You guys.

Budgets are amazing. Here is a brief summary of how our budget has made our lives better.

I had never known what a budget really was until marriage counseling. During our engagement, finances were one of our largest stressors; partly because we didn’t have income & partly because I totally forgot about a sizable savings account (funny story NOW). But mostly because I am a super saver and Brandon is quite the spender. Because I tend to hold onto money as a security blanket, I could not handle the thought of him blowing through it like there was no tomorrow.  (Well, he really isn’t that big of a spender…just relative to me, it feels like we are opposites!)

We expressed our mutual concern regarding finances to our awesome mentors and friends Kristen & Clayton, and that night they got us started on what would become a year of learning about personal budgeting and financing. They explained that budgeting would ironically make us feel more free. Thankfully, Brandon is a champ of a husband (and all other things) and spent hours upon hours reading about money. Now, we have been budgeting for over two years, and we love it. Our budget has allowed me to enjoy spending money for the first time in my life, and it helps Brandon appreciate saving towards future goals.

So, here’s our shameless YNAB plug. YNAB (You Need a Budget) is our software of choice. It is mobile, cheap, accurate and extremely well-organized. And you don’t have to use cash! We tried Mint & Goodbudget before landing on YNAB, which is in our opinion a more comprehensive and user-friendly personal budgeting software. One of the largest extras YNAB offers is an amazing website chock-full of tutorials on personal finance. The budgeting software is $50 a year (and it is well worth it), but the extras are available for free on their website.

Here are three of our favorite things about our YNAB budget!

1. Personal Spending
When a newly married couple merges bank accounts, it is impossible to completely agree on personal spending habits. Everybody needs a little bit of money with their own name on it. Separate personal spending “envelopes” help to eliminate this tension. Married or single, we think it is healthy to have some undesignated, unquestioned personal spending money, provided you can find a little space in your budget. Even $10 a month goes a long way.

2. Savings Goals
Another great feature of a budget is that you can save for the future in an organized way. By setting goals and designating smaller amounts each month, we can almost completely avoid “big spending” months like December. Instead, when December rolls around, we already have plenty of money set aside for Christmas gifts and we can purchase gifts without feeling burdened. Same for birthdays.

3. Generosity Fund
Brandon has a heart that doesn’t stop giving. When we created our budget, we decided to set aside a certain amount per month on top of our monthly giving for spontaneous giving. Our “generosity fund” challenges us to always be looking for ways that we can be generous with what we have been given. It is hands-down our favorite part of the budget.

If you have any questions about how to start budgeting or about YNAB, we would love to help! Seriously! Just let us know.

See ya. 🙂