YNAB Budgeting Mom Contest!

Click here to read about this great contest for moms who submit the best budgeting tips! Be sure to check out the great prizes, including a Grand Prize trip for 2 to the Four Seasons in Dallas, Texas! Hurry, the deadline is August 3rd!

If you've never heard of YNAB, I love the YNAB software! I've been a Quicken user for 6 years, and though I like Quicken for the way it keeps track of the details of my personal finances historically, for day-to-day budgeting, I still found myself using a basic Excel spreadsheet I put together myself and a sheet of paper with handwritten notes. Though Quicken is great at keeping track of where my money went by the end of the month, I needed to better organize where my money should be going at the beginning of the month to pay off debts and allocate more to savings!

YNAB has now replaced my Excel spreadsheet and sheet of paper as my "living budget" I update every week. It's based on the simple philosophy of "giving every dollar a job." At the beginning of the month you're required to allocate all your funds to different categories--mortage, groceries, utilities, etc.--so that each dollar has a job from the beginning. As you update mid-month, you can easily see how well you're keeping to your budget and where you need to cut back. For Couponers, this is a great way to keep track of how much you're actually saving in groceries month to month with coupons while also taking into account the cost of your newspapers!

Great reasons to check out YNAB:
-You can download a free trial here to check it out before you buy.
-For those who have never used Quicken, Microsoft Money, or other financial software, this software only costs $49.95, can be instantly downloaded, and has a very easy-to-use interface that keeps things simple.
-You can automatically download transactions from your bank accounts and credit cards just like you can in Quicken. No manually entering transactions!
-I love the YNAB Newsletter with weekly savings tips. Scroll down to the bottom left of the homepage to sign up for free.
-Last, this software was created by a great local husband and wife team out of American Fork, Utah, that share our same philosophy on discounts, savings, and living within your means. You're supporting a great couple!