Review: You Need A Budget

by Amber
Published: Last Updated on
you need a budget book review

Reading a book about budgeting and getting your finances on track at the beginning of the year was great. Always a resolution of mine to make better money choices.

Right after reading You Need A Budget, I felt so much more in control of my money than I ever have in the past.

Last year, I made a spreadsheet of all my bills and attempted “budgeting,” but I wasn’t making any progress towards lowering my debt and increasing my savings. The YNAB model is a game changer!

Quick summary: Jesse Mecham, the author of YNAB, has established a brilliant model that I think I’ll enjoy much more than a spreadsheet. The model is made up of four totally doable goals:

  1. You Need a Budget coverGive Every Dollar A Job. Be intentional about what you want your money to do before you spend it.
  2. Embrace Your True Expenses. Break up larger, less frequent expenses into smaller, more manageable amounts. By saving monthly for insurance premiums, holidays, or car repairs, when the time comes, your money is ready and waiting to do its job.
  3. Roll With The Punches. When life changes, so must your budget. Make adjustments and move along. Flexible budgets succeed because they’re guilt-free, realistic, and sustainable.
  4. Age Your Money. As you repeat the first three rules, you’ll increase the time between the moment you earn a dollar and the moment you need to spend it. When your money is at least a month old, you’ll have finally broken the paycheck to paycheck cycle for good.

My recommendation: Everyone should read this book. (Unless you’re already debt free and a pro at saving money.)

Jesse also lets his personality shine through, which I thought was a nice change of pace for a book about budgeting. He made a task most adults dread sound more enjoyable. I was excited to curl up with YNAB and found myself adopting the YNAB model within a few pages of this book.

 

Purchase Links

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About Jesse Mecham

Jesse Mecham founded YNAB in 2004 to help him and his new wife, Julie, watch their money. Studying for his master of accountancy at Brigham Young University at the time, he put his numbers wizardry to work to develop a system to track their expenses, and that became YNAB. He lives in Utah with his family.

We received an advanced copy of the book from TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.TLC book tours

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3 comments

Jesse Mecham, author of You Need a Budget, on tour January/February 2018 | TLC Book Tours January 26, 2018 - 6:14 pm

[…] Thursday, January 25th: Literary Quicksand […]

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Heather J @ TLC Book Tours January 26, 2018 - 6:17 pm

I’m working on paying off some relatively minor debt, but no matter the amount I’m looking forward to having it all paid off. Maybe this book will help me get those last few steps toward my goal!

Thanks for being a part of the tour.

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dianna February 5, 2018 - 8:58 pm

I had the YNAB program on my desktop, but haven’t used it since we moved 3 years ago and I never plugged the desktop back in! After reading your review, I ordered the book. Looking forward to getting our budget back on track.

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