YOU NEED A BUDGET

I mentioned this on Facebook yesterday, but also want to share it here.

You Need a Budget (YNAB) is a wonderful tool for managing your money. I mentioned it back in March 2016, shortly after we'd ended our trial period and paid for a subscription, and we're still using it now. Yesterday I discovered I'm part of a limited group of YNAB users who get to try their new referral program, giving them a chance to fix any problems before they do a major launch.

What does the referral program mean for you? First, you get their 34 day trial, which is always free. Having the trial period last a little longer than a month is great for helping you to see how everything rolls over from one month to the next. Then, if you decide it's helping you to be wiser with your money, keep better track of your spending, or to coordinate with others you share money with, then you can subscribe and we'll each get a free month credited to our YNAB accounts. Getting things I love for free is always a good thing!  

A subscription is $45/year, which is pocket change for some of you and nearly unattainable for others. It was more on the unattainable side of our monthly budget when we decided to take the plunge, so we paid for the first year out of our tax refund. Then we created a line in our YNAB budget for the next year's subscription and started putting $4/month toward it, which gives us just over the necessary amount once it's time to renew.

If you don't have $45 to spare right now, but want to try YNAB, then start putting away a few bucks a month until you have enough to pay for a one year subscription. Then sign up through my referral link to earn a free month once you have the cash in hand.

Also, if you're a college student, you can get YNAB for free. Given that credit card companies bombard students with opportunities to sink themselves in debt, YNAB decided to offer those stame students a free opportunity to manage their money wisely. Isn't that cool?

I think YNAB is excellent for people who don't have a clue where their money is going and want to get their spending under control, helpful for people who are really visual, good for people who enjoy planning ahead, and super user-friendly. I encourage you to take advantage of the free 34 day trial. If you decide at the end that it's not something you need or want, then move on. If, on the other hand, you can see that it would be worth a few dollars each month, even if that means an extra meal of beans and rice, then sign up through my YNAB referral link and stretch your dollar a little by getting a free month. 

3/29/16 - TEN ON TUESDAY

Brothers - These two took off one morning after finishing their school work. They ran about 1 1/2 miles out to Big 5 and Miranda's, bought shoes and Mexican pastries, then ran back. It's fun to give them freedom as they get older and I'm glad they enjoy each other's company (more often than not, anyway ... we're not a perfect family).

YNAB - In early February Tim and I did a free trial of You Need a Budget, then paid for a one year membership when our trial was up. I manage our budget just fine, prefer pen and paper over electronic methods of most things, and don't like to spend money on something I can do just as well for free. So, what made me fork out the cash for YNAB? A few things.

First, it's convenient for Tim and I because we can both access our current budget and add transactions from anywhere. Second, the budget areas I call "flex", the ones that change from month to month and that sometimes have money shuffled between them, are easier to keep track of with this program than with the envelope system I was previously using. Third, ... actually, those are the two main reasons. I like how easy it is to balance my checkbook and appreciate the visual of seeing our whole money situation in one glance. I strongly believe that it's really important to know where every dollar is going and YNAB is one way to do that. We'll re-evaluate next year, but right now I'm glad we're using it.

UPDATE: As of 5/26/17, I'm part of a small group of people selected to test out YNAB's new referral program. If you use my YNAB referral link (I also updated the one a couple paragraphs above this), then you and I will each get one free month credited to our account once your trial is up and you pay for a subscription. I wrote a little more about YNAB here.

Friends - Heidi and Shalee were in town for a few hours. I got to hang out with them for a bit and Heidi snapped this picture of the three of us.

Cookies - Heidi sent some cookies home with me for the little Ws, which they obviously enjoyed.

Grocery Money - I've always used cash for groceries, withdrawing what I've budgeted for the month and sticking it in an envelope. This month I've used a debit card, just to see if it's worth making the switch. The month's almost over and I'm still undecided.

Eggs - I don't really care about dyeing Easter eggs, so I boil a bunch and then let everyone else have fun with them.

I don't have any other Easter pictures, as our egg hunt was interrupted by a rainstorm and was decidedly not fun. We went to church, as always, but I never bring my camera to church, and Tim did Resurrection Eggs during dinner. It was a pretty low-key day here.

Reading - A few times a week I end up reading books to these two in my bad at the end of the day. I love it.

Teebs - He dug out the dress-up bins one day.

Food - We've tried several new recipes this month - quinoa, kale, cranberry, walnut, and butternut salad, Greek garbanzo salad, chipotle chicken salad, sesame garlic beef tacos, and cauliflower spread.

Puzzles - We love puzzles and almost always have one going around here. Naomi took advantage of a great deal on Amazon back in December and gave puzzles to the three biggest puzzle lovers. Teebs got the 300 piece Mountain Duel, which he's put together multiple times and I've never photographed. Devon was given the 1000 piece Dogs Galore, which was, hands down, the hardest puzzle I've ever worked on. I prefer not to use the picture on the box as a guide, but I caved about 15 minutes into this mass of white, black, and brown fur and pink tongues. Check it out!

We recently finished the one I was given, the 1000 piece Kitchen Cupboard, and I loved it! Quirky, with lots of little details and patterns to match up ... and I forgot to snap a picture to prove we finished it before I gathered it up and put it back in the box. Next time!