You Need A Budget Pro Review

Whether you are serious about your budget or you are just getting started with budgeting your money, You Need A Budget Pro for Windows will make budgeting into the future easier.

You Need A Budget teaches solid money management practices with the four YNAB rules, based on spending income already earned to avoid overdrawn accounts and personal budget deficits:

1. Stop living paycheck to paycheck
2. Give every dollar a job
3. Prepare for rain (spread out large, occasional anticipated expenses)
4. Roll with the punches (pay yourself back for budget overdrafts)

YNAB Interface

The user interface You Need A Budget Pro offers is easy to use and attractive. Navigating You Need A Budget Pro is as easy as selecting Register, Budget, Scheduler or Reports from the left navigation bar. Options for sorting are always found on the upper right of the screen in the Register, Budget and Scheduler, so there is no fishing for the sort option. It would be better if the report type selection and report options were also located on the upper left but these items are still easy to find at the top of screen, and are probably located there so as not to interfere with the legends which appear to the right of the graphical reports.

Register
Enter income and expenses in the You Need A Budget Pro register. YNAB Pro has one register for entering all transactions instead of a register for each account. This is because You Need A Budget Pro is strictly budgeting software, and it keeps you on top of your personal budget with a level of detail and thought that goes beyond what can traditional personal finance software budgeting offers.

Budget Planning
Enter budgeted amounts for each category, and you're set. You Need A Budget Pro handles other computations for you such as those in the Spent and Balance columns.

Scheduler
Enter recurring income and expense into YNAB Pro's Scheduler once to cut down on data entry. The scheduled transactions will show up automatically in your register on the scheduled date.

Budget Reports
You Need A Budget comes with three essential budgeting reports:

1. Spending by Category Report: pie chart reflecting spending across all budget categories.
2. Total Spending Report: bar chart to spot spending trends.
3. Current Balances Report: be sure your spending is not getting ahead of itself.

Sound Financial Strategy

I believe in the sound financial principles the original You Need A Budget was built on, and YNAB Pro maintains the same underlying strategy. Using either the original YNAB or YNAB Pro will help you to never find yourself with a financial deficit.

You Need A Budget Pro Cost and Guarantee

You Need A Budget Pro costs $49.95, which is pricier than some personal finance software, but you only pay once. Upgrades are free, and there is a 60-Day, No-Questions-Asked Money Back Guarantee.

You can download a free You Need A Budget Pro trial from Cnet as well.

YNAB Pro Extras

You Need A Budget Pro comes with the same five bonus spreadsheets:

• Debt Snowball spreadsheet to help with paying off debt
• Income Tax Forecaster to help with estimate taxes
• Retirement Planner with "what if" scenarios
• Mortgage Analyzer to show you how to pay off your mortgage sooner
• Car Maintenance Schedule to help to keep your car running longer

You Need A Budget Pro: The Bottom Line

I give You Need A Budget Pro budgeting software a solid endorsement, and I like that a Mac version is in the works. I also like that if you used the original You Need A Budget spreadsheet templates, you can import your data from YNAB so you avoid recreating the wheel.

You can still track and reconcile accounts with YNAB Pro, but its unique budgeting capabilities are the strongest feature. You Need A Budget Pro really teaches a system that helps to ensure financial security.

Read More about You Need A Budget Pro Features with screen shots.

You Need A Budget Website

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