I came clean a few weeks back on our total debt and our deadline to pay it off, but I didn’t really discuss how we plan to pay it off. Honestly, I really didn’t know how we would. I figured we would start a snowball type plan to get it done but I didn’t know where we could get any extra money to do this with. I spent the last 4 weeks focusing on our grocery budget because to me it was the easiest place to cut. I knew we were overspending in this area and I was right! The extra $200 a month is a great start but I want to be more aggressive in getting this done. You Dave Ramsey fans out there might call this getting “gazelle.” 
I’ve read Dave’s books and looked into his methods. I know they work for a lot of people and I know some of it can work for us. The one thing I was struggling with was how to live on a cash only basis. My credit union that I’ve had an account with for over 30 years has no branches here in the state so cash can’t be taken out to be re-deposited at specific times to pay bill categories. But I liked the thought of having “envelopes” and having set amounts for those categories. I needed a way to keep my accounts electronic while still tracking specific category spending.
Enter You Need A Budget – or YNAB.
This is an actual screenshot of my budget in YNAB. The “budgeted” amount is the total amount I’ve placed in that “envelope” for the month, the “outflows” are what I’ve actually spent from that “envelope” and the “balance” is the amount left to spend in my “envelope.” This is all separate from my checking account yet helps me track my allocations without the money ever leaving the account. I can also track the spending just like you would with a check register – remember those? The best part is you can load the program on as many devices as you like! I have the free app loaded on my Android phone that let’s me quickly see how much is currently in my envelope AND enter transactions as they happen to immediately update the totals across all devices. 
For example, I’m at grocery store A and I check to see I have $100 left for the week in that category. I shop and I spend $75. I enter that amount on my phone before leaving the store and immediately my husband who is at store B can see on his app that we now only have $25 left for groceries and adjusts his spending accordingly.
Since I started using the program about 4 weeks ago, I’ve been much more aware of what I’m spending and where. I get a paycheck and immediately prioritize where the money gets allocated. Then I don’t worry about if we have enough to get gas or go out to eat because I can always see exactly what I’ve already earmarked for that purpose. If “Murphy” happens, and he always does, you can adjust your categories as needed but still know you have enough to cover everything. I can’t say enough about YNAB it is the easiest and most liveable plan I’ve ever used. And in the short time I’ve used it we have “found” over $400 to use toward our snowball this month!
YNAB has a FREE trial – and I mean completely FREE for 34 days – so you can see if the program is right for you. They also have free online classes to help you customize the product for your needs. I just bought the program before our free trial ended because I love it so much! It has made budgeting…. FUN! Yes, I actually said that. So try YNAB by using their free trial, and if you like it, please come back here and click through my link to get yourself a $6 discount on the program. (out of full disclozure - I might also get a $6 bonus if you do!)
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