YNAB OCUKers & 2025 Budgeting!

[DHR]

Is there a hidden YNAB community here?

Reason I ask is my assumption, is we all love spending around here (I'm probably wrong!)

With it being the start of the year I figured a fair number of people may be looking to manage their cash a little more effectively?

My wife and I took YNAB out a few months into last year, and I've just failed at it constantly, where as she's managed to embrace it. It's a great tool, if you manage to use it though.

Ultimately debt pay down was the aim for me, but I'm in that irritating cycle that's hard to break out of, the stretch goal after that is pension management and a focus on that because I am starting to get old and time is flying by.

I need motivation. I need a kick up the bum. I need others experience in familiar surroundings, not the cult of YNAB on Reddit

 

[DHR]

Lol love how saving money starts with buying something.

Exactly

It's a mentality shift I'm definitely in need of!

 

[DHR]

So hold up - this whole thread references ynab (something no one has heard of so far) but your actual thread is not to use ynab?

Genuinely shocked if nobody here uses YNAB, it's a huge platform

 

[DHR]

Self host Actual or Maybe or Firefly IIi or use a spreadsheet or a piece of paper.

These look interesting thanks @Azza

 

[DHR]

These look good - guess that's my afternoon sorted! I'm using an Excel spreadsheet now but I always work forward (so January's income will be Feb's outgoings) and I need to get a better handle on it, plus I'm ***** at Excel

They look very similar to YNAB without the sub fee to be honest. Let me know how you get on @squerble

 

[DHR]

Yeah yeah should have made it clearer in the title

When I've used it I've found it speeds the whole process up, mobile app is useful (when I use it that's my downfall ) some great analytical and planning tooling in it too, all without the annoyance of looking at a spreadsheet and, if not skilled in the world of excel takes some risk of messing calculations up as well.

 

[DHR]

I have been using YNAB for about a year since separating and needing to get visibility of money. Yes it costs money (I pay yearly for £90ish) but I find its features, bank linking, automation of goals and reporting to be great. The app also means I can check on the go if I want to make a purchase. I have multiple pots building for various expenses and honestly in the last 12 months I have managed to save more money than I have before despite having less income.

Yes many will balk at the cost. Many will say a spreadsheet is fine but everyone e works differently. I like it and the low cost I pay gives me the control I need to manage my budget effectively day to day.

I think I have saved far more than I spent on it by having the visibility of what goes where and many times I have made decisions on spending I wouldn’t have without it.

For context I have over 10 years of accounts in Microsoft Money. Have used spreadsheets to track major bills but the detail in YNAB beat them all and it’s a mindset shift in budgeting.

Makes total sense, I just need the drive to start using it like my wife does

@ShadowMan makes a very valid point, depending on the condition of your finances you can easily "make the money back" or "make the investment worthwhile" because of the visibility it provides both short and long term, man I remember people even on here using Microsoft Money in years gone by. I'm picking on excel in fairness, but the time my wife has saved is easily worth the cost per year of her time otherwise spent messing in excel. I just lack discipline!

I'm not promoting it as a platform and I'm very interested in the open source solutions flagged earlier which I will check out come renewal time, I'd just previously seen YNAB mentioned elsewhere on OCUK and was intrigued how people have found it long term, in this community. I'm actually a tad surprised how some people have reacted to the concept in fairness I do see some of the logic because it costs, but investing in something tends to, be that time, effort or money, each to their own. To me managing an excel sheet is like like going back to overclocking in the mid-90s vs using the modern apps available today (all of which take the fun out of oc'ing and make it too easy, but I don't find excel fun so meh )

 

[DHR]

But there’s no “managing” an excel sheet. You put the income in (which for most is the same every month) and the spreadsheet tells you how much you have left. See my example I shared above.

I get that @LiE totally it's a good sheet too, I'm of the kin that would still doubt excel at times, suppose its a confidence thing? I'd much prefer to be able to have the reassurance of knowing people who work in finance day in day out will have had their eyes on the inner workings of it, then relying on myself not making a mess of things - still possible with the tool I'm using, but a lot more difficult to go down that path. I suppose if you lock cells down etc. it provides some confidence on that front.

 

[DHR]

Because step 1 of actually taking control of your finances is not ******* money up the wall for apps.

Outright disagree, that's an opinion, like yours.

Ever use a screw driver head in a drill for fixings? Next time, buy yourself a manual set of screwdrivers eh?

Far cheaper than a financial advisor too as I see it, there is far more to it than income - budgeted outgoings = savings.

 

[DHR]

That makes no sense. A power drill has a functional advantage.

Not only is 90 a disgrace for folk who can't manage money (but can somehow afford 90 more? Lol) it trains very poor behaviour.

It also isn't functionally as rich as excel and can't manage anything more complex than in or out.

As do some of applications, free or otherwise Whether you choose to see that or not again is your decision and opinion.

I agree the annual cost of this particular platform isn't attractive and I'd never suggest anybody up to the eyeballs in bad finance use it, but it doesn't stop reviewing options available via open source solutions like posted earlier.

The cost on YNAB does go against the grain but it's a convenience all the same, it's a tool fundamentally (and community) that helps quickly provide a single pane of glass and needs little maintenance to get a view over everything from a financial point of view across accounts, mortgages, planning etc. every single day if you so wish.

Many small businesses use Xero, they could do everything in a tool such as excel? Are you suggesting they're ******* money up the wall (as you eloquently put it?) as ultimately it's just income and outcome right?

You mean buy an impact driver and mash that head up.

It's a pet hate of mine @200sols as you can tell

 

[DHR]

What's with the false comparisons? Xero is an accounting software suite that saves time and money (reduced accountancy fees, correctly tracking expenses and tax).

It's not a false comparison, they just target different markets and both could be done with excel if one so desired. One platform is a business solution, the other is a personal finance solution that you guessed, can save people time and money.

 

[DHR]

Hang on, on both you and YOUR wife paying 90 quid a year?

Supports 5 people or so per household, multiple budgets and that, also covers a few accounts looked after for vulnerable older members of the family too.

I might have a look at Chase @Disco_P, Monzo was initially useful like that but it'd be interesting to see other offerings.

 

[DHR]

Chase is good, 1% cashback is why I use it but the app is solid

I'm getting naff all from HSBC so providing I can open an additional current account without winding them up think I might partake, cheers

 

[DHR]

To get that little bit of extra interest (and I mean little!) if you arranged all your bills so they were paid at the end of the month instead of at the beginning, then that money could be sat earning interest for those 20 or so days in whatever account you see fit. For example, that £774 could earn you about £2 a month in interest just for a little switching and careful automation.

Makes sense, it's smart moves like that I've had more comfort doing with collective visibility I've gained through using tooling.

 

[DHR]

It's threads like these that make me realise.

We are all truly ******.

A better education system that covers the important stuff like this early on in life would help many, can't lie about that.

 

[DHR]

Forgot to add there is also Wallos for tracking subscriptions.

Will have a look at that too @Azza thanks , I'm not a huge subscriber in general, physical media is still (unfortunately!) my bag ...get your pitchforks!

Not sure where the £10 a month came from either, it's $108 per annum, was $90 when we took it out so it's closer to £7 between 2-3 people.

 

[DHR]

Agreed. I moved to London at 22 in 2006, and had every man and his dog throwing credit cards at me. I had zero financial literacy so you can imagine how that went. I suffered for over a decade, having to work every weekend just to try keep the wolves at bay. People who have never been up to their eyeballs in debt will never understand the crippling effect it has on your life and your mental health, and if something like this helps prevent others from getting in to that situation, then it's a winner for me!

Personally I've tried all manner of saving things over the years, all to varying degrees of success, and also just because I'm quite curious about these things.

I might give this YNAB trial a go and see what happens.

@DHR pls send me your referral code, you may as well get a free month out of it

Good luck with it, I need to get back on track with it again myself (especially after some news I got this morning ) don't worry about that referral code chief it's good of you to ask but I'm not promoting anything here, was just interested to find anybody using it on here who may suffer with my love for spending money

 

[DHR]

Finally getting my head around this. I think it's a combination of the app only updating every now and then in the background, as well as my head being stuffed full of caffeine this morning.

Great fun so far. I think I've overcomplicated it something silly.

Had one or two restarts for the same reason, too general isn't helpful, not general enough is just as bad.

From a tracking and net worth point of view I've actually started to enjoy it, visibility wise it's an eye opener at times.

For me at least, it's caused way more of a shift in perception of 'value' be it monetary or otherwise in whatever is being spent on. Historically, I'd drop £200-300 a month eating out sometimes and wouldn't blink, flip side being I'd sweat a decision on buying other stuff for less that'd last years if not a lifetime