Review of You Need A Budget

You Need A Budget Cons

Spreadsheet Requirement: Although many people have Microsoft Office with Excel on their computer, many others have Microsoft Works. YNAB will not work with Microsoft Works. If you do not own a copy of Excel, you will need to buy Excel or download OpenOffice in order to run YNAB. OpenOffice is free, well-tested and functions well, so this is a minor issue.

YNAB Stands Alone: YNAB does not integrate with any personal finance software such as Quicken or Microsoft Money, but then it was designed purely for budgeting and it handles budgeting better than all-in-one personal finance software. If you insist on having your budget integrated with the functions found in software like Quicken or Microsoft Money, YNAB won't work for you, however you can certainly use YNAB for budgeting while using other personal finance software to handle other aspects of your household finances.

No Downloading in YNAB: YNAB will require a bit more manual data entry than you would have with personal finance software that downloads account data for you. However, to help with this, Windows users can download the Scheduler Plug-In for an additional $6.95 to automate monthly recurring expenses.

Bottom Line on You Need A Budget

If you used You Need A Budget in the past but stopped using it, you should know the spreadsheets have been refined from the original 12 worksheets to just three. YNAB is easier on the eyes and the latest version includes a back-end formula change that improves performance, so it is worth another try.

You Need A Budget is priced very fairly, has a very professional-looking layout and the on-screen directions are unique and helpful. The Four Rules of Cash Flow are principles YNAB was designed around, and these principles will really help you to keep a budget. If you use personal finance software to manage your accounts but you want to do more in depth budgeting and use a system that guides you to more successful budgeting, then I recommend You Need A Budget.

You Need A Budget Website

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