Three days ago, the YNAB app for the iPhone went available. To be completely honest, I only noticed it tonight, but when I did, there was zero hesitation to buy it. Even if I don’t really have $9.99 available to spend on an iPhone app, much less anything else. Some might think “ZOMG impulse spending, you’re going to financial hell now!” However, it’s quite simple – sometimes you gotta spend money to make (or rather, save) money.
The reason I noticed the app tonight was because I did my usual once-in-a-while balancing of my accounts in YNAB tonight, as well as trying to beat the hell out of next month’s budget to make it work like my previous post, until of course I realized that I didn’t make any more money this month than last. Right now I’m pretty happy to have my debt repayment budget almost the same as last month’s (a dollar short!).
Anyway, what’s all this have to do with the YNAB iPhone app? Well, every time I balance things out, there’s a huge balance adjustment in the cash category. I don’t keep my receipts anymore, they just fill up my wallet. Hell, I used to write on my hand every time I fed money in to the vending machine at work, but that didn’t last very long either (partly because I don’t feed it money any more). With the app, however, I can quickly and easily throw cash expenses in to my budget when they’re made, rather than saving receipts, getting annoyed at them, throwing them away, and forgetting about it. I’ll need to get myself in to the habit of entering transactions at the cash register, but if all works out well, I think the app will be an even bigger improvement on my budgeting situation than YNAB itself when I bought that.
Should be a ten bucks well spent, I think…
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This is the first post (of a lot of “I love my iPhone” posts) that has generated iPhone envy. I want that app – and entirely for the reason you state. Even with envelopes and receipts, cash is the biggest issue in my budget. i doubt it would work with an iTouch? drat.
I actually hate my iPhone, but it’s not the device itself, it’s AT&T and their crappy service and the lack of 3G here (which from what I hear is never coming). Anywho, one thing I forgot to mention, which not everybody knows, is that the reason cash is such a pain for me is because I just have one big discretionary spending budget. I don’t break it down in to entertainment, food, what have you. Keeps things simple.
I don’t see why it wouldn’t work on an iPod Touch, like any other iPhone app does. The syncing is done strictly over your home wifi network. They’re still pretty expensive though, unless of course you already have one…
That is pretty expensive considering the price of the iPhone apps. I’m a former iPhone user, and have switched to a BB. I only miss the iPhone because of the Maps app. With the BB you have to pay a monthly fee or manually feed directions into mapquest. But nothing beats getting directions from wherever you currently are!
Also, to add to your response, yeah, the Apple apps work for any Apple product. Even the iPad!
Let us know how the budgeting goes.
Some of the newer 3G apps don’t work on the touch, which we do already have! I’m almost out of room on the iTouch – about 16 gigs of music alone! i might have to give up guitar tuner or cribbage for the extra space to run YNAB!
I have my cell provided by work, so no-way-in-heck I’d sign-on for a $130 monthly bill just for the coolness of it. Plus, as you say, AT&T has network problems!
Well, if it doesn’t work, I’m sure Jesse would be happy to either fix it or give you a refund. He’s a cool dude like that.