How do you track expenses?

[Anonymous]

Is YNAB better than Mint? How do they compare?

[Anonymous]

I have tried them all. I have found mint works best with caveats. I love that I don't have to upload any transactions it is all automatic but their budgeting is horrendous. I download all the transactions each month to create my own working budget vs actual. Their budget software may work for some but for a CPA it drives me crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:YNAB.

youneedabudget.com

It's installed on both of our computers and phones. They all cloud sync. It's a bit fussy to setup but once you're in the groove it is just stellar.

This, exactly. Took us a month to create our spending categories, count and data enter the money in our different bank and credit accounts, learn how the program works (we read the online discussion forums). Agree that the software is awesome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is YNAB better than Mint? How do they compare?

Mint gets access to all your accounts (including investments, home mortgage, whatever) and runs reports using the info it gleans. It makes assumptions on your spending based on your credit card statements, etc.

YNAB is more for budgeting and expense tracking than for big picture stuff. I don't track my investments using YNAB, but I do use YNAB to budget the spending from our paycheck. In YNAB, you data enter yourself (that's why the PP said they have it on their iPhone - it's so you can check what's left in your budget, or data enter a purchase while you're at the store), so you have control over how you categorize and use the information. You can also change your budget allocation at any time in the month. With Mint, I don't know how a Costco run would be treated. With YNAB, if I go to Costco, I buy groceries and household items. I record each in their respective categories. Later, I can see exactly how much I spent on groceries, and how much I spent on household items. You would use YNAB to track any spending, reimbursable work expenses, and saving for large purchases.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for everyone's input. YNAB seems like what we need to track expenses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:YNAB.

youneedabudget.com

It's installed on both of our computers and phones. They all cloud sync. It's a bit fussy to setup but once you're in the groove it is just stellar.

+1

[Anonymous]

Using ynab and tried using mint since it was free - there are a few glitches that were annoying about mint, namely that while transasctions were pending, our bank often only showed the address of the location and then once they processed it showed the name of the store. This confused mint and so we had several duplicate transactions.

[Anonymous]

YNAB is on sale til the 29th through Steam. It's only $15, which is a good deal.

[Anonymous]

I am an avid mint user and haven't had any problems with the glitches - it's easy to correct on the computer site (less so on the mobile app)

I love that I don't have to do anything! The only time I have to take care of changes are if something is categorized wrong, I need to split a bill between multiple budget categories or if I use cash.

[Anonymous]

Agree on mint-- it has really helped us see patterns with our spending, helped us see a bigger picture of net worth not just day to day bills. There are little glitches sometimes but we've been using it since 2009 and I can see how our family net worth has grown even as we have been through some hard times here and there.