https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 27 May 2026 06:24:37 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/basic-budgeting-questions-sell-me-on-ynab#post-2594183 Thu, 28 Jul 2016 09:02:17 +0000 Chillybear 2594183@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I tried mint and i looked into ynab but they just dont work for me... I get paid weekly and my husband gets paid biweekly we have payments that have to be made weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly. What has worked for us (me since i'm the CFO) is an excel sheet similar to a check book register... I have it on Google docs so both hubs and I have access but i maintain it. I try to forecast out 3 months ahead and I can see if there are any low spots we need to be careful of or if there are payments we can move around. Every friday after I get paid I pay the bills for that week, I write the daycare check, our spending allowance gets moved to our individual accounts (this money is for coffee, lunch out, treats for our selves, etc) I have a line item for weekly groceries, and one for Fun Money (dinner out or take out, movies, etc) Some weeks are more spendy then others and I have to add lines in (birthday gift for mom, sick appt for DD, fix tire on car) But as much as i can I try to add the lines in and account for them before they happen if i'm doing August and i know I'll need an oil change I make it a line item. Now that we've been using this system for a few years it helps to look back at the year before to know when we got the escrow increase bill (ie christmas) and budget for extra expenses or on the flip side increases (i get my raises in july, hubs in april, tax refunds, bonus checks, etc). I also put a line in each month for savings the goal is 1k/month that gets moved to the savings account. but if i need to make adjustments that usually the first place money get subtracted from but i still consider putting $600 in savings a win. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/basic-budgeting-questions-sell-me-on-ynab#post-2594166 Thu, 28 Jul 2016 08:48:46 +0000 snowjewelz 2594166@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I used Mint too and switched to YNAB, especially b/c they came out with a web version with an app too which suits my lifestyle (i/o software you must download on 1 computer). </p> <p>I found that Mint was really just telling me where my money's going and not really helping me budget. I will warn you that YNAB has a huge learning curve; at least for me! I had to watch videos, search a ton on their forum as well as Reddit to really understand how to maximize YNAB. I won't say I'm an expert at it, but I feel like it's worth the money based on the tools it gave me to actually budget. </p> <p>YNAB is by month, but once you d/l transactions everything is real time so you can always look at it every Sunday or something and adjust accordingly. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/basic-budgeting-questions-sell-me-on-ynab#post-2594107 Thu, 28 Jul 2016 07:41:40 +0000 looch 2594107@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We don't use YNAB, we have mint, my husband likes it because it's free, lol. </p> <p>Given what you've written in your original post, @Cole: I would take a more proactive approach when doing the forecast portion of the budget. You wrote your husband thinks $50 is a reasonable clothing budget. If you think it isn't (and we know it isn't, especially for the season, but maybe the month), plan out what you think is needed then bring evidence to the table. I do this with my husband, who thinks big picture versus individual items. It was helpful for him to see how much each piece cost and then develop the monthly target from there.</p> <p>One thing that keeps us accountable is the use of email alerts on our credit cards. When I went back to work, I was overspending a lot in buying clothes for me. I was literally doing $200 a week and it was too much. So to keep us in check, my husband set up email alerts for any amount that we spend on our credit cards. It really helps me to think about the fact that he's going to know as soon as it happens, and vice versa. </p> <p>Using cash isn't practical for us...I know it's a good solution, my inlaws use it successfully. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/basic-budgeting-questions-sell-me-on-ynab#post-2594105 Thu, 28 Jul 2016 07:37:42 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2594105@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I will say that YNAB has a synced phone app that will show you your balance in a category. But thats only as accurate as how much information you put in there. So if you forget to put in a big grocery bill, it wont show that. And I think the balance for each is only monthly. Although I dont see why you couldn't do like Grocery Budget Week 1, Grocery Budget Week 2, etc. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/basic-budgeting-questions-sell-me-on-ynab#post-2594103 Thu, 28 Jul 2016 07:33:31 +0000 KayKay 2594103@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@cole: ha. i hear ya. the technology solutions can be helpful guides if you are both invested in budgeting and involved in the monitoring. our biggest issue with them was that, while i would log-in and see our stats every day, DH didn't have the time (or inclination) to do that. we did try a weekly "state of the union" meeting where I would talk him through that month's budget, how our spending was that week, where we were per category, etc....because he honestly just didn't have a clue a lot of times. maybe something like that would be a good first step? basically it built really good awareness for us...but like I said, wasn't urgent/real-time enough to actually effect changes in our decision making and stay ON budget. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/basic-budgeting-questions-sell-me-on-ynab#post-2594101 Thu, 28 Jul 2016 07:28:54 +0000 Cole 2594101@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@KayKay: cash definitely makes sense but it will be a hard sell. We aren't by any means in dire need of following a budget but we're finding that we are inadvertantly spending more than we'd like in some categories without really noticing. Plus I think have a discrepancy between what we think things should cost and what they do cost so while for example my husband thinks toddler clothes should be dirt cheap he also thinks she should have a Patagonia down jacket. It's these weird disconnects that we are trying to fix so we can be better about managing our money. Another example would be trying to set a very low grocery budget but also thinking we should be eating all organic and buying fresh fish that's $20 a pound because it sounds good. We just don't have a good handle on what's going out at the moment and want to be saving more. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/basic-budgeting-questions-sell-me-on-ynab#post-2594098 Thu, 28 Jul 2016 07:27:21 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2594098@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@KayKay: I agree with this. Until you get diligent about sticking to a budget, cash is the best method for a while. We would take out enough cash for the month but only put in weekly amounts. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/basic-budgeting-questions-sell-me-on-ynab#post-2594094 Thu, 28 Jul 2016 07:20:55 +0000 KayKay 2594094@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If you actually need to follow a budget, I don't think any of the technology solutions are that helpful. They are great for tracking...but they don't really do anything to stop you from purchasing something.</p> <p>When we have needed to strictly follow a budget, I'm a big fan of only using cash. Each week, take out the amount of cash you have budgeted for that week's purchases and put it into designated envelopes (food, gas, etc). When the cash is gone, you're done. You can still share a bit between envelopes/categories at the end of the week if you need to.</p> <p>I know it's a bit of a pain bc I rarely use cash outside of when we have done this, and you may have to figure something out in the cases where you NEED to buy online (use the credit card but put the cash into next week's envelope or something...). But it works. It's real-time, tactile feedback for both of you. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/basic-budgeting-questions-sell-me-on-ynab#post-2594088 Thu, 28 Jul 2016 07:09:02 +0000 Cole 2594088@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We are finding that there's a big difference between having a budget and following a budget... So what are your tips for actually following your budget? What happens when your husband thinks $50 is a good budget for your toddler's new wardrobe each season (kidding... mostly.)</p> <p>Also, we currently "use" Mint. In the past we have been more successful with a weekly budget as opposed to monthly but we want/need that technology side of things, before we just wrote it all down. Is there a weekly option for ynab? In a perfect world it would tell us if the eating out budget was gone for the week and roll over the clothing budget that we didn't use.</p> <p>Thanks for your help! </p>