Author Topic: The new YNAB - worth it?  (Read 4172 times)

drobots

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The new YNAB - worth it?
« on: July 13, 2016, 07:51:12 PM »
I've been a devoted YNAB user for 3 years now, but they've moved their latest upgrade to a $45/year subscription service vs. the one time $60 fee I paid a while ago. Obviously this recurring yearly cost is not ideal, but it's so integral to how I work now I don't want to give it up. They are supporting the existing version until Dec 31, 2016, so for now I've decided that future me will deal with that decision. But what do you all think? Is the switch worth it?

Good_Juju

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Re: The new YNAB - worth it?
« Reply #1 on: July 13, 2016, 08:04:50 PM »
I'm going to stick with the old one for as long as I can. I know people that have tried the new one and said it doesn't make a big difference. Peronally, I would rather be entering things by hand than have YNAB tied to my credit cards because I feel like it makes me more involved and more accountable to my budget.

ETBen

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Re: The new YNAB - worth it?
« Reply #2 on: July 13, 2016, 08:08:26 PM »
I'm going to stick with the old one for as long as I can. I know people that have tried the new one and said it doesn't make a big difference. Peronally, I would rather be entering things by hand than have YNAB tied to my credit cards because I feel like it makes me more involved and more accountable to my budget.

You can still manually enter in YNAB online. I don't have 2 of my accounts linked.

I haven't used the old version. But I can say it was a good 3 month learning curve for me with the new one, even from Mint. Mainly the credit card fn bc I use that for my expenses and pay it off monthly. Also, my card number was stolen and the change in card number royally screwed up the auto import and budget. I could never get it fixed and had to start over.

I love it but I'm wary of the auto import now bc of it.

Good_Juju

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Re: The new YNAB - worth it?
« Reply #3 on: July 13, 2016, 08:31:22 PM »
You can still manually enter in YNAB online. I don't have 2 of my accounts linked.


I though that was a big part of the appeal for the new one though?

centwise

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Re: The new YNAB - worth it?
« Reply #4 on: July 14, 2016, 10:20:32 AM »
I don't have YNAB but I'm just chiming in to say that I hate this trend. So many apps are moving away from a one-time purchase, and switching to annual licensing fees. BOO, YNAB!

drobots

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Re: The new YNAB - worth it?
« Reply #5 on: July 14, 2016, 11:18:13 AM »
I'm basically looking for a face punch for considering a $45/year anything or a justification that it's worth it. The new auto-sync doesn't sell me, because I don't really mind taking the few minutes it takes now to manually import my transactions and match them up. 

For example: today I saw a $59 annual credit card fee come through on YNAB. I immediately called and got this waived. If I was using a free alternative tracking software, such as personal capital or mint, it would not have been as obvious. I use personal capital to keep track of all my account balances in general, but the lack of ability to customize categories, or manage cash easily, or split transactions is a total deal breaker.

ender

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Re: The new YNAB - worth it?
« Reply #6 on: July 14, 2016, 11:21:13 AM »
I'm going to stick with the old one for as long as I can. I know people that have tried the new one and said it doesn't make a big difference. Peronally, I would rather be entering things by hand than have YNAB tied to my credit cards because I feel like it makes me more involved and more accountable to my budget.

I really, really like the old version. The desktop and mobile app combination works 100% perfectly for how my wife and I want to budget.


Iron Mike Sharpe

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Re: The new YNAB - worth it?
« Reply #7 on: July 14, 2016, 11:39:23 AM »
YNAB4 works perfectly for me.  I do not need new features.  Heck, I don't even use most of what it does have, like reports. 

ETBen

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Re: The new YNAB - worth it?
« Reply #8 on: July 14, 2016, 11:41:30 AM »
You can still manually enter in YNAB online. I don't have 2 of my accounts linked.


I though that was a big part of the appeal for the new one though?


Yes bc it provides wider appeal to a bigger market that isn't the original core YNAB pop. But both options are effective depending on the person.

I've found it worth the money. I used Mint before and a basic spreadsheet. I don't want to say it's more effective in a technical way but functionally I am saving more each month. I do wish it had better reporting features though. I like visuals.

crooner1

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Re: The new YNAB - worth it?
« Reply #9 on: July 14, 2016, 05:21:56 PM »
So far, I think it's a value add. It syncs with my bank, but not my credit card (I use this rarely anyway). My wife forgets to put transactions in YNAB manually, so this has helped me truly track where we are in each account.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!