YNAB You Need A Budget

[n8dogg]

I guess it's just me, but I'm a little disappointed in pricing.

I'm a mac user anxiously awaiting a compatible version. I purchased on July 14 this year ($44.95), being told a "fair" upgrade was in the works. Next I purchased vmware fusion so I could run it ($39.99 - fortunately qualified for student discount here). Now upgrade (beta tester) price: $39.95. Grand Total: $124.89 all spent in one year for one piece of software. Even not counting the vmware fusion, we're still talking $85 for ynab.

Sorry to gripe about what has been a difficult decision for Jesse, but I can't help but complain a little. Not a very "sweet spot" for me. Will I still buy it? Yes; just a little disappointed.

[supenguin]

n8dogg:
I guess you've never been a Quicken user then. If I remember right, the only option for Quicken users on the Mac when a new version came out was buy the full new version. And last time I used it - 2005 if I remember right - it was around $60 for the full version. So any version of Quicken + an upgrade would have been $120. And that's without getting VMWare!

I have seen a couple software packages that offer upgrades for life, but those are few & far between. One of the ones that does has a disclaimer that if they ever have to do a complete re-write, they will just make it a new product & set the price accordingly.

On a side note, if you ever find yourself in a situation where you are thinking about paying for an upgrade to VMWare, check out VirtualBox. It does pretty much the same thing, and is free. It leaves out some of the 3d graphics features and a couple other little things I never use. But for running Windows or Linux on your Mac, it does a fine job.

[BudgetBuster]

You did an excellent job on the pricing Jesse.
Thanks for all the hard work, & for keeping us informed.

I'll be watching my email for the beta testing...

[crystal]

YAY! I'm so excited

-Crystal

[FrugalTexan]

Yay! I betta keep an eye out on my email!

[gregdo]

I bought on August 31st. So I miss out on the free upgrade?

[Vince00]

Running YNAB between 2 WinXP machines, 1 Vista and just bought my first MAC... I'm "Really" looking forward to a the cross platform software on multiple OS's. Windows 7 is just around the corner as well so I will be able to give a solid beta test with the rest of the gang...

Email ASAP once you are ready!
Vince

[n8dogg]

@supenguin:

You got a point there. I hadn't used Quicken in years, but I know their updates aren't cheap.

Also I just noticed I misread the early beta price: $35 (not $40).

I guess part of it was wishful thinking on my part, but when I discovered YNAB earlier this year and saw mention of mac compatible update I got excited. I download the free trial and was impressed. As the expiration of the trial approached I read many comments about how upgrade pricing would be "fair," which of course is a nebulous term. I went ahead an purchased, not expecting the upgrade price to be merely $10 less than the price I paid for YNAB pro.

"Yes a new version of this software is coming out sometime this year. If you go ahead and buy the current version now for $45, when the new version comes out you will get a fair upgrade discount."
[Three months later new version is about to comes out.]
"OK, that will be $35."
"What??? I just paid $45."
"That's right, but if you would have waited and not bought 3 months ago, YNAB 3 would have cost you $50, not $35."
"Ahem... Actually, YNAB 3 cost me $80."

Yes Quicken upgrades are expensive. And yes I should have been more savvy and not assumed the meaning of ambiguous terms. But please forgive me if I am a little less than excited about the price. I think I also have a point here. But I will move on... Lesson learned.

[sinclac]

I bought on August 31st. So I miss out on the free upgrade?

Yep by one day.

[jesse]

Sounds good Jesse.

So, did I understand this properly that you guys will actually be sending users an "invite" for these discounts?

That's right Joel.

[kmhamilton0718]

Fantastic software at a fair price. Thanks Jesse. I would pay the full price if I had to. Software development costs time and money especially if your a small company. You don't get something for nothing. And you will never make everyone happy.

[jimeez]

Smart logical fair pricing, Jesse. Thanks for the update. Can't wait to get my hands on 'er.

[bothyhead]

For all existing Pro and Basic customers, you'll be able to purchase beta access for $34.95

I'm a basic customer since March 2006, and you sent me an upgrade email the other day. When I followed
the links to purchase, I was presented with the option to buy at $45 (or thereabouts). I couldn't find an
option to purchase for $34.95. I was tidying up my email in-box a few mins ago, and accidentally deleted
the email. What steps can I take now?

Many Thanks
D

[WairereRose]

@supenguin:

You got a point there. I hadn't used Quicken in years, but I know their updates aren't cheap.

Also I just noticed I misread the early beta price: $35 (not $40).

I guess part of it was wishful thinking on my part, but when I discovered YNAB earlier this year and saw mention of mac compatible update I got excited. I download the free trial and was impressed. As the expiration of the trial approached I read many comments about how upgrade pricing would be "fair," which of course is a nebulous term. I went ahead an purchased, not expecting the upgrade price to be merely $10 less than the price I paid for YNAB pro.

"Yes a new version of this software is coming out sometime this year. If you go ahead and buy the current version now for $45, when the new version comes out you will get a fair upgrade discount."
[Three months later new version is about to comes out.]
"OK, that will be $35."
"What??? I just paid $45."
"That's right, but if you would have waited and not bought 3 months ago, YNAB 3 would have cost you $50, not $35."
"Ahem... Actually, YNAB 3 cost me $80."

Yes Quicken upgrades are expensive. And yes I should have been more savvy and not assumed the meaning of ambiguous terms. But please forgive me if I am a little less than excited about the price. I think I also have a point here. But I will move on... Lesson learned.

My copy of YNAB paid for itself 3x over in the first month I had it. I'm trying to get over finding it so hard to part with money for valuable things - my signature says it all. Pat Mesiti tells a story of being told about a great new product or book and asking the guy when he could get it. The guy said to him he hadn't even told him the price yet. Pat wasn't interested in that - he saw the value in this and recognised it would be worth whatever the cost was.

I know that my Pro version would continue to serve me if I were to choose not to upgrade, but I see the value in the enhancements that are available in YNAB3. For me, they are worth the price - and I wouldn't be at all surprised if they paid for themselves in the first month again.

[jesse]

For all existing Pro and Basic customers, you'll be able to purchase beta access for $34.95

I'm a basic customer since March 2006, and you sent me an upgrade email the other day. When I followed
the links to purchase, I was presented with the option to buy at $45 (or thereabouts). I couldn't find an
option to purchase for $34.95. I was tidying up my email in-box a few mins ago, and accidentally deleted
the email. What steps can I take now?

Many Thanks
D

If you just upgraded to YNAB Pro (after September 1st) then you'll be able to get the YNAB 3 Beta free. If you upgraded prior to September 1st, getting the YNAB 3 Beta will be priced at $34.95.