#2: A “Cool” Interface
Ever since I got my first job in high school, one of my main concerns was always keeping track of my spending habits. I knew I wanted to go to college and that I would have to pay for it eventually, so I wanted to be conscientious of saving while still be able to have money to spend on fun stuff. As I got older and saved more as well as had more financial responsibilities, I wanted to find an app or website that would easily and conveniently budget, save, and keep track of my spending habits.
I went through various apps like Mint, Albert, and Clarity. While these apps did offer helpful information and tools, they just didn’t offer the control and monitoring that I was seeking. I wanted to be able to actually set an entire monthly budget rather than have the app tell me what I was spending money on. This is when I discovered YNAB (You Need a Budget).
This app/website does absolutely everything I want in a finance tracking and budgeting tool. With this app, you plan for the future rather than look backward at what you spent money on. They describe it as giving every dollar a “job”. You connect all of you bank accounts, credit cards, and even loans and investments to see all of your assets in one place to help plan accordingly.
What makes YNAB so different is it is absolutely not simple. Compared to apps like Mint and Clarity, YNAB takes effort, thought, planning, and attention to detail to really reap the benefit. This is exactly what I wanted from a money management app because I like to have the control rather than giving the app control. This image shows a view of its desktop interface.
I love the amount of options that the app makes available to the user, and that it works well with monitoring credit card spending. I also appreciate the flexibility the app offers, such as if you overspend in one category, you can easily move money into it from another and feel less bad about going over your budget.
While I do see the appeal of simplicity and ease offered by other financial apps, I just don’t think they offer the same level of productivity and room for growth and change that YNAB offers. I have been using this for about a year now, and I can honestly say it has revolutionized the way I save and spend my money.
