Magic Beans and Money

Three years ago, almost to the day, my husband was unexpectedly laid off from his job. It took him two years, almost to the day, to gain permanent full-time employment. In between, we took each day as it came with the money that we had available, but there were waves of fear and frustration that kept us both awake at night.

Needless to say, the past year that he has been back to work has been a relief and we are filled with tremendous gratitude. Mostly because we’ve changed. Originally out of necessity, but it stuck. We now think before we spend. And we now work together every month to craft a budget.

Yeah. I said it. That dirty word. Budget.

And so begins the post wherein I gush about a program called YNAB Pro. Not because I get a kickback from doing so ... but because I love it. It isn’t so much a program as a system. Maybe even a way of life. It is simple. It is affordable. And it has the potential to change your life for the better. Promise.

My husband and I have been using YNAB Pro since April and budgeting our income for the first time in almost 17 years of marriage. We are no longer living paycheck to paycheck. We are planning ahead for Murphy visits, so that we don’t get caught by surprise. For example, last week, we were able to pay cash for a $3600 repair to our sewer line which, otherwise, would have been applied to our home equity line of credit before we knew better. We are paying down our debt and we are setting goals. I swear to you that the sky is bluer, food tastes better, and we sleep like babies. It’s really that good.

I hesitated about posting this, since it is a bit off-topic for this blog. But I have talked with more and more people lately who are trying struggling to get a handle on their spending in these uncertain times. They just don’t know where to start. If this is you, please, give YNAB a try. At least check it out. It may very well be the best $49.95 investment that you’ve ever made ... and you are so worth it!