What Made YNAB Stick for Me

Try to think of an app you've used for over seven years. Not too many come to mind. Instagram, Gmail, the alarm clock. But when you find that app that jives with your brain, you just can't get enough of it. So what made time fly as Hannah's been soaking up YNAB for the past 7+ years? Tune in to hear the six reasons she just can't get enough of this habit-building app.
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Intro
0:33 Takeaway #1: Individualized to ME
2:28 Takeaway #2: Forget the boring stuff
3:12 Takeaway #3: No stress over savings
4:31 Takeaway #4: Total clarity on money longevity
5:55 Takeaway #5: Adjust for ANY reason: fun or not
7:11 Takeaway #6: Easy communication with partner
9:17 Outro
9:50 Bloopers
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[@rachaelkardell7941]

I just started with YNAB. I was desperate for help and almost paid hundreds of dollars for a personal finance consultant.. thank goodness I stumbled onto YNAB! My only regret is that I didn't find it sooner. Less than a month in and I'm already seeing a brighter future. I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

[@sahilagar]

this is just the beginning! Welcome! You'll love having the confidence of knowing what you can afford, not just how much money you have left in the bank.

[@Shello58]

YNAB has been life changing for me. Welcome Aboard!

[@DennisLHubbard]

100% agree, YNAB changed my life. I just finished my first year last month and my net worth went up by an amount I would have thought impossible at the beginning. Understanding my budget and making prioritized decisions about spending is the key ingredient for me! Edit: autocorrect 😅

[@jito7377]

I am happy for you. A financial advisors tells you what to do. They disciplin you (because you told them to). YNAB feels more like a tool. I manage to disciplin myself and use it. Therefor it gives me the ability to redecide and shift around. It is empowering me to make my decisions. Much success on your journey!

[@YNABofficial]

🥺🥰🤗 We're here for it!! Thank you for taking a chance on us and being our friend, too🥰 🌻 Hannah

[@Paolagonzales3114]

I don’t even see YNAB as an app. I honestly see it as a lifestyle! 🎉❤ It’s changed my life drastically!

[@YNABofficial]

Couldn't agree more 🥰 🌻 Hannah

[@rachelfairholm764]

The other day I got a bit of extra money, and as I tried to decide whether I should put it to debt or other goals, I realized that with it being mid-month my main needs weren't fully funded yet. I found my self saying out loud "This isn't extra money.. yet." and I put it towards bills later in the month. Maybe after my final pay check of the month I'll actually have some extra, but it was interesting to see my mindset shift away from using this 'extra' payment for anything else until I get my month funded with money in the bank. Hopefully I'll get a month ahead eventually, but for now it's helping me to see my current expenses differently.

[@DennisLHubbard]

That how it starts. Slowly but surely you’ll start using that “extra” at the end of the month to get a head start on the next month, and before you know it, you a month ahead! I’m already almost done funding my April bills by mid March and it feels so good!

[@YNABofficial]

Amazing Rachel!! Having that clarity really gives us so much more security. It feels amazing to know we're using our dollars in the best way possible. And I totally agree with Dennis-it won't be long before you won't be so worried about timing and you'll sending those extra dollars straight into the future!! Can't wait for you!! 🌻 Hannah

[@janeknight3597]

It’s the way it handles credit cards. Totally brilliant!!!

[@stop08it]

Yes finally figured it out and I agree it’s brilliant. Helped me stay immensely focused and gave me invaluable clarity on my debt pay down journey which I completed. Now I always have the money to fully pay off all my CC cards, pay off my statement fully each month and paying zero interest while getting cash back rewards. It’s awesome

[@grandspartan1176]

I’m with you girl! Been YNABing since 2010ish and people look at me funny when I say it, but YNAB quite literally changed my life! I would not be where I am financially if it were not for you, Jesse, and the whole YNAB team! Love you all!

[@sahilagar]

Any tips for us?

[@williamwarren9448]

Me too !!!!! 2009 ish ??? And boy the 80/90/20/10s might have been much much better 🎉glenda

[@gemnilocs]

@@sahilagarwatch the tutorials for sure…think of it as being a digital envelope…budget your actual money\ paycheck not what you think is coming….there are other KZbinrs that use YNAB so maybe check out the everyday person doing their budget…don’t give up!!

[@YNABofficial]

We LOVE that!! And YNAB's just the tool-you're the one doing the real work. We look forward to many more years celebrating stories just like yours!! 🌻 Hannah

[@grandspartan1176]

@@sahilagar it’s gonna sound silly. But one time on the podcast Jesse said he imagines each dollar as a soldier in his army and they have jobs to do. Just like in a real army! Now that’s all I think about when giving my dollars their jobs. And I tell you what, my army has GROWN. On a more serious note though my advice is to make sure your setting goals with due dates for as many categories as you can and putting your bills in as repeating transactions. That way you can use auto assign in a very effective manner. It will take into account what’s coming down the pipeline and put your dollars where they need to go. Oh also get to that 30 day age of money mark as quickly as possible! Once you’re budgeting a month in the future it really unlocks a new level of flexibility in your life. Lastly for any larger savings goals, like a house, I recommend creating a tracking account outside of your budget. That way when you transfer the money to that account it’s considered “spent” and locked away. We have been doing that for two years to simulate a house payment that doesn’t really exist. Now that we’re ready to buy we know what kind of payment we can afford because we have been doing so for 2+ years. This works really well with cars too! After our last car was paid off I kept making the “payment” to a tracking account. When the car finally died we were able to go buy an another one without feeling panic. We still had to finance it but we had a MASSIVE down payment which unlocked some ridiculously low interest rates.

[@corkspa]

YNAB has allowed me to spend on credit cards responsibly. We had done 2 previous consolidations but could never not carry a balance no matter how hard we tried. YNAB has finally allowed us to use them properly and we have not paid interest in years while building up points to help cover holidays. And now, with inflation making the previous income situation not so fine anymore, is allowing us to better plan for what we do have.

[@grandspartan1176]

YNAB changed the credit card game for us. We raked in almost $2k in rewards last year and not a penny paid in interest.

[@YNABofficial]

Right?! FREE MONEY. 🌻 Hannah

[@vladimir.zlokazov]

I've been using YNAB for almost 3 years. I must say I am not using it exactly as the YNAB team promotes i.e. I don't really allocate money into specific categories each month but rather add money to them from holding categories as the month progresses. But YNAB has allowed me to keep track of our family finances while living in 4 countries, spending in 4 currencies and running 2 businesses. For that I'm grateful.

[@dawnkoplitz1825]

Wow! That’s amazing!

[@joanhall3718]

I started YNAB December 2016. It changed my relationship with money and my life.

[@YNABofficial]

🥰🥰 You're tellin' me! There was a time when my checking account literally hit zero. It was terrifying. I was buying groceries on a credit card just waiting for the next paycheck. Now I feel SO secure in my money, I have no worries at all! Genuinely. 🌻 Hannah

[@conureron3792]

I have been using YNAB for 4 years. I love the graphs and reports. How it manages credit cards is brilliant. There was a bit of a learning curve early on, but there are so many resources provided by YNAB that helped guide me. Now, it’s so easy to use, and so logical. It really does help prioritize what is important for me.

[@YNABofficial]

YAY. We're working every day to make YNAB more and more intuitive! Hopefully we're getting a little bit closer with each update. 🌻 Hannah

[@kristin215]

“Lots of people have a category for things called books”….me…that’s me 🙋‍♀️😂

[@YNABofficial]

🤓 🌻 Hannah

[@callistogarnet]

Finding Hannah’s videos in 2020 when I was trying to figure out how to make YNAB work for me is what made it stick (shout out in particular to the Beginner Mistakes and Wish Farm videos). Beyond grateful for what the app has helped me do

[@YNABofficial]

🥰 Those were some of the very first Heard it from Hannah's of all time!! You're truly an OG! 🌻 Hannah

[@philhaildodger9398]

My favourite rule is age your money, and I had never heard of it before. I've never been a great saver. The most I've ever had in my account at once was 6 to 8k. YNAB lets me spend it all immediately, and I love that. So now I don't save, I spend it in the future, and that is so much easier than saving, for me. Thank you YNAB team!

[@jessamineprice5803]

Wow! I think you just described how my brain works!

[@YNABofficial]

Well if that isn't a brilliant way of thinking about it, I don't know what is. Maybe that's why I love assigning out my money so much? It's like I'm getting to "spend it" on those things right away when I assign them out to my categories. I get the most joy assigning my dollars to my fun categories and my savings goals categories, because those are the ones I most want to see come to life! That's for sharing!! 🌻 Hannah

[@duckfarmer8630]

YNAB has shown me how limited income I have. Reality. But I want sheep so I have a "deam sheep" category.

[@lisaroper421]

Love it!

[@YNABofficial]

YES! Love that!! Even if you can't fund it now, at least at it to YNAB to keep that dream on your radar! Can't wait to hear about the day you bring home your dream sheep! 🌻 Hannah

[@airraid23]

Best outtakes yet! Hannah++ 😂

[@YNABofficial]

🙃 Just doin' my part. By being a ding dong. 🌻 Hannah

[@mirla838]

next month will be my first year with ynab. I am still struggling to get my husband on board) but the clarity it gives me!!!! ☺😘🤩

[@YNABofficial]

It won't be long before he's on board too! Finances will only get easier from here! 🌻 Hannah

[@goohman]

I LOVE the bloopers

[@michaelmartin8235]

That is the best description of the YNAB app, ever!

[@amycade4606]

YNAB is a dividing line in my life…there is pre-YNAB and post-YNAB. It’s hard to explain how much better the life of our whole family is because of this silly little budgeting app. Forever grateful!

[@gardengraffiti]

I'm so blown away that a budgeting app has such incredible and funny and engaging and perfectly executed social media and article content. This company is really freaking rad and earned my business just with their coolness.

[@Aheartofpurple]

I really enjoy Hannah!!! She definitely has a personality like myself ! So relatable I stumbled upon this today and im going through the videos. Thank you!!!

[@frankiefachilla2808]

Your videos are always so awesome, Hannah! What video editing program do you use?

[@neverclevernorwitty7821]

Since 2015 for our family. YNAB Classic for life! The income this month is for spending next month has insured we never spend money we don't have. Never a bounced check.

[@YNABofficial]

Love that! A true champ! 🌻 Hannah

[@lalalocca]

ive been using YNAB for years now and love it , love the upgrades .. etc and mobile app upgrades

[@trashAndNoStar]

on my 3rd day using YNAB, loving it so far. Looking forward to staying with it years down the road.

[@elizabetho8973]

I'll admit I originally stopped using YNAB after a month in I think 2020? But that was only because I thought it was too expensive due to being on SSI and SSI loved the asset limits but now that I'm no longer on SSI I decided to give it another try a few weeks ago! Maybe now I no longer need to worry about the subscription price because I still really liked the app! So far this helped me a lot more than another PC-only app I tried out! I love your videos by the way, they really helped me understand the app.

[@BudgetingOver40]

I love YNAB! It has given me the insight into my budget and a decent spending plan. It makes moving money around in my budget a breeze.

[@brittanybouchez3490]

I know it's terrible to say, but thank you for explaining on how you would adjust the budget if you were to lose your job. It makes a lot of sense to reallocate to dollars from non essentials to essentials for the future. Truly love the flexibility of YNAB

[@YNABofficial]

Oh, absolutely! We never know what curveballs life has for us, so adaptability is key! Until then, I'll keep funding my fund categories welllll into the future 😊 🌻 Hannah

[@The0Patt]

Not to mention, It is your JOB!

[@jroysdon]

LOL, at a books category! That's what the public library and Project Gutenberg (70,000 free books) are for. I buy maybe 3 books per year, and it just comes out of my "fun money". Just saw the part about each person having a "fun money" category: yup, we've been doing that for years. Whatever she wants to spend her "fun money" on is fine - it's her money, whatever... even if it's a "waste" to me to spend on Sixbucks Coffee... but that works for her and her time out with friends.

[@duckfarmer8630]

Ynab has educational and entertaining KZbin videos. Thanks Hannah! & Ben! Plus you understand the dreamer

[@YNABofficial]

🥰 Always always always. What's life without big dreams to chase?! 🌻 Hannah

[@daileyleon]

Hannah, first love your English accent in the outtakes. Second YNAB has helped our communication about money so much better. 24 years of marriage and at the best place communication wise and financial wise.

[@YNABofficial]

AMAZING!! We love to hear how a positive relationship to our money can help our relationships so much. Truly priceless. 🌻 Hannah

[@Giovani90]

Hannah I am a new YNABer but your videos saved me from throwing the towel thank you so much. 🙏 I am watching them all! I am a freelancer and my income inflow is very fluctuating. Do you know if there is a way to set goals by % instead of fixed amount. Specially for long term savings like retirement I would like to set up a goal of 20% of my monthly income. Problem is I don't really know how much that will be. So I wanted to ask you if there is a chance to ser goals by %?? Any tips for freelancers? 😂

[@judymccarver5833]

I like this!! Just so so so so important to note about “savings” especially when talking to the masses that savings for stuff in your budget is completely totally different than what you are “saving” for retirement. Yeah savings in ynab as Hannah pointed out is better ear marked as specific categories versus nebulous “savings” (ie new car. Car repairs. College etc) BUT BUT the word “savings”.-The second kind is retirement savings. That is something we all need to understand the difference. This has to be considered and if your debt is paid off, needs to be the FIRST “savings” that comes out of your income. Not the “savings” you are keeping up with on your spending categories or sinking funds.

[@callistogarnet]

That is also a savings purpose though, so is in no way at odds with what she’s talking about

[@YNABofficial]

I hear ya! It's all part of rule one! In the exact same way that I set aside "savings" for car repairs and home repairs in their own categories, I also send a portion of each of my paychecks to my 401k account. This is also giving my dollars a job, it's just giving them the job that's THE MOST in the future. Conveniently for me though, through our payroll system this money is already taken out and sent to my 401k account _before_ I even receive my paycheck, and whatever's left after that is my take home pay. BUT, you're totally right, it would've been helpful if I spoke to that a little more directly in this video! Good note for next time. 🌻 Hannah

[@clucibello9421]

5 1/2 years here! Completely agree...AND helps me role model positive money management for our kids. Hey--YNAB aughta celebrate those of us with YNABBIVERSARIES! :)

[@YNABofficial]

AMAZING! Congrats on five and a half amazing years, and making positive money conversations at home happen so early for them. That will be such a bigger blessing than you'll probably know for many more years. You should shoot me your name and email address to [e-mail]! 🌻 Hannah

[@DennisLHubbard]

‘Backed a boardgame on Kickstarter’ ooooh how I love YNAB for being a company with so much appreciation for modern board games! I actual have a board game category in my YNAB budget and it’s my FAVORITE category! tldr: I love YNAB, I love board games 😂

[@YNABofficial]

This isn't even my video, but I just backed Earthborne Rangers on Gamefound and I'm STOKED for it to arrive in December. In the meantime, I'm just waiting for my copy of Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs to arrive... 🙃 - Ben M 🤓

[@DennisLHubbard]

@@YNABofficial ngl, sometimes I watch your videos (assuming this is Ben?) just to see what boardgame references you drop in 😂

[@YNABofficial]

I knew there had to be somebody out there... 😅 What's been your best find recently? I've been absolutely blown away by Fantasy Realms. That game is 10x more fun than it has any right to be. - Ben M 🤓

[@DennisLHubbard]

@@YNABofficial Dune Imperium Uprising has been my latest obsession! Also just filmed KZbin content with Quackalope about FLOE, which is on Kickstarter. I decided not to back it though, despite it being a pretty fun game. Earthborne Rangers has been getting sooo much hype, I’m probably going to regret not backing it 😅

[@notchincorporated4824]

I hear you Hannah

[@MetalSamantha]

Yeah I was worried that budgeting would mean just not having a personality. Like, period. I think YNAB has broken through that barrier for me, which tbh nothing else I tried ever did.

[@YNABofficial]

I LOVE THAT. YNAB doesn't take from my personality, YNAB *GIVES* me personality! It truly let's me use my money the way I want to. Bought some ridiculously priced organic socks the other day because I'm really into converting my wardrobe to cleaner fabrics and I had more than enough fun money to cover them. Didn't have to think about it twice! They went on sale and I placed an order the moment I got the email! Didn't even have to run it by my husband to decide if that's how we wanted to spend our money, because it was *my* fun money-I get to spend it on whatever I want. I LOVE IT. 🌻 Hannah 🌻 Hannah

[@MetalSamantha]

@YNABofficial Thanks Hannah! Im not sure why I’ve only just seen this but that’s really helpful. I noticed that my old jacket was ripped so I’ve just ordered a new one! Which, tbh, is nice

[@stevenreid_youtube]

YNAB is such a game-changer when it comes to managing finances! From individualized spending plans to stress-free savings, it's like having a financial coach right in your pocket. Plus, the easy communication with your partner about money? Priceless.

[@YNABofficial]

Maybe we should rebrand to Tiny Pocket Coach™. I *love* that!! Thanks for the kind words, Steven!! 🌻 Hannah

[@mickietang9514]

I find it hard to track expenses when sending money back and forth between my partner and me, ie categories of expenses get lost in the settling up process. Do you have advice for this?

[@jito7377]

4:54 "that trip to Georgia" What are the possiblities for handeling such a temporary categories? I heard for hiding them or merging them into a broader category (expample travel).

[@YNABofficial]

Great question! If you want to save specifically for a trip to Georgia, you can make a "Trip to Georgia" category with the target set for the amount you want, or get even MORE granular and make a "Trip to Georgia" category group with categories like hotel, car rental, flights, meals, etc. Assign the money you want to these categories, and when you finally spend your money on those things, record them to these categories! When the trip to Georgia is over and in the past, you can then delete those categories and recategorize them to your more generic "Travel" category when YNAB prompts you to relocate the transactions. This is the method I like to use! OR, if you don't want to deal with the mess of extra categories, just keep dumping money into your travel category, and whenever you record a transaction to it, hashtag the trip in the memo (i.e. #georgia2024). That makes it super easy to pull up all your Georgia trip transactions at a later date if, say, you want to go on another family trip to Georgia in a few years and want to see how much it cost you to do so the last time you went. Hope this helps! Just remember that any temporary-type categories you want to create and later delete, you'll have to relocate those transactions to another category upon deletion (because we never want to delete transactions altogether, and they have to live _somewhere_). 🌻 Hannah

[@jito7377]

@@YNABofficial Using # in memos is new to me. It sounds awesome to group by. I think, I'll try both ways and see what works best for me. Thank you. Especially the example was a helpful illustration.

[@maxdoes_]

Hannah... You need a remote for your teleprompter lmao

[@sahilagar]

I WANT THAT LAPTOP STICKER!

[@YNABofficial]

😎 🌻 Hannah

[@MarchingBandsFromHome]

Hannah, do you have all your money in checking ready to spend? Thats how I use it. I know some people don’t like that. Btw, I have been using YNAB since the “save a month of salary” was rule one! 2009-10? 😅 I still love that concept but It was so hard back then! 👍🏽

[@YNABofficial]

WOW! An OG! That's amazing! The rules have changed a few times since then, huh? 😂 My husband and I both still each have a checking and a savings account, but we don't really need to, we're just lazy and let the money sit wherever it wants. 🙃 We just both make sure we have enough in our checking accounts to cover any spending we might do that month. No fancy system! 🌻 Hannah

[@vazjc]

I think I've been using YNAB over 3 years now.

[@thomh7434]

Omg already 10 years I use it loool never thought about it 😮

[@mitchberg8229]

I started using YNAB around 2012. It probably saved me from having to do something drastic, like bankruptcy.

[@YNABofficial]

AMAZING!! Not just a tool, a life changer. 😌 🌻 Hannah

[@nicolem6320]

I really hope Books for Baby is a category that gets funded and spent from.

[@riannedeinum3458]

Adjust the plan: and in one swipe I had enough money to give me a year off of work to rest and start my own business, without worry-ing about money.

[@YNABofficial]

WOW. Holy crud, Rianne. That's amazing!! YNABer of the century!! 🌻 Hannah

[@Allaiya.]

You're missing out on the Books category! XD

[@YNABofficial]

... am I?? 😐 🌻 Hannah

[@derekwolfgang158]

I still love ynab4

[@MagicJF]

Probably a good idea to gave books a second oportunity🤓

[@YNABofficial]

Mmmm... maybe. Probably should. I asked for a book red-light night light for my birthday to replace late night phone scrolling and did not receive it, so into the wish farm it's gotta go! 🌻 Hannah

[@Kris4449]

15 years

[@YNABofficial]

WOW! Smashed it!! 🌻 Hannah

[@TornadoBarrage]

I used to share my annuity checks with my mother, she always blamed me for the money disappearing until I got YNAB, she complained, I pulled out YNAB and boom worry free

[@YNABofficial]

LOVE that. Detailed documentation of EVERYTHING. It's been really helpful for me as well when I'm like "why is all my fun money gone?!" 🤣 Oh, I widdled it away one tiny thing at a time. 🌻 Hannah