What if budgeting wasn't about restriction but rather, a powerful tool for financial freedom? In this episode, I'm introducing you to YNAB (You Need A Budget), my favorite budgeting tool that has helped me and countless clients transform how we look at our money. We'll explore the four rules that make YNAB different and how you can use them to stop living paycheck-to-paycheck and start building the life you love.

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YNAB Disclosure: I am a YNAB Certified Budgeting Coach, which means that I have been trained to coach people on using YNAB software and the YNAB budgeting method. I have met select requirements of You Need a Budget LLC in order to receive this certification, which means that I have the ability to competently coach YNAB to others. I am not an employee of YNAB, and all non-YNAB related opinions and recommendations are my own. My views do not reflect the views of YNAB and its employees or affiliates.

Today I wanna talk about a word that might just make you cringe,

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but that, I love that word, budgeting.

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Speaker: Welcome to the

Money Clarity Podcast.

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I'm your host, Lindsey Ciarrocca.

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I'm a YNAB certified coach

and a certified money coach.

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And I am here to help you stop

feeling stressed about money.

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Together we'll get your finances organized

so that you can finally feel confident

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about not only spending and saving,

but using your money as a tool to go

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after your biggest, wildest dreams.

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Let's dive into today's episode.

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Lindsey: Okay, so what words just

came to mind when I said budget?

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Maybe restriction, sacrifice, never

being able to buy what you want.

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What if I told you that budgeting

isn't about giving things up?

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It's actually an empowering tool that can

help you take control of your money and

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build the life you've always dreamed of.

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Okay.

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I know it sounds crazy,

but I truly love budgeting.

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For me, it's not about

just crunching numbers.

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Honestly, I hated math in middle school.

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I cried over math

homework in middle school.

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For me, it's about knowing where my

money is going and making sure that

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it aligns with what's most important

to me, and then using it as a tool.

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To be able to work towards my bigger

goals, and today I'm going to introduce

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you to the ultimate tool that has helped

me and dozens of my clients do just that.

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YNAB is YNAB YNAB is a budgeting app,

but it's not your average budgeting app.

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And I've used a lot of budgeting apps.

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I actually started budgeting way back in

the day with a simple spreadsheet that I

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made myself because everything else that

I found didn't work for my situation.

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YNAB is a completely different

way of thinking about your money.

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While most tools just track your

past spending, YNAB is what's called

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a zero based budgeting system.

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It forces you to focus only on

spending the money that you have in

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your bank account right now, today,

not what you expect to get paid

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next week, only what you have today.

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It helps you plan for exactly what you

need that money to do and what you need

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to spend it on before you get paid again.

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Another way I like to describe it

is there's the old way of budgeting

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and the new way of budgeting with

the old way you sit down on the

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first of the month, you list out,

here's what I expect to get paid.

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Here's what I expect to spend it on.

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Everything balances nice, happy numbers.

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You put it away for 30 days.

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You come back to it and you

say, okay, how did I do?

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At that point, you can't make any changes.

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What spent has been spent, what's

earned has been earned, right?

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You just have to look at

what has happened with YNAB.

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It is a real time interactive system

where you again, can only spend or budget

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what you have in your checking account,

so it forces you to look at the numbers

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and say, do I have this, do I not?

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But because it's a real time

system, because it's interactive.

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You can go in and you should be going

in on a regular basis to look to see how

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things are coming along throughout the

month so that by the end of the month,

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there really shouldn't be any surprises.

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So the entire YNAB system is built

around four simple but powerful rules.

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And while YNAB has shifted away from the

concept of rules, because let's face it,

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rules again, imply restriction, which

\ budgeting is not concepts still apply.

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Rule number one, give every dollar a job.

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You literally tell every single dollar

in your bank account what to do.

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Not more than you have

not less than you have.

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So if you have $500 in your

checking account right now.

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We're working with $500, not the $2000

you expect to get at the end of the week.

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Rule number two, embrace

your true expenses.

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This is about accepting those

costs that you actually have.

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Things like your Costco membership

that come up once a year.

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You know how much it will be and

when it will bill, but odds are,

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you've probably forgotten about

it by the time it comes around.

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Right?

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Or this could also be things like

car maintenance, which comes up

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usually at the least convenient times.

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But with YNAB, you are prepared.

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So when it does come up.

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It feels like just another day

in your budget and it doesn't

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derail your progress completely.

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Rule number three, roll with the punches.

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Let's face it, life happens, right?

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But YNAB is flexible enough to

let you make adjustments in real

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time based on new information.

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So again, instead of putting away that

budget and looking at it 30 days later,

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Y NAB is meant to be interactive.

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You should be looking at your

budget on a regular basis so

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that you can make adjustments

in real time whenever necessary.

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Rule number four, age your money.

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the goal is to get to a point where

the money you're spending today

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is money that you actually earned.

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A month ago or maybe more, this is how

you break the paycheck to paycheck cycle.

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This my friends, is critical.

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So why is this method so effective?

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For starters, like I just

mentioned, it helps you stop

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living paycheck to paycheck.

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Think about the anxiety, the

fears, the frustrations, all

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the emotions that come with.

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Thinking about, do I have enough

money to make it until payday YNAB

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can help you break that cycle.

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YNAB makes you confront the money you

actually have in your checking account.

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Again, not the money you

hope to have in the future.

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This clarity allows you to make

intentional decisions and build

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confidence in your money management.

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Plus, it is key for helping

you stop overspending.

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So think about it like this.

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Let's say you have a thousand dollars

in your checking account and you

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think, I have plenty to spend 20

bucks on dinner tonight, right?

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I don't feel like cooking.

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It's been a long day.

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Just gonna grab something on the way home.

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But if you stop and think about it,

what about the bills that are coming up?

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Maybe your rent is a thousand

dollars, your car payment is 450.

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And you still have to pay for your

phone, internet student loans, not to

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mention gas, to get to work so that

you can continue to make more money.

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Right?

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So without a plan, without knowing

your numbers, without looking at this

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and saying, I don't really have 20

bucks to spend on dinner tonight.

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You could easily end up in the negative.

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And a lot of people often do.

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YNAB helps you see exactly where every

dollar is allocated so that you know

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exactly how much you have for that

dinner, even if it's nothing at all.

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In the end, it's about being in control,

not just hoping things will work out.

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Eventually you will get to the point

where you rarely actually even look

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at your account balances because

you're looking at your individual

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categories and then when you do check,

you might be pleasantly surprised

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how much is actually sitting there.

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A couple of my other favorite YNAB

features are that it syncs real time

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across all of your devices, so you

can always stay connected with your

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goals, how much money you have in a

category, even when you're on the go.

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Plus, you can share your budget with

your spouse or partner so that you

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can both collaborate and finally be

on the same page when it comes to

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money, and that is pretty incredible.

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Budgeting does not have to

be confusing or stressful.

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By shifting your mindset and using

a tool like YNAB, you can transform

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your relationship with money and

build a solid financial foundation.

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YNAB helps you make every dollar

count so that you can truly

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achieve financial freedom.

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So.

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Are you ready to finally turn that

financial frustration into freedom?

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Are you ready to stop worrying about

money and start living with confidence?

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I would love to teach you more, so I'd

invite you to stick around, go ahead

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and subscribe , and then when you're

ready, click the link in the description

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to start your free trial of YNAB today.

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And then also grab my YNAB

Made easy course where I will

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walk you through everything.

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Step by step.

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Look at it this way.

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You've got nothing to lose and the

future of financial freedom to gain.

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I know it sounds cheesy, but it's true.

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If you don't make changes, you'll likely

be in the same spot in another year.

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So go grab your free trial, grab

my course, and get started today.

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And remember, money should

be a tool to help you achieve

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your biggest, wildest dreams.

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See you next time.

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That's all for this episode

of the Money Clarity Podcast.

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My hope is that today's conversation

gave you a little bit of clarity and

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confidence to take the next right step.

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If you are ready to dive deeper into

your relationship with money, you can

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find more resources both free and paid,

at theexuberantelephant.com/everything.

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You can also find that link in the

show notes, and if you're enjoying the

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podcast, please leave a rating and review.

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It really helps the show reach

more people just like you.

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I'll talk to you next time.