Great video Wendy!!! I personally found that the 'mental' shift of going from a 'budget in anticipation of money' to 'budgeting ONLY what you currently have' has saved me HUNDREDS of dollars! I would always plan like 'I'll plan $300 for groceries' and then spend $400, but if I plan for $300, and when it comes time to make that extra grocery run and I don't have any money left, I stop! I'm a YNAB convert for LIFE!
Enjoying your videos, but, not sure I agree with your description of YNAB's budgeting mindset. You certainly do plan your budget in advance with YNAB via the Monthly Funding and Target Balance by Date (sinking fund) goals. Also, many YNAB users will put what day of the month a particular bill (electric, water, car payment, or some autopay amount like a music subscription, etc.) comes due right in the category name since those category names are so easy to edit. Notice the initial groups they give you in a new budget (Immediate Expenses, True Expenses, Debt Payments, Quality of Life Goals and Just For Fun) are actually very intentional as they suggest a priority for certain budget categories. Putting this all together represents the Plan. When I get a paycheck, I simply ask what does this money need to do before my next paycheck and I use the queues mentioned above to decide where that money goes. The color scheme they used on the Available column also guides in knowing when you've met your plan for each category. The decision on where that money goes is definitely based on a plan, it's just expressed differently than in Every Dollar.
I tried out YNAB last June, then after watching Connie's videos...took the plunge and haven't looked back! The thought process change took a few months and many mistakes to 'get' it. I wouldn't go back now. #addictedtobudgeting Great overview - thanks!
Thanks for the comparison. I’ve been thinking about switching to ynab for some time and I think I’m about to bite the bullet. I like the way ynab kinda operates as a checkbook so I can easily reconcile with my bank. I currently have to use a separate app for that so I have to enter my transactions twice which gives me budget burnout. The other thing I like is that you only budget what you have. My income can fluctuate from paycheck to paycheck so it makes it hard to anticipate what I am going to earn. So I have been editing my budget in every dollar every paycheck. I try to initially use the least amount of money that I can earn as a baseline in my budget but I would still have to edit the budget every paycheck. As a problem procrastinator extra work means that I procrastinate even more and then my budget goes to heck. I’m hoping ynab will be easier and quicker to use.
I agree with your video, although I would challenge your word choice. Budget - an estimate of income and expenditure for a set period of time. The difference is really this, in Every Dollar, you actually budget, that is you hypothetically create your money in money out. In YNAB, even though they use the term "budget", your not budgeting. Your assigning. When you take actual money you have and you assign it to "eating out", that is not budgeting, its assigning. If you change budget to assign in YNAB, it helps alot. The closest thing YNAB has for a budget is to create goals for monthly funding. Good video!
Big everydollar users, we love it! I have read the YNAB book, but have not actually tried using the software for myself. I can see what you are saying at the end here. The way we think plays a huge part in the way we act/budget/what our habits are, etc. I agree with a lot of what you are saying about everydollar and the way they have it set up. While we do set up the budget at the beginning of the month, before the month begins, predicting and estimating income that is not based on a set salary, that does leave some "wiggle room" because as the month goes on of course we add in our transactions and maybe have forgotten something, and the spending doesn't go "according to the plan." But that's ok! Also, underestimating the income hopefully means that while we also underspend in some categories but maybe we overspend in others, at the end of the month there will still be "extra money" to put towards those goals 😊 And I agree 100% when you have said that EveryDollar should add a column that stays the same and reflects the original budget set so you can see what changes have likely occurred throughout the month to compare! Something like that
I just recently made the switch from EveryDollar to YNAB! The learning curve was high, as you said, but after watching a bunch of videos (thank you, Nick True!) I just took the leap. Overall, I like YNAB much better...reconciling bank account balances, transferring money in/out of sinking funds, flexibility to cover overspending in one category with unused money from another, carrying unspent funds over into the next month. One of the things I'm not thrilled with is not being able to budget ahead a month or 2 (we're still working toward being buffered ahead a month). YNAB fits the way my brain thinks much better than EveryDollar did ;)
You can budget more than two months ahead. You just have to have money in each month to open the next month. So if you want to put money in October right now you would have to have money budgeted in July and August. I am a visual person so I do not like to put money in future months as I tend to forget it is there 😅
I pay for YNAB and budget out of it. I absolutely love that I can still reach my goals but adjust as I need to. Rolling with those punches from Murphy 🥊
I love this comparison! I prefer to plan what I'm doing with my money ahead of time so that I'm ready. But I also need flexibility to change things around when surprises come up.
Thanks for this! It solidifies my thought that I will never NOT use the free EveryDollar site and app. Even though we are finally currently taking Dave's Financial Peace course, and the EDPlus is available to us for a year because of our enrollment, I still won't utilize it. I prefer to be forced to input everything manually because it cuts down on how often we spend and it's easy to actually remember how much is remaining in most categories for the month when I have to interact with it every day. ED is my favorite site ever, and I can't wait to delete the Debt section at the bottom of the page! Happy belated Mothers Day ~~ hugs to you, and M&M. (You've seemed tired and/or down lately - I'm lifting you up in prayer for peace, strength, and resilience...xo)
This was really helpful. I have used the free version of every dollar (& other budgeting apps like Mint) and unfortunately was not able to ever stick with any. I was always hesitant to pay for YNAB as a result. I am on the free trial on YNAB and it has a lot more features than I anticipated.. I’ve been watching a ton of YNABs RUclips videos and so far am really loving it. I think really it’s required for people to understand how it works. I like how I can see what my total credit card payment will be in real time. How it auto syncs up. How I can only categorize $ I actually have, but I can still set annual or monthly savings targets that do the math for me. Or that I can reprioritize funds based off Life.
Excellent compassion of both apps, @Wendy Valencia. Thank you so much 🥰🥰🥰🥰 I really appreciate your insight. The fact that you mentioned the difference between mindset behind both apps was FANTASTIC!!!! Thank you so much.
I use every dollar for pre-planning my budget but then use ynab for tracking actual amounts/spending. I don't like how everydollar does savings and doesn't show me what's physically left for me to spend. For ynab, I don't like how it doesn't let me forecast and delete/forget about one time Expenses/categories.
Great analysis of the differences Wendy. I think I'm the type that plan further out. That said, I do use the same basic template for all my budgets as there are some lines that the amount will stay the same until the cost of the bill goes up and it's easier to have stuff like that already included rather than trying to remember the figure each time the budget is created.
So interesting! I don’t know anything about every dollar, but my impression, based on people I know using You Need a Budget is that it’s geared for a younger user who doesn’t know their budget yet (your last point) and maybe is for those just getting ready to buckle down and save for a major life expense (child, house, etc). Also, all that manual entry is designed to really “teach” budgeting learning vs the tracking and planning you do through every dollar...I.e. you’ve already learned to budget and now you just need a tool for tracking. Loved this comparison video. Thanks, Wendy!
if you overspend on a line item in everydollar just take some off another line and add it to move numbers around?? idk why you said everydollar doesnt allow for mistakes and over spending
Fantastic insight near the end there, thank you for this video! I've managed large work budgets and done business school etc and am frustrated that there are 2000 personal expense tracking / budgeting apps out there but none really nail the things I want. I'd prefer an app that allowed me to take pictures and store receipts for audit like Expensify, enter a manual income number monthly and track my forecast budget against it like ED (rather than make me connect accounts and assign #/?! all day, allocate quarterly or annual expenses a few different ways, and generate simple effective infographics if I want at the end. Also cross-platform and family-focused so my spouse will actually use it. Do you have any further recommendations? Thanks again.
One Time Expense - What would be an example of something you would buy once in a lifetime and would not fit in any of your categories? I think you can always find a category for items, even if it is a category you no longer use. You can always hide the category.
Example: a magnetic phone holder for the cd drive in the car. Not something I will probably buy again for 5 years (when one of the ones I have now breaks). I have a line item called “random one time expenses” and it works there but I do like being to see details at a glance
I bought a car for $20,000 this year.it's not really helpful to have that in my auto category of a budget. It's more like a one-time expenditure. I don't expect to repeat that kind of purchase for maybe ten years.
Good point about proactive vs. reactive. YNAB confused the heck out of me, but maybe because I'm used to to my home-rolled check-register-as-budget spreadsheet.
If you use any literal cash envelopes, how does syncing those categories with your bank account work with either of these apps? It seems to me if you say, pay your utilities with cash one month, but then the next month you pay online with your debit card, it would look like you spent zero percent of your budget on utilities the month you paid in cash. Unless you entered it in by hand later, which defeats the purpose of syncing with the bank account imo. I hope this makes sense, because it varies for me which bills I pay online and which things I purchase/ pay for in cash. Like one month I may order clothing online, the next I'm buying clothing with cash at a thrift store. Maybe I am over thinking things...
In YNAB you can create an account called wallet. When you withdraw cash at the atm, it gets recorded as a transfer from check to the wallet account. When paying for something in cash you can record the transaction under the wallet account with the amount and the payee. Once it's been entered it will reflect the amount of cash you now have on hand.
Never. Honestly we cut up our credit cards about 9 years ago and did not have them for 5 years then mau got one so he could buy me a diamond ring. We maxed it out in less than a year and cut it up. We are not responsible with credit cards so we will never have one again.
Credit Cards are a heated discussion topic in so many budgeting discussions. I hear way too many people make the blanket statement that credit cards are evil and inherently incompatible with responsible management of your expenses. Their point (maybe based on their personal experience??) is that if you have a credit card you WILL run up the balance and not be able to pay it off. Before we entered each dollar we made into YNAB this statement applied to us as well at times. The reality is that there are substantial benefits to responsible credit card usage IF (and this is a big if) you have the self control to only put items on your credit card(s) that you have covered with the income in your budget so that you pay it down to zero EVERY month. We now have two major reward cards that we put everything we possibly can on every month and rack up substantial airline and hotel points while paying zero interest. As an example, I've had a Southwest Airlines Companion Pass earned with credit card reward points for the last 2 years that lets me fly free whenever my wife buys a ticket. The constant usage and timely payments also improves our credit score, giving us better rates on car financing, etc. You are on the right track to pay down your credit card debt, but I'd encourage you to give some real thought about whether you may actually have the self control to reap the reward benefits without gong back into debt once you've paid down your current debt. Only you can make that decision and it will apply only to you.
@@WendyValencia Thank you for making the point that not using credit cards is a personal decision you made based on what works best for you. And thanks for being open about your own experience.
I'm testing both now. I plan for 2 paychecks per month. Both software can handle this. I"m just not sure I want to pay $89 dollars if everydollar can handle what I have been done for years in an excel spreadsheet. Moving money from a certain category is easier in YNAB, I don't have to stop and count. But is it worth $89 dollars. Underspending can carry over to the next month so I can allocate that money accordingly. I'm trying to see what I am missing in YNAB.
@@WendyValencia I've gone with everydollar. I can split categories and that works for ME in terms of moving money. My list is small then probably those of other people so this won't be confusing for me in terms of keeping up with the transactions and reconciling at the end. And it's free. No sense in spending $89 to budget if I'm on a budget :o)
I currently don’t use any budgeting tools. I’m looking for something easy. My thoughts are that if it’s easy I’m more prone to stick to it. I’ve some before but never stuck with it. What are your suggestions for apps?
EveryDollar plus is the easiest app I have used. YNAB is complicated. Have you considered a cash system like Jordan Page uses? That is BY FAR the easiest system I have seen
This is an incredible breakdown of the two budgeting apps to compare and contrast them! I’ll be sending people to this video for years to come!
Great video Wendy!!! I personally found that the 'mental' shift of going from a 'budget in anticipation of money' to 'budgeting ONLY what you currently have' has saved me HUNDREDS of dollars! I would always plan like 'I'll plan $300 for groceries' and then spend $400, but if I plan for $300, and when it comes time to make that extra grocery run and I don't have any money left, I stop! I'm a YNAB convert for LIFE!
That’s awesome!
Enjoying your videos, but, not sure I agree with your description of YNAB's budgeting mindset. You certainly do plan your budget in advance with YNAB via the Monthly Funding and Target Balance by Date (sinking fund) goals. Also, many YNAB users will put what day of the month a particular bill (electric, water, car payment, or some autopay amount like a music subscription, etc.) comes due right in the category name since those category names are so easy to edit. Notice the initial groups they give you in a new budget (Immediate Expenses, True Expenses, Debt Payments, Quality of Life Goals and Just For Fun) are actually very intentional as they suggest a priority for certain budget categories. Putting this all together represents the Plan. When I get a paycheck, I simply ask what does this money need to do before my next paycheck and I use the queues mentioned above to decide where that money goes. The color scheme they used on the Available column also guides in knowing when you've met your plan for each category. The decision on where that money goes is definitely based on a plan, it's just expressed differently than in Every Dollar.
I tried out YNAB last June, then after watching Connie's videos...took the plunge and haven't looked back! The thought process change took a few months and many mistakes to 'get' it. I wouldn't go back now. #addictedtobudgeting Great overview - thanks!
Thanks for the comparison. I’ve been thinking about switching to ynab for some time and I think I’m about to bite the bullet. I like the way ynab kinda operates as a checkbook so I can easily reconcile with my bank. I currently have to use a separate app for that so I have to enter my transactions twice which gives me budget burnout. The other thing I like is that you only budget what you have. My income can fluctuate from paycheck to paycheck so it makes it hard to anticipate what I am going to earn. So I have been editing my budget in every dollar every paycheck. I try to initially use the least amount of money that I can earn as a baseline in my budget but I would still have to edit the budget every paycheck. As a problem procrastinator extra work means that I procrastinate even more and then my budget goes to heck. I’m hoping ynab will be easier and quicker to use.
I love YNAB. It took a bit to adjust to it but it works better for me than Everydollar.
I agree with your video, although I would challenge your word choice.
Budget - an estimate of income and expenditure for a set period of time.
The difference is really this, in Every Dollar, you actually budget, that is you hypothetically create your money in money out.
In YNAB, even though they use the term "budget", your not budgeting. Your assigning. When you take actual money you have and you assign it to "eating out", that is not budgeting, its assigning. If you change budget to assign in YNAB, it helps alot. The closest thing YNAB has for a budget is to create goals for monthly funding.
Good video!
That is a very interesting perspective! I had never considered that budgeting had to include income
Big everydollar users, we love it! I have read the YNAB book, but have not actually tried using the software for myself. I can see what you are saying at the end here. The way we think plays a huge part in the way we act/budget/what our habits are, etc. I agree with a lot of what you are saying about everydollar and the way they have it set up. While we do set up the budget at the beginning of the month, before the month begins, predicting and estimating income that is not based on a set salary, that does leave some "wiggle room" because as the month goes on of course we add in our transactions and maybe have forgotten something, and the spending doesn't go "according to the plan." But that's ok! Also, underestimating the income hopefully means that while we also underspend in some categories but maybe we overspend in others, at the end of the month there will still be "extra money" to put towards those goals 😊 And I agree 100% when you have said that EveryDollar should add a column that stays the same and reflects the original budget set so you can see what changes have likely occurred throughout the month to compare! Something like that
I just recently made the switch from EveryDollar to YNAB! The learning curve was high, as you said, but after watching a bunch of videos (thank you, Nick True!) I just took the leap. Overall, I like YNAB much better...reconciling bank account balances, transferring money in/out of sinking funds, flexibility to cover overspending in one category with unused money from another, carrying unspent funds over into the next month. One of the things I'm not thrilled with is not being able to budget ahead a month or 2 (we're still working toward being buffered ahead a month). YNAB fits the way my brain thinks much better than EveryDollar did ;)
I actually agree but it is making Mauricio’s head swim! :(
You can budget more than two months ahead. You just have to have money in each month to open the next month. So if you want to put money in October right now you would have to have money budgeted in July and August. I am a visual person so I do not like to put money in future months as I tend to forget it is there 😅
I pay for YNAB and budget out of it. I absolutely love that I can still reach my goals but adjust as I need to. Rolling with those punches from Murphy 🥊
Aaaakkk! I hate Murphy
I love this comparison! I prefer to plan what I'm doing with my money ahead of time so that I'm ready. But I also need flexibility to change things around when surprises come up.
Great info! Thx for the comparison. I have real issues with Ynab's affiliation with Amazon. Too big too powerful.
Thanks for this! It solidifies my thought that I will never NOT use the free EveryDollar site and app. Even though we are finally currently taking Dave's Financial Peace course, and the EDPlus is available to us for a year because of our enrollment, I still won't utilize it. I prefer to be forced to input everything manually because it cuts down on how often we spend and it's easy to actually remember how much is remaining in most categories for the month when I have to interact with it every day. ED is my favorite site ever, and I can't wait to delete the Debt section at the bottom of the page!
Happy belated Mothers Day ~~ hugs to you, and M&M.
(You've seemed tired and/or down lately - I'm lifting you up in prayer for peace, strength, and resilience...xo)
This was really helpful. I have used the free version of every dollar (& other budgeting apps like Mint) and unfortunately was not able to ever stick with any. I was always hesitant to pay for YNAB as a result.
I am on the free trial on YNAB and it has a lot more features than I anticipated.. I’ve been watching a ton of YNABs RUclips videos and so far am really loving it. I think really it’s required for people to understand how it works.
I like how I can see what my total credit card payment will be in real time. How it auto syncs up. How I can only categorize $ I actually have, but I can still set annual or monthly savings targets that do the math for me. Or that I can reprioritize funds based off Life.
Excellent compassion of both apps, @Wendy Valencia. Thank you so much 🥰🥰🥰🥰 I really appreciate your insight.
The fact that you mentioned the difference between mindset behind both apps was FANTASTIC!!!! Thank you so much.
Headphone user warning 10:12 😖
This was brilliant. Thank you
I use every dollar for pre-planning my budget but then use ynab for tracking actual amounts/spending.
I don't like how everydollar does savings and doesn't show me what's physically left for me to spend. For ynab, I don't like how it doesn't let me forecast and delete/forget about one time Expenses/categories.
I do the same. It's sometimes it's a pain to use both, but my hubby likes the simplicity of ED so that's the only I can get him to budget.
You could always create a separate budget to forecast.
Lauren-Eva M I am the exact same way!
Great analysis of the differences Wendy. I think I'm the type that plan further out. That said, I do use the same basic template for all my budgets as there are some lines that the amount will stay the same until the cost of the bill goes up and it's easier to have stuff like that already included rather than trying to remember the figure each time the budget is created.
Thanks for this! It was super helpful!
So glad it helped!!!
So interesting! I don’t know anything about every dollar, but my impression, based on people I know using You Need a Budget is that it’s geared for a younger user who doesn’t know their budget yet (your last point) and maybe is for those just getting ready to buckle down and save for a major life expense (child, house, etc). Also, all that manual entry is designed to really “teach” budgeting learning vs the tracking and planning you do through every dollar...I.e. you’ve already learned to budget and now you just need a tool for tracking. Loved this comparison video. Thanks, Wendy!
Interesting observations!!!! I had never thought of that!
Are you trying to decide and are confused...*nods* yes, yes I am 😂
Lol!!!! So all he little ones you can learn to adapt to. The major on is probably what you should use to decide
I am a Reactive Planner. I plan my budget but if I want something I'll still spend my money on it
Love this content, thank you!
Thank you for this Wendy
if you overspend on a line item in everydollar just take some off another line and add it to move numbers around?? idk why you said everydollar doesnt allow for mistakes and over spending
Thank you so much 🌹
Fantastic insight near the end there, thank you for this video! I've managed large work budgets and done business school etc and am frustrated that there are 2000 personal expense tracking / budgeting apps out there but none really nail the things I want. I'd prefer an app that allowed me to take pictures and store receipts for audit like Expensify, enter a manual income number monthly and track my forecast budget against it like ED (rather than make me connect accounts and assign #/?! all day, allocate quarterly or annual expenses a few different ways, and generate simple effective infographics if I want at the end. Also cross-platform and family-focused so my spouse will actually use it. Do you have any further recommendations? Thanks again.
These are AWESOME thoughts!I have the same frustrations!!!
How can I be out of money? I still have checks.
One Time Expense - What would be an example of something you would buy once in a lifetime and would not fit in any of your categories? I think you can always find a category for items, even if it is a category you no longer use. You can always hide the category.
Example: a magnetic phone holder for the cd drive in the car. Not something I will probably buy again for 5 years (when one of the ones I have now breaks). I have a line item called “random one time expenses” and it works there but I do like being to see details at a glance
I bought a car for $20,000 this year.it's not really helpful to have that in my auto category of a budget. It's more like a one-time expenditure. I don't expect to repeat that kind of purchase for maybe ten years.
Good point about proactive vs. reactive. YNAB confused the heck out of me, but maybe because I'm used to to my home-rolled check-register-as-budget spreadsheet.
If you use any literal cash envelopes, how does syncing those categories with your bank account work with either of these apps? It seems to me if you say, pay your utilities with cash one month, but then the next month you pay online with your debit card, it would look like you spent zero percent of your budget on utilities the month you paid in cash. Unless you entered it in by hand later, which defeats the purpose of syncing with the bank account imo. I hope this makes sense, because it varies for me which bills I pay online and which things I purchase/ pay for in cash. Like one month I may order clothing online, the next I'm buying clothing with cash at a thrift store. Maybe I am over thinking things...
In YNAB you can create an account called wallet. When you withdraw cash at the atm, it gets recorded as a transfer from check to the wallet account. When paying for something in cash you can record the transaction under the wallet account with the amount and the payee. Once it's been entered it will reflect the amount of cash you now have on hand.
Really? You don’t use credit cards? Wow that’s cool, this is my dream to get rid off the credit card and use just debit,but for me it takes time
Never. Honestly we cut up our credit cards about 9 years ago and did not have them for 5 years then mau got one so he could buy me a diamond ring. We maxed it out in less than a year and cut it up. We are not responsible with credit cards so we will never have one again.
Credit Cards are a heated discussion topic in so many budgeting discussions. I hear way too many people make the blanket statement that credit cards are evil and inherently incompatible with responsible management of your expenses. Their point (maybe based on their personal experience??) is that if you have a credit card you WILL run up the balance and not be able to pay it off. Before we entered each dollar we made into YNAB this statement applied to us as well at times. The reality is that there are substantial benefits to responsible credit card usage IF (and this is a big if) you have the self control to only put items on your credit card(s) that you have covered with the income in your budget so that you pay it down to zero EVERY month. We now have two major reward cards that we put everything we possibly can on every month and rack up substantial airline and hotel points while paying zero interest. As an example, I've had a Southwest Airlines Companion Pass earned with credit card reward points for the last 2 years that lets me fly free whenever my wife buys a ticket. The constant usage and timely payments also improves our credit score, giving us better rates on car financing, etc. You are on the right track to pay down your credit card debt, but I'd encourage you to give some real thought about whether you may actually have the self control to reap the reward benefits without gong back into debt once you've paid down your current debt. Only you can make that decision and it will apply only to you.
@@WendyValencia Thank you for making the point that not using credit cards is a personal decision you made based on what works best for you. And thanks for being open about your own experience.
I'm testing both now. I plan for 2 paychecks per month. Both software can handle this. I"m just not sure I want to pay $89 dollars if everydollar can handle what I have been done for years in an excel spreadsheet. Moving money from a certain category is easier in YNAB, I don't have to stop and count. But is it worth $89 dollars. Underspending can carry over to the next month so I can allocate that money accordingly. I'm trying to see what I am missing in YNAB.
Keep us updated with your opinions
@@WendyValencia I've gone with everydollar. I can split categories and that works for ME in terms of moving money. My list is small then probably those of other people so this won't be confusing for me in terms of keeping up with the transactions and reconciling at the end. And it's free. No sense in spending $89 to budget if I'm on a budget :o)
I miss you.
I currently don’t use any budgeting tools. I’m looking for something easy. My thoughts are that if it’s easy I’m more prone to stick to it. I’ve some before but never stuck with it. What are your suggestions for apps?
EveryDollar plus is the easiest app I have used. YNAB is complicated. Have you considered a cash system like Jordan Page uses? That is BY FAR the easiest system I have seen
I have not heard of Jordan page