Whenever the new year arrives I always want to completely start fresh, in all aspects of my life – including financially! Michael and I love to sit down at the beginning of the year, look at our spending from the last 12 months, review our budget and goals for the upcoming year and then map out how we should be saving and spending each month. I know this is WAY easier said than done, which is why I wanted to tell ya’ll about a new tool that I discovered that has been extremely helpful for us!
You Need A Budget (or YNAB as it’s also referred to) is a personal finance tool that was created to help people take total control of their spending habits and their finances. I know it might sound nerdy, but stuff like this is SO fun to me! I am such a type A, enneagram 3 personality type – so anything that can help me stay organized and on the road to success is something I enjoy.
I love what You Need A Budget does and stands for because they truly aim to empower women and busy moms to take ownership of their financial stability and their future. When I was growing up and in high school and college I was always taught the importance of managing my money, but it wasn’t until I built my career and started a family that I realized how time consuming and thorough budgeting needs to be!
YNAB is founded on four simple rules – give every dollar a job, embrace your expenses, roll with the punches and age your money – aka, know how you want to spend your money, breakdown what ALL of your expenses are, be flexible if new bills pop up and aim to get at least a month ahead on your bills. Once you start to focus on adopting these four rules and building a well rounded budget, it really is a domino effect and before you know it, you will be saving far more than you would, if you didn’t have a plan in place. You Need A Budget has an awesome iPhone app that I keep at the front of my home screen so I can glance at it whenever I’m about to make a big purchase or I’m wondering what my recent spend may be! It has been so helpful.
I know there are so many other apps out there that will tell you where you’re money is going and what you’re spending, but not all of them help you PLAN! That’s why YNAB has really worked for us! As a family we have a lot of expenses to juggle – Shiloh, groceries, daycare, the new house we’re building, planning on buying Michael a car soon, etc. It really is a lot to plan for! But YNAB helps us figure out where we should be spending (and how much in each category) and where we should be saving in order to help us reach our goals!
Another reason why I was completely sold on You Need A Budget is because it didn’t lock me in from the start! I hate when I try something new and then before I know it they’re charging my card and I haven’t even had a chance to get to know what I’m paying for. YNAB does a free 34 day trial and they don’t need your credit card, so you can truly give the software a try to see if it works for you and your family. When I was reading about YNAB I saw where it said that “on average new budgeters save more than $600 by month two and $6,000 in their first year” and to be totally honest I was skeptical. But now that we’ve been budgeting and planning out or spending habits for the year, I can already see how this will truly help us increase our savings in 2021 which is really exciting.
If you are hoping to make 2021 a year where you feel stable and financial secure, OR even if you just feel like “Okay, I’m an adult and should now more about my money and budgeting”… You Need A Budget has been such a helpful tool for us! You can click this link and sign up for your free 34 day trial to test it out for yourself! If you do, you have to let me know what you think because it has really totally changed how we handle budgeting and finances in our house, for the better!
for more lifestyle tips sign up for my newsletter
This post was created in collaboration with You Need A Budget. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own!
xo Lauren
