Living Life without Credit Cards
Digging Out of Perpetual Overdraft
A $13,000 Turn-Around in 16 Months
Finding Savings Every Month
Transitioning to One Income…Reaching Goals
The Williams family resides in the sprawling Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex of northern TX. Nate is a financial adviser (for pay), a salsa connoisseur (for fun), and a sports enthusiast (forever); Emily stays busy mothering their three-year old son, incubating their next arrival, and doing a bit of writing (personal and freelance) in whatever time remains. When they took their first “real job” and the expenses of “real life” set in, they needed a real solution to help them make the most of their limited means and plan for a solid financial future. What follows is a brief account of how YNAB has proven to be an ideal solution to their financial issues.
We’ve been using YNAB for just over a year.
Our financial situation prior to YNAB wasn’t dismal, but it wasn’t particularly dynamic either. We were living beneath our means, and generally careful about our spending, but always felt a margin of discontent about our budgeting strategy (a not-comprehensive-enough Excel spreadsheet and a collection of crumpled receipts that always seemed to get lost before they were recorded into the budget.) Even though we were living beneath our means, we were always stressed about money, never really feeling confident and secure about our finances because we never knew exactly what our bottom line was. We also had a hard time bringing our short and long term financial goals into focus before YNAB.
The software was recommended to us by some friends whom we admired in every regard, but we heeded their YNAB recommendation specifically out of admiration for the principles upon which their “financial house” was built. We were even more ripe for the YNAB transition because the circumstances in which we found ourselves had created additional urgency to follow a more acute financial system.
When we implemented this program, my husband had just taken his first post-college job, we had a one-year old son, we were trying to swallow the necessity of a second car, and about to sign a bajillion papers on the purchase of our first home. Suddenly, the generous “extra income cushion” that we had enjoyed during the previous few years seemed to be shrinking as our needs were expanding. We needed a better budget.
We’ve got a better budget — a better financial system in every regard. Now that we’re using YNAB our finances feel significantly more focused and under control. I’d say the two biggest differences between pre- and post-YNAB life are that we are now literally planning for the purpose of every dollar; we are also living a month behind our income — both are empowering and satisfying.
We have really tightened the nuts and bolts on our financial ship and feel that, operating under the YNAB methodology, our fiscal efforts are more effective and efficient.
Yes, there is. My husband and I both believe that when it comes right down to it, one’s success at establishing financial control and freedom is only as good as one’s ability to change personal behavior. Purchasing the software won’t make you wealthy, but living the principles will. We love this program because it’s no nonsense, because it’s not asking us to lengthen our down-lines or sell supplements to all of our friends and relatives as part of a “get rich quick” ploy, it’s giving us a concise system for financial organization, and asking us to live by sound governing principles.
If you can align your personal behavior with the methodology that it sets forth, it is a fail-safe way to create financial stability, peace, and eventually build lasting wealth. We’re thrilled about the concisely-charted, upward-climbing course YNAB has put us on.
Our not-approved-by-an-attorney disclaimer: This case study was gathered by asking members of our community to answer the questions submitted to them. Obviously people active in the YNAB community are going to be having great results with the software, or they wouldn't be sticking around. So there's some selection bias in there. We only edited their responses for flow and did not change the meaning of what was written in any way.
Also, while we're on the subject. If you think that buying software is just going to somehow magically make your debt disappear, and your savings account flourish, you are in for a rude, and sudden awakening. You need to WORK at it and follow the Four Rule YNAB system.
Even then I can't guarantee that your financial situation will improve. What if you're in a disabling accident, have a medical emergency, or end up with a teenager? All of those things can be very expensive and would change your financial situation in an instant. Hence, no guarantee. Except for our moneyback guarantee. (It goes like this: if you don't like the program for any reason and want your money back, just ask for it).
