Mvelopes and YNAB

Here's a comment a reader recently left on my post titled Mvelopes Backs Up Its Product:

I've been using Mvelopes for almost a full year and I love it. It has been extremely instrumental in our debt reduction process. I haven't had any problem with security at this point, though I know it's risky. Heck, having our banking online is a big risk and most people do that now. I love the fact that I don't have to worry about overdrafting anymore. Haven't had that problem since I signed up and figured out the system. We have plenty of money in our account at all times. It has fully changed the way I handle and look at our money. To me, it has been revolutionary.

How about you? Anyone else out there using Mvelopes?

Or maybe You Need a Budget? I'd be interested in hearing from those of you who use YNAB -- tell us all what you think of it.

Comments

[Jamie]

We've been using Mvelopes (now called Finicity's Money Manager) for nearly 3 years and I love it. My husband is a spender and I couldn't plan for expenses - if there was money in the checking account, we had money to spend and spend we did. Then, when the annual insurance bill came, we'd have to drain savings to pay it. We often overdrew our account because one didn't know what the other had spent. The credit card bills were out of control.

No more. Now we don't rely on the balance in the checking account, but the balance in the envelope you want to spend from. Non-monthly bills are saved up for in advance so there's no surprise in February when the disability insurance bill shows up.

We've saved hundreds of dollars in overdraft account charges and even more in credit card interest charges (our one card is now paid off monthly). We don't fight about money anymore.

I highly recommend this product to anyone who is visual. I also like Crown Financial's software, which is also an envelope-based budgeting system.

[Mark B.]

I have been using YNAB and I love it. I used it about 2 years ago for a few months and saved a ton of money. Then I got away from it for a while and got back into my old spending habits. Now I am back using the software and it is great.

They just added a new feature that allows you to run your budget AND balance your checking account. The software is very visual, helping you see that a reduction in spending in one category can lead to larger savings or a larger credit card payment.

The idea of creating a one month buffer is one of the most intuitive, yet simple personal finance ideas I have ever seen. It instantly breaks the paycheck to paycheck cycle and gets you thinking ahead.

[KellyB]

I used Mvelopes for about a year and really liked it. It hammered home for me the point that if you overspend in one area, you have to take that money away from another area in order to balance out. For some reason that had escaped me - I always looked at my cash flow as continuous instead of monthly, so it was "never ending" rather than a set number. Once I had to physically "move" the money from, say, Groceries to cover my Entertainment, I saw why I had always been playing catch up and kept having to push bills out to "the next paycheck". After about a year I had learned enough to do my budget myself on an Excel spreadsheet.

Actually, the best benefit from the MVelopes program was that I bought the workbook and book that came with it called "Money For Life", they were written by Stephen B. Smith and really worked for me.

[CoolHappyGuy]

" Heck, having our banking online is a big risk and most people do that now."

Excuse me? Online banking is very safe as long as you safeguard your login information, deal with certified companies, use the https protocol, etc. In other words, use common sense. It's the same system used by the financial community to xfer TRILLIONS of dollars each day.

On the other hand, identity thieves love to use the mailbox as a source of personal finance data.

Check in the mail? Who knows when your payment will be processed? If it is intercepted, your account my be compromised.

What about handing your credit/debit card to a waitress who then goes out of sight?

Pay everything in cash? Now THERE's a big risk.

I have found online banking a great aid in facilitating our household budget. You can set up savings deposits and online bill payments in advance. You can also monitor your accounts in real time. (This can enable you to immediately xfer money from savings if there is a risk of an overdraft.) Also, you don't need to adhere to "banker's hours."

This guy was less than diligent about monitoring his finances and is blaming online banking. Fortunately, he found a system that he can live with. However, his credibility really took a hit with that one little statement.

[kergoth]

I've been using envelope budgeting for about 6 months now with good results. For the first time in my life, I actually feel like I understand where my money is going; itt's astounding, at first, how much the periodic (annual, etc) expenses add up to when considered monthly.

I own a license of You Need A Budget, and that was the first tool for envelope budgeting that I used. A few months back, I switched my primary machine to a MacBook, however, so I had to find another option. Now I'm using MoneyWell. Anyone on a Mac should consider it as a possible alternative to menvelopes, in my opinion.

[Pete]

I looked at both Mvelopes and YNAB. I like Mvelopes but I couldn't justify $10 a month on budgeting software when there were alternatives like YNAB and Quicken for less than have the yearly price.

On the other hand, YNAB has been great. The 4 money rules that the software supports are the key to making it work and in some ways are more valuable than the software. I no longer live paycheck to paycheck, I've paid all my credit card debt, and big, unexpected bills are no longer a problem. Support for the product is great, especially the forums and all of the updates have been free so far. It's not as comprehensive as Quicken so I still use Quicken to track my net worth and investments but it's the best way to organize and track cash flow that I've found.

[pmj]

We've been using (or trying to use) mvelopes for a couple months now. I just find the downloading portion of it a bit "clunky."

It downloads many of my transactions twice (once when they are listed as "pending" on my bank's website and again when they've cleared), so I'm constantly having to check to make sure I haven't double counted any particular expenditure. And no matter how many times I work on the authorizations/passwords/etc. for each account, it seems like I can't connect with at least one bank each I log on. Each account will eventually download, but it takes quite a bit of tinkering/resubmitting.

I love the concept, but its taking 10-20 minutes a night (or every other night) to download and clear my transactions. Anyone else experienced this?

[Rob]

My wife and I absolutely LOVE YNAB. It has been one of the best things for our marriage. We do not argue about money and never have to worry about whether there is enough cash in the bank to write a check. It has also helped us pay off a lot of our school debt and establish some savings as well. I would recommend YNAB to anyone. The only catch is, you have to use it and actually record every single transaction, otherwise it does you no good.

[Norma]

I've used mvelopes for about 18 months. God made me to be a nurse not a bookkeeper. I have had to clear all my balances and restart twice. I've had a real learning curve, to say the least. It seems this go around I've done a better job. The features of the program are great. There are several reports which reflect spending. Bank transactions are downloaded easily. I have not had the glitches others complain about. Of course the envelope system is basic budget stuff. (Stuff, my accountant would be proud of that word...)

[Mariah Sullivan]

Thanks for all of your comments. I now know that I want to try YNAB. I went through Dave Ramsey's FPU, but I need some kind of software that can track and help me budget. This software sounds so much like Dave Ramsey's philosophy! I will try it and let you know how I like it. I wish Costco or Sam's sold it. I only paid $29.99 for MS Money Deluxe 2007, so I guess I'm spoiled, LOL!