budget that they are saving for something they really want.
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YNAB has helped my family accomplish SO much in the 2.5 years since I began using the software. Here are some of the highlights:
-Finally got a handle on my husband's extremely variable income
-Paid off a vehicle early
-Funded a small kitchen reno
-Funded brand new appliances
-Funded a new deck
-Funded a new fence
-Built up a buffer
-Built up a two month emergency fund
-Went on three vacations (paid in cash)!
-Paid for monthly drum lessons for my son
* I will add that neither of us makes a large income (I am a teacher and he is a carpenter). It's hard to imagine we would have been able to do even 2 or 3 of the things on this list without YNAB!
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I have to allocate everything manually on my budget (British YNABer). Which I love for two reasons. The first is because my budget is actually more up to date than my bank balance (meaning I know EXACTLY what I have in my account without waiting on pending transactions). And the second is that every time I want to spend money I have to record it. This makes me question everything I buy ("Is this a want or a need?") but also, more importantly if my record shows I CAN afford it (as per the budget) than the guilt of buying goes away, because I know I have worked toward this goal and allocated money for it.
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I love how I can "hide" money from myself to avoid spending it (thus learning self-control & patience), without having to actually create another account at a different bank. I don't look at my account balances anymore; I look at my category balances instead to see my true financial status.
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I love that YNAB is easy to use and understand, there is tons of support for the user both by the company as well as the community of fellow YNAB users. It's the first time I have ever been able to consistently stick with a budgeting system. Going on 2 years now!
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I love how it got me through a divorce without completely relying on credit cards!
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I love the calculator feature!
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...have you thought about just making the forum more appealing and easier to use?
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WordTenor Of course! We're always looking for ways to make it better. Getting more folks in here who might not have known about it before is one of those ways!
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BenB Best wishes on that. (Sincerely.) I love loads of things about YNAB and have long been a champion of the web version in the face of lots of derision. Because I love so many things about YNAB, I also love helping people learn to use it. But this forum is set up in such a way that it is next to impossible to foster discussion. Which is fine for just a support forum, but this thread seems to indicate more than just a support forum is wanted.
I do hope more people will solve that for y'all. I would also find it much more fun if more people were participating here. But if it doesn't, I hope you'll ask some of us how you could change the nature of this forum to better build a community that people want to come to. We have loads of ideas.
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I LOVE budgeting only the funds that I have, and giving every dollar a job! It has given me so much opportunity to take control of my money and what I spend. I no longer have to eat dry bread at the end of the month. I no longer dread scheduled debit orders, because guess what I MADE ROOM FOR IT IN MY BUDGET. I am obsessed.
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Thanks, everybody for participating. This thread is full of so many wins and lovely stories. I think I'll be coming back to it for a long time!
I have picked five winners at random from among everyone who commented. If you won, you should have a private message from me now. If not, you sadly weren't picked, but we hope to do more of these, so maybe next time!
Thanks again, everybody!
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I have loved YNAB since the week I found it in 2009. I love the way it allows me to be super detail oriented with budget numbers and also give my husband and co-budgeter a less overwhelming way to relate to my over-planning. I love the dedicated community of users who came back again and again to answer my questions and help me find my way. I hope that this new forum will eventually foster that sort of community.
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I'm sorry I missed this; the YNAB t-shirts are so comfortable! LOL. Congratulations to the winners!
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A picture paints a thousand words.🎨
This is what YNAB has done for my finances in just under 6 months. Despite a flat start, I went from totally broke to financial freedom with the help of YNAB and these forums.
Thanks everyone - love to all YNABers 😀
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I love that YNAB is easy for everyone to use. Many other solutions are built by accountants and unknowingly uses accountant language and functions that only an accountant would know how to use.
