I've been writing a lot about budgeting lately and thought it was time to update my thoughts on electronic budgeting solutions.
Several months ago, I introduced a new software budgeting system I'm recommending called You Need A Budget and I want to make sure no one missed that post (so I'm covering it again).
In short, here's why I recommend You Need A Budget:
1. It's a simple, yet effective (and even powerful) system for tracking and analyzing spending. Beginning users will find it easy to use, but users who want a bit more won't find it lacking. Quite simply -- it does what you need in an easy-to-use manner.
2. It's received great reviews from others. Obviously, it's just not me who thinks it's worthwhile.
3. The alternatives are not great. Unless you love Quicken or Money or have 10 years of data in either, this is a better option.
4. The cost is only $19.95. Very affordable for even the tightest budget.
5. When you purchase, you get four free bonuses worth $65! Even if you discount these, they are certainly worth the purchase price of the software.
6. BEST OF ALL: THERE'S NO RISK TO YOU!!! That's right, there's a 60-day money back guarantee. The specifics: "You have absolutely no risk when purchasing this product. If you give the program an honest effort and aren't happy with it, you are entitled to a full refund." What's not to love about this? There's no risk in trying it.
Therefore, I encourage you to visit You Need A Budget and see for yourself what it's about. There's no risk to you and I think you'll find it to be a great product.
In the interest of full disclosure, I will earn a small commission if you buy You Need A Budget through any of the links in this piece. However, please be reminded that my ad policy is that: 1) I recommend only what I truly believe in and 2) all the profits from this site go to charity.
Much as I hate to admit it, Microsoft has a pretty good Excel budget template. It looks like it does many of the same things as ynab. This is what I've been using for quite some time now, and I've been very pleased with it.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/templates/TC010705391033.aspx?CategoryID=CT062100581033
Posted by: | April 18, 2006 at 09:45 AM
I love YNAB. It has removed all stress from our day to day finances and given us feedback on what we spend money on. Now we have a chance to pay down our credit cards.
Posted by: Marty | April 18, 2006 at 03:25 PM
ever try ace money lite
its free
Posted by: ROBERT MORANO | July 23, 2007 at 04:14 PM
I know this post is two years old, but you may want to update your pricing here... it's now $49.95!! That's a weeks worth of groceries (or more) for two people and the way things are right now, might not exactly be the best bet when there are other free services that do much of the same thing like Mint and Wesabe.
Posted by: Lara | July 19, 2009 at 05:14 PM
Correction... this post is three years old! Yikes!
Posted by: Lara | July 19, 2009 at 05:15 PM
Its up to 59.95 now ;)
Posted by: Pete | December 30, 2009 at 02:02 PM
Wow! That is a big increase. Can anyone say what improvements were made to justifiy the increase in price?
Posted by: Mary Jane | February 10, 2010 at 10:34 AM
$59.95 is NO bargain at all. They let a few good reviews go straight to their head...
Posted by: Bill | October 07, 2010 at 04:48 PM
and now it is $60.00? And the Android companion app is not free. Come on.
I know you have invest on something to get organized, but this is too much.
I am using anMoney for Android by the way.
Posted by: Richard Rama | January 26, 2012 at 07:00 AM