You Need a Budget: The Proven System for Breaking the Paycheck-to-Paycheck Cycle, Getting Out of Debt, and Living the Life You Want

My income is a yo-yo so this was a great tool to use to try to nail down some overspending and budget wisely. Trying to be debt free doesn’t look as bad as I thought! Two years and nine months to go!

Read this before or after your start using YNAB. But read it. It is practical and sets the foundation needed to do this well.

great read. rules awesome, a little redundant.Rules are solid, great adviseJust sometime sit felt like a little padding

inspiring/motivating me to stay a float when it comes to budgeting

This book is about the YNAB system of budgeting, rather than the YNAB budgeting application. You could implement everything in this book with a spreadsheet or pencil and paper if you like.Whenever I used the YNAB application, I always felt that it was "budgeting lite." No complex forecasts, no detailed reports and (until recently) no automatic feeds pulled down from the bank. It also always seemed to be fighting me... that I could never get it to do what I wanted.I decided to dump YNAB. I already had years of experience with Quicken. I decided to try Mint and Personal Capital. Those applications had many of the features missing from YNAB. However, after switching to each of them, I felt lost. There was freedom to set things up however I wanted, but that didn't add up to better information or tangible goals.I could now tell you, to the penny, how much I spent on coffee two months ago... I could tell you how much I planned to spend on coffee six months from now. So what? How does any of that help me now? Somehow having all these new features and freedom resulted in less actionable information, and less peace of mind, than I had with YNAB.I eventually figured out that YNAB is not lite on features. It is opinionated.YNAB believes that there is a correct way to budget, and the application enforces those opinions with ruthless efficiency. It only makes you collect the information it believes to be useful, and it only presents information that helps you now. If you try to go outside its process, it will make your life difficult.That is not to say that it tells you where to spend your money. Precisely the opposite. Go ahead and budget $1000/month for iced lattes if you want. YNAB doesn't judge. But it does insist that you have the money.This book is about the YNAB opinions which are baked into the software. I have come to view those opinions as wisdom. Rather than saying "here's a bunch of features, do with them what you want", YNAB says "here is a proven process that has worked for thousands of people, follow it."This book is about explaining that process, why it is the way it is, and why it leads to better decisions and progress towards achieving goals. I already knew the basics from videos and podcasts, but this book does a great job of putting all of the information in one place and presenting it in a systematic manner. Now that some of the gaps in my understanding have been filled in, I'm sold on the process. I already learned via trial and error that I like what YNAB does. This book filled in the gaps of why it works.Highly recommended!

Jesse Mecham takes time to give an in-depth explanation of the Four Rules of YNAB. Each chapter I finished made me feel more confident that mastering YNAB is where I should be investing my time. Mecham’s writing style is endearing. His book is filled with heartfelt stories of YNABers confronting challenges and achieving inspiring victories. It is hard to put down, and easy to read with brilliant summaries that close each chapter. I would love to give this book and a subscription to family and friends. There is nothing more poignant than to hear Mecham answer so many of my questions and offer such a fun solution.

I tried to like this book and even tried the app for a better understanding but it's really confuse. I had to cancel the app and will donate this book. I didn't work for me !

I discovered YNAB late last year. We had tried other tools, envelopes, spreadsheets, Mint, Quicken, MS Money, etc.; none worked. This takes methodologies, like Dave Ramsey's and add to it the much-needed flexibility to make it actually work. No budgeting system works unless you stick to it. YNAB is such a system.In the book, Jesse does a great job of talking about the methodology behind the software, and not about the software itself. While I'm a happy user of the software, this methodology could be used on a spreadsheet if needed. Jesse really hits home on the "WHY" of budgeting, as well as the "HOW." He also conveys quite well the benefits of doing each, and it's not about having more money, it's about having more control, and less worry. Which actually leads to more money!!If you're worried when you swipe your debit card if you get stressed checking your account balance if you have more bills than money, this book is for you. Since using this methodology I have so little money stress it allows me to think more rationally about where my money goes, and where it needs to go. If you never used or intend to use this software, the book is still a worthy read.

We're following this money plan, and the book is a great support to go along with it. We "give every dollar a job" and are making our finances work much more smoothly. Highly recommend this book -- it's an interesting and easy read.

Me encantó el enfoque hacía algo que muchas personas deberían de hacer; pero no hacen por mil razones, su presupuesto. El acercamiento del libro hacia el tema es muy práctico, y sobre todo, nos incentiva a llevar a cabo y mantener el buen hábito de presupuestar.

Book is good and provide ample of examples on how to budget for everyone. Explained very well every category along with how to set it up. Not pusing you to subscribe for YNAB subscription. You can follow the instruction by creating an excel file as far as you are following the instruction. No bookmark received with the book.

I rarely sit down to write reviews anymore, but I have to for YNAB.I started budgeting with YNAB in 2013 after a lifetime of uncontrolled and irresponsible spending of money I either just got or didn't have, and I was experiencing considerable anxiety and fear around money.I had just moved out of my parents' house and had to find my own way in life financially, with all-new responsibilities.YNAB literally saved my financial life. I love it. I love that I can plan ahead. I love that I have order in my life. I love that I can play and feel around with the money I have.Since 2013 I have turned my net worth around, from -xx.xxx,- to +xx.xxx,-, and financially I am now almost totally stress-free. YNAB has allowed me not to "save for a rainy day" but to plan ahead, taking all the little and big irregular expenses into account and put them one stress-free budget.Can I live off the money I have today for the next 6 months without missing out on anything? Yes!Fridge quits working, laptop implodes - don't worry, replacements are within budget!Gas/Electricity for 2021 (!) are taken care of and in the budget now. Now that's freedom!The money I earn this August will probably be spent sometime next year. What a relief!I don't even look at my bank balance anymore - because that's not what's available to me now.Only YNABers know the freedom a bit of planning brings. Budgeting doesn't feel restrictive, it's the freedom to see what's ahead, even if I have to make an adjustment here or there.YNAB has turned out to be one of the very best decisions I have made in my adult life.The book lays out Jesse's philosophy quite nicely, and thank god it wasn't just an ad for the software, since you could do all of it in an Excel spreadsheet, but the software is quite simply amazing and fun, so do yourself a favour and get it. You won't regret it.

E' un libro che tutti dovremmo leggere, investendo tempo per migliorare le nostre finanze personali. Mi è piaciuto molto.