They’ll show you how much you spent and in what categories, allowing you to track your spending over time.Īdditionally, YNAB and Personal Capital each offer net worth tracking. YNAB vs Personal Capital: Key Similaritiesīefore I dive into some of the standout features of YNAB and Personal Capital, let’s talk about how these apps are similar.īoth of these apps feature budgeting functionality as well as ways to track your cash flow. In addition to its investment portfolio tracking features, Personal Capital also has some standout features to help you reach your long-term financial goals like retirement, savings, and more. For example, if you’re curious about your investments, you can check out your investment portfolio at a glance, including tracking its performance and asset allocation. While YNAB is known for budgeting, Personal Capital is known for helping you manage your entire financial picture. Personal Capital is a holistic personal finance app to help you manage your spending, investing, and retirement plans. It does budgeting, but it does a whole lot more. And this isn’t hyperbole – I have saved thousands (if not tens of thousands) since starting to use YNAB. Of all the budgeting services I’ve reviewed, none is as robust or life-changing as YNAB.
These basic budgeting principles make YNAB a standout in the budgeting space. Over time, you’ll be spending “old” money that you earned months ago rather than living on next month’s paycheck. Its budgeting principles allow you to spend less than you earn, and in turn, you’ll end up getting out of the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle. And that’s how a budget should work! 4) Age Your Moneyįinally, if you’re caught in the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle, YNAB can help. If you haven’t budgeted for the getaway, is all lost? No! Instead, move some of your spare money from the grocery category to your vacation category.Īgain, you’re just reprioritizing your budget to align with your financial priorities. But then, all of a sudden, you decide you want to take a weekend getaway. Let’s say you planned to spend $500 on groceries this month. 3) Roll with the PunchesĬircumstances change, and your budget should too. When these expenses do come around, no stress, no fear, just follow the plan. By embracing your true expenses, you’ll set aside money every month for the “surprises” like car maintenance, holiday shopping, and more.īy breaking these lumpy expenses into manageable monthly chunks, it’s much easier to stay ahead of your spending. Sinking funds are used to set money aside for future expenses – even those you might think are surprises. 2) Embrace Your True Expensesĭoes it ever feel like you’re facing a surprise expense every month? I used to feel that way, too, until I started using YNAB and learned about something called sinking funds. Rather than stressing about your money, you’re simply executing your plan when you follow your budget. No matter how you’re allocating your money, the key is to prioritize where it goes, and YNAB helps you do that.Īnd this approach results in a psychological impact too. In YNAB, when you receive that $2,000, you might allocate $1,000 to housing/utilities, $500 to food, $250 to insurance, and $250 to your savings goals. Let’s say your income is $2,000 per month. Because you allocate every one of your dollars to a specific purchase, you’re in charge of what your money does – not the other way around. 1) Give Ever Dollar a Jobįirst, YNAB allows you to prioritize what you do with your money. The YNAB ecosystem is built around four unique rules to help you budget your money more effectively. Using a proactive approach to budgeting, you’re much more likely to meet your goals than if you just use budgeting to document what’s already happened. It does this by helping you allocate all of your income to spending and saving categories, which allows you to manage your financial priorities.
YNAB encourages a proactive approach to budgeting versus a reactive approach taken by other apps. What sets YNAB apart from other budgeting services is its use of zero-based budgeting principles. One of the most popular services is the budgeting behemoth YNAB. There are lots of budgeting services from which to choose. YNAB vs Personal Capital: Which is Best for You? YNAB Overview
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