You Need a Budget

You Need A Budget

You Need A Budget (YNAB) 4 "Spending" page
Developer(s) Jesse Mecham
Initial release 2004 (2004)
Development status Active
Operating system Windows, OS X
Type Personal finance
License Trialware
Website www.youneedabudget.com

You Need a Budget (YNAB) (pronounced Y-nab) is a multi-platform personal budgeting program based on the envelope method. It was noted by Lifehacker in 2013 as the most popular personal finance software amongst its readers.[1] Although the software is the most prominent part, YNAB is best understood as a software-supported budgeting system based on its "four rules":[2]

  1. "Give Every Dollar a Job": All revenue received is explicitly assigned to a budget (expense) category.
  2. "Embrace Your True Expenses": Budget money not only for regular monthly expenses, but for irregular expenses and savings items anticipated in the future.
  3. "Roll with the Punches": Be flexible but consistent in making up for underbudgeted categories by reassigning funds from overbudgeted categories.
  4. "Age Your Money": Break the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle by arriving at a financial state where you have a buffer of one month's cash in hand which becomes the basis of all monthly budgeting.

Versions

The latest version, dubbed "The New YNAB," was launched December 30, 2015[3] as a web-based application, with companion apps for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.

The previous version, YNAB 4, is available for OS X and Windows[4] and was released in June 2012. YNAB 4 will be maintained through 2016, and the company promises to continue to support YNAB 4 users indefinitely.

YNAB 3 (released December 2009) ran on multiple platforms using the Adobe AIR runtime,[5] and previous versions included a Microsoft Excel/OpenOffice.org Calc spreadsheet implementation (dubbed YNAB Basic and discontinued in July 2009) and a Windows-only executable under the name YNAB Pro (discontinued in December 2009).

YNAB for iPhone was released in 2010 and runs on the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. It is not a standalone budgeting application but is instead designed to complement the YNAB for Desktop application. A version tailored for iPad and including budgeting support was released in 2014.[6] YNAB for Android was released in September 2011.

Pricing

The current, web-based YNAB requires a subscription at $50 per year or $5 per month.[7] Recent purchasers of YNAB 4 are offered a subscription credit of up to eleven months.

YNAB 4 is available generally for $60.[8] YNAB is offered to enrolled students for free.[9] YNAB also offers a promotional program that allows affiliates to provide a 10% discount on YNAB.

References

  1. ↑ "Most Popular Personal Finance Software: YNAB". Lifehacker. Gawker Media. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  2. ↑ "YouNeedABudget.com". YouNeedABudget.com.
  3. ↑ "The New YNAB is Here". You Need A Budget website. You Need A Budget. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  4. ↑ "Download page". You Need A Budget website. You Need A Budget. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  5. ↑ "You Need A Budget for Mac". Macworld. IDG Consumer & SMB. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  6. ↑ "YNAB for iPad is here".
  7. ↑ "YNAB Pricing". Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  8. ↑ "Purchase YNAB". YouNeedABudget.com.
  9. ↑ "YNAB is Now Free for College Students". Retrieved 1 February 2015.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, February 09, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.