Hi All,

another entry in my app review series. This one however, is not really just an app. It's a lot more than that. It's a complete budgeting solution, that implements a specific methodology, and includes both a web interface as well as android/iOS apps.

I First started using YNAB back on version 4, which was their last major version for desktop. This version largely worked offline, though it did allow syncing across devices (including mobile) through dropbox.

In late 2015, YNAB released their web based version of their tool. The main selling point of this, apart from the fact that it was web based and therefore not restricted to requiring a desktop PC with software installed, was that it was capable of connecting to your banks to automatically retrieve your transactions. This works quite well, though there are mixed experiences with certain banks being supported, others not working correctly, etc. I personally prefer to enter my transactions manually as it gives me more control over ensuring things are being considered and categorised correctly.

So onto my actual review... To be completely honest, I myself have mixed reviews of this tool.

Initial adoption

When they released the web version, they did so almost as a minimum viable product. There were features missing, like transaction search, any sort of reporting (literally no reports whatsoever), multi month view of the budget screen, etc. At the time, I was happy to subscribe, on the belief that these things would all be implemented in the coming months.

However, it took a lot longer than expected. Most of them are in now (reporting came in about 6 months later, transaction search shortly after, multi month budget view we're still waiting on), and that left a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth, as I felt that 6 months without being able to view reports might have made me reconsider my purchase.

Part of the selling point of a web based tool was that they would be able to perform regular feature rollouts and improvements. It has since shown that most of the ongoing updates have been fairly minor bugfixes and enhancements, with major features occurring less frequently (and I use that term "major" rather loosely)

Overall, after 2 years, I would have expected that the product would have been further progressed than what it is.

Also some pretty minor features from the original YNAB, that are major in many users eyes, have been omitted from the rollout of the web version - this is almost a change in the actual methodology - most notably, the red arrow removal. This would allow overspent categories to flow in to the next month, and subtract from next month's budget for that category as opposed to requiring this months budget to be adjusted. Instead, it now automatically subtracts from the overall category budget for next month, which many people do not like - and have stuck to the older YNAB as a result.

Reports

The reports themselves are very simple, and haven't really added anything on top of what was in YNAB 4. I was hoping, and expecting, that there'd be some more advanced reporting options.

At one stage I found myself setting up an SSIS package that would take the CSV that is generated by exporting your data, loading into a database, then running some of my own, quite simple, yet more advanced reports. I should not have to do that.

Main Benefits

• Multi Device (Web, iOS, Android). My wife and I have a shared budget that we can both maintain together (though getting her to actually buy into it is a whole other challenge)
• Reporting (it's there, and it works, though could be better)
• Simple and logical budgeting (for the most part, see below)
• Simply transaction entry
• Ability to create multiple budgets - or to just make a fresh start without losing your historical recods - this has been very handy for me come tax time or when looking for that proof of purchase for warranty claims

Budgeting /UI

As far as the main use of the tool goes, As much as I'd like to find a better alternative, I still haven't. It's very simplistic UI makes it very easy to use, and I've tried a number of other budgeting/personal finance tools with the view to migrate my finances, and I've never found something that meets my needs. I think I have a fair bit of buy in to the budgeting methodology, which is something you need to successfully implement YNAB into your life - but it isn't without it's faults.

Worth mentioning the concept of on budget vs off budget/tracking accounts. I really like this way of thinking. Some accounts are part of your net worth, but you don't really need to be considered in your budget (ie. the interest charged on my mortgage), but you do want to track it. I think the way they do this is great.

Issues/Limitations

I HATE the way it handles credit cards. It makes this assumption that any payments towards your credit card need to be budgeted for, when it is a perfectly valid approach to pay towards your credit card and then use the newly freed balance on your card to pay off a bill for example. Granted, many would believe that the ideal scenario is to just pay your credit card and not use it unless in case of emergency, but many have different perspectives, and YNAB seems quite restrictive in this area.

I also do not like the fact that it lacks any forecasting ability. You can set up goals against categories for a point in time in the future, which is good, but you cannot do things like factor for future income, and budget many months in advance for money you do not have yet. I guess this comes back to their methodology of only budgeting money that you have - which is fine - but I also like to be able to have a longer term outlook on my finances and know how decisions I make today will affect my balance sheet in a few months time - YNAB doesn't really allow that.

It also only handles a single currency, which makes tracking your complete portfolio, that probably includes crypto, a challenge. I often reconcile accounts to update their true balance in AUD based on whatever the crypto prices are on the day.

Cost

This is now becoming an issue. it was reasonably priced upon launch, but they've recently increased the price for new subscribers. It was originally $5/month, it's now 6.99/month - which is billed annually at $83.99/year. Originally you could pay monthly. I am critical of this move for two reasons.

1. If you have financial trouble, then you need all the help you can get - and a lot of people that pick up this tool would be in this position. Expecting an outlay of $83.99 up front isn't a great move, and whilst the tool provides 34 days free to assess suitability, it might not necessarily be enough for somebody to determine whether they will get $84 worth of value.

2. Even the monthly cost of $6.99 a month is starting to push beyond reasonability. In Australia, that converts to around $9/month, I pay the same amount to get a full Microsoft Office 2016/365 Suite.

If they're going to increase the cost like this, they should introduce an entry level package that might not include certain things (ie. automatic bank import, that really doesn't work outside of the US/Canada)

There's also many people still on the old YNAB as they had purchased what was essentially a lifetime license, and don't feel the need to introduce another regular expense.

Screenshots

Budget Screen

Reports

Transaction Ledger/Entry

YNAB Toolkit

I really can't talk about YNAB without talking about the YNAB toolkit. This is basically a 3rd party browser extension, open source, that has been created voluntarily by a group of enthusiastic users/developers. And quite frankly, they add features that should have been included to begin with. Some of the features eventually end up being absorbed into the main product, which is a testament to the work that these guys do.

Toolkit For YNAB

Future

I read somewhere recently that they were looking at implementing an API which could result in some 3rd party tools being created that might make this a more powerful tool.

The Company - YouNeedABudget

I thought this was worth mentioning, because they are not just a software vendor. They really do a lot more to sell their methodology, and in my mind, some of it is misdirected.

At one point, when reports that were promised to be delivered were uncessarily delayed, they took to youtube to mock some of the twitter complaints.

I thought this was rather poor taste - and showed an aura of petulance. Though that may be because I was actually featured in the video (though I will not tell you which tweet it was).

They have a podcast, which I tried to get into - though many of their episodes are rather dry listening and don't to much to motivate me to be more involved with my budget.

They released a book - which I have no interest in reading.

They have online classes - which I have not undertaken - however I do think that this might be a valuable resource if you need help adopting and understanding the methodology.

They have a blog - which I do read from time to time - and often some of the articles are helpful.

Their release notes are updated regularly, and do provide some insight into progress.

Their support teams are quite responsive, which is good.

Their CEO often does AMA's on reddit, which is quite good to read his perspective and try to get hints on what might be coming up.

The reddit community for YNAB is actually very active, as people often buy into this application and methodology as a means to improve their lives.

Conclusion

I have my criticism of the tool, but I still use it - because I still haven't found anything better.

If you have any budgetary concerns, or cashflow issues, despite my criticisms, I highly recommend you start looking at this tool, or another tool that may meet your eneds. I like this one because it's methodology instils discipline, even if it's not perfect. Having said that, there are improvements I wish they would make, and I wish they would do more to listen to their audience, but it is what it is.

If anybody thinks they have a better tool - let me know in the comments below - though I'd almost bet I've tried it.

And if anybody uses this tool already and would like to discuss it I'd also love to read your views.

YNAB