Developer(s) Jesse Mecham Operating system License Trialware | Development status Active Type Personal finance | |
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Initial release 2004; 13 years ago (2004) | ||
You Need a Budget (YNAB) (pronounced Y-nab) is a multi-platform personal budgeting program based on the envelope method. In 2013 it was the most popular personal finance software among Lifehacker readers. Although the software is the most prominent part, YNAB is best understood as a software-supported budgeting system based on its "four rules":
- "Give Every Dollar a Job": All revenue received is explicitly assigned to a budget (expense) category.
- "Embrace Your True Expenses": Budget money not only for regular monthly expenses, but for irregular expenses and savings items anticipated in the future.
- "Roll with the Punches": Be flexible but consistent in making up for underbudgeted categories by reassigning funds from overbudgeted categories.
- "Age Your Money": Break the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle by arriving at a financial state where you have a buffer of one month's cash in hand which becomes the basis of all monthly budgeting.
Versions
The latest version, dubbed "The New YNAB," was launched December 30, 2015 as a web-based application, with companion apps for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.
The previous version, YNAB 4, is available for OS X and Windows and was released in June 2012. YNAB 4 will be maintained through 2016, and the company promises to continue to support YNAB 4 users indefinitely.
YNAB 3 (released December 2009) ran on multiple platforms using the Adobe AIR runtime, and previous versions included a Microsoft Excel/OpenOffice.org Calc spreadsheet implementation (dubbed YNAB Basic and discontinued in July 2009) and a Windows-only executable under the name YNAB Pro (discontinued in December 2009).
YNAB for iPhone was released in 2010 and runs on the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. It is not a standalone budgeting application but is instead designed to complement the YNAB for Desktop application. A version tailored for iPad and including budgeting support was released in 2014. YNAB for Android was released in September 2011.