Amy, Spanish Fork, UT
We are your typical family living in a middle class neighborhood right next to the Joneses in Spanish Fork, Utah. We are the proud/busy/overwhelmed parents of four children: three girls (thus the overwhelmed part) and one boy. I have several "part-time" jobs which--when added up--become one really busy full time job. I am a Special Ed teacher, I manage two twin homes, clean a dental office, and do all the bookwork for our tree care company. My husband is a "tree-guy" or the official title/less interesting title is "arborist." He works for Brigham Young University and takes care of all the trees. That is how we make our money. When we are not doing that, we love to run, bike, play with our kids, hang with friends, and go to movies.
When we first married, we decided to follow advice given by our religious leader and establish a budget. We wrote down our income in one column and our expenses in another. Surprise! The income didn't cover the expenses! So, I put the budget away, and tried my best to live frugally. Over the years, as our financial situation improved, I tried other budgets (Quicken, Dave Ramsey), but didn't stick with them more than a week or two.
My pivot point was realizing how much money we have made over the years, and how little I have to show for it. We have not been as careful with our money as we should have, and I’ve had an overwhelming feeling that we needed to be more accountable. A friend suggested YNAB, and I have loved it ever since! I am proud to say that for the first time in 17 years, I am on a budget and sticking to it!
YNAB was a new experience. When starting, I was trying to budget for the whole month and was frustrated that I didn't have enough money to cover everything! I was mad that it kept telling me I was over budgeting. I think I may have yelled and cursed at the program a few times until I figured out this concept....you can't budget what you don't have! Since then, I now realize I need to get paid first, then budget. Ahhh, so simple. When every dollar has a purpose, I can freely spend and not feel guilty, knowing I've accounted for it.
I am only about 4 months into using it but that is a VICTORY! I feel empowered, responsible, and accountable. Even though I am not making any more money, I feel like somehow I have gotten a raise. No more willy-nilly spending for wasteful things that don't mean anything! Before YNAB I was the office manager for our company and managed nearly 500,000 dollars in accounts receivable, accounts payable and payroll each year. I think I was overwhelmed with that, and couldn't even stomach the thought of reconciling yet another account. But that is what I love about YNAB...I can import my transactions, name them, and budget them. No time-consuming, hours-long reconciling, looking for that missing 17 cents. Easy peesy, lemon squeezy!
I now have about 4,000 dollars to apply to NEXT month, my overdraft is paid off, and I have 1,100 dollars in a travel account. How's that for success!
I can freely spend and not feel guilty, knowing I've accounted for it