Bible Money Matters

Christian personal finance

Menu
    • About
    • Archives
    • Contact
    • Close
  • Making Money
      • Popular Articles

        • 50 Ways To Make Money: Maximizing, Creating And Increasing Your Income
        • 10 Weird And Unconventional Ways To Make Money
        • Making Money With A Blog (e-Book)
        • 10 Places To Sell Or Trade Your Unused (Or Broken) Electronics
        • Ways To Make Extra Money Series: 20 More Income Generating Ideas From Our Readers
        • Making Side Income Can Help Blunt The Impact Of Becoming A One Income Family
        • Earn Cash Back With Discover it® Credit Card
      • Recent Articles – Making Money

        • Best Sites Like Fiverr To Make Money As A Freelancer
        • 13 Of The Best Independent Contractor Jobs
        • 25 Of The Best Gig Economy Jobs
        • How To Make Money Blogging: Turn A Blog Into A Business
      • Categories

        • Making Money
        • Investing
        • Retirement
        • Jobs & Work LIfe
        • Money
        • Income
    • Close
  • Saving Money
      • Popular Articles

        • 50 Easy Ways To Save Money Every Month
        • 10 Weird And Unconventional Ways To Save Money
        • 10 Practical Ways To Save Money And Increase Your Net Worth
        • How To Save Money On Just About All Of Your Regular Monthly Bills
        • Ways To Watch TV Without Paying An Arm And A Leg For Cable TV
        • Save Money On Your Hospital Bill - Just By Asking
      • Recent Articles – Saving Money

        • How To Save $100k In 7 Practical Steps
        • Stairs App Review: Save And Invest To Earn 4-6% Interest
        • Honey Review: Save Money Automatically When You Shop Online
        • 9 Convincing Reasons Why You Need An Emergency Fund
      • Categories

        • Saving Money
        • Frugality
        • Planning
        • Finance
        • Saving For Retirement
        • Savings Accounts
    • Close
  • Banking
      • Best Rates For 2019

        • Best Credit Cards
        • Best Savings Accounts
        • Best Mortgage Rates
        • Best CD Rates
        • Best Brokerages
        • Free Credit Scores
      • Recent Reviews

        • TradeStation Review: Commission Free Stock And ETF Trades
        • Firstrade Review: Commission Free Trades on Stocks, Crypto, And Options
        • Cadre Real Estate Investing Review: Commercial Real Estate Investing
        • Axos Self Directed Trading Review: Invest, Trade Stocks For Free
      • Categories

        • Bank & Software Reviews
        • Investing
        • Credit
        • Banking
        • Mortgage
        • Insurance
        • Family Budget
    • Close
  • Recommended
  • Video
    • Close

You Need A Budget 4 (YNAB 4) Mobile App Review: Accounts, Budget And Cloud Sync On The Go

By Peter Anderson 44 Comments - The content of this website often contains affiliate links and I may be compensated if you buy through those links (at no cost to you!). Learn more about how we make money. Last edited May 31, 2018.

Share17
Pin4
Tweet33
Share1
55 Shares

My wife and I have been using You Need A Budget as our main budgeting software for over a year now. We started using You Need A Budget 3 last year, and found it to be an easy way to stay on track and on top of our family budget.

A few weeks ago we started using the new version of You Need A Budget when it was launched and have been impressed with the improvements in the software including a fresh new design, the ability reconcile accounts and how you can now sync your budget files to the cloud using your DropBox account.

A couple of weeks ago I did a full YNAB 4 review where I talked about the software in depth and did a full video walkthrough of the application to give people a feel for how it works. This past week I got a copy of the mobile app for YNAB so that we could enter our receipts and check budget balances on the go.

I’ve now been using the Android version of the YNAB mobile app for a week or so. So here are my first impressions and review of the YNAB 4 mobile app. A video walkthrough of the mobile app appears below.

Quick Navigation

  • You Need A Budget 4 Features
  • YNAB 4 Mobile App Allows Transaction Entry On The Go
  • Cloud Sync
  • Check You Budget On The Go
  • Geo-Smart Payees
  • Security Pin Access
  • Favorite Categories
  • Accounts View
  • Conclusion

You Need A Budget 4 Features

I’ve done a full review of You Need A Budget 4 previously, but I figured I’d do a quick recap of some of the desktop application’s features here.

  • Budgets: The zero based budgeting functionality of YNAB is the reason why we bought it in the first place. Every penny of income is assigned to a giving, saving or spending category so that no money goes unaccounted for. Your budgets help you to stay on track and figure out when you’re overspending in certain categories.
  • Cloud Sync: This is one of the biggest upgrades in YNAB 4 over previous versions. The Cloud Sync option allows you to backup your budget files to the cloud (DropBox), and your transaction entries are saved immediately. So if you enter a transaction on the mobile app, it appears on the desktop version right away. Multiple computers can enter transactions in YNAB from different computers at the same time as well, and all will be synced together seamlessly. No conflicts or missing transactions.
  • Account Reconciliation: For me this was the second most exciting upgrade in YNAB 4 because previously you couldn’t easily reconcile your accounts – a pretty basic feature in some other financial software. By adding in an account reconciliation process, one of my biggest complaints about YNAB 3 software was done away with.
  • Updated reporting: The new version of YNAB also has some updated and improved reporting functionality, making it even easier to stay in tune with where your money is coming and going to.

The desktop app is a great piece of software, and the mobile app is a nice add-on to it.

ynab4-ad468x60

YNAB 4 Mobile App Allows Transaction Entry On The Go

YNAB Mobile AppYNAB 4 Mobile apps make it easy for you to enter transactions while you’re out and about. Just left the grocery store? Enter the transaction and view how much you have left over in your grocery budget. Thinking about going out to dinner? Check your budget in the app and see how much money you’ve got left in your dining out budget. Having the mobile app has made staying on top of and sticking to our budget that much easier. I’m loving it!

There are currently 3 versions of the mobile app that you can download.

  • YNAB for iOS: The YNAB app for iPhone and all other iOS devices. There is talk of a full standalone iPad app down the road, but currently the YNAB for iOS should work on iPad. $4.99
  • YNAB Lite for iOS: A free version of the software that only allows for budget viewing and transaction entry. Android version coming soon. Free
  • YNAB for Android: This is the version that we have on our Android phones and Kindle Fire. Has all the same features as the iOS version, except geo-smart payees, which they’re hoping to add soon. $4.99

Here’s a quick look at a comparison of features by version.

YNAB 4 Mobile App Features

Cloud Sync

As with the desktop versions of the app, the YNAB mobile apps will also sync to the cloud so that your budget files and transactions are always up to date.

I’ve actually tested out the functionality to see just how well it works, and it’s amazing how seamless it is. You can enter a transaction on the app, and as long as you’ve got a connection of some sort you can watch in real time as the desktop application shows the updated transaction. I actually sat in front of the open YNAB 4 desktop program and entered some receipts on the phone, and almost in real time the receipts showed up on the desktop.

The Cloud Sync feature is great because it never means having conflicted files or transactions like you may have had in previous versions.

Check You Budget On The Go

ynab mobile app budgetChecking your budget on the go no longer means having to print out your budget regularly and bringing it with you. You can just open up the app, click on the budgets button and see an updated budget category list and amounts left over to spend. Open it up and check your budget before you spend and you’ll be sure to stay on track!

Geo-Smart Payees

YNAB for iOS currently has a cool featured called geo-smart payees that uses the phone’s location awareness in order to figure out where you are, and then figure out what retailer you’re at.  It will then automatically set the category and payee for a new transaction.

They’re hoping to have this functionality available for the Android version soon as well as it’s one of the few features not available for Android users that is on the iOS version. This is how android mobile poker sites apps works when it comes to playing poker on mobile.

Security Pin Access

You can keep your account and budget information secure by setting a pin number for your mobile app.  Just don’t let your password be 1234.

Favorite Categories

In the full featured YNAB apps you can set your favorite categories for quick access when entering transactions and checking your budget. On our app I’ve set the grocery, dining out and his and hers blow money categories as our favorites as those are categories we spend a lot in, and typically have issues overspending in.

Accounts View

In the full version of the app you can view your accounts and all the transactions there-in.  I’ve used this a bit to check account balances, and figure out which account certain spending is coming out of when I can’t remember.  Very handy to have while not at home.

Conclusion

The mobile apps for You Need A Budget 4 are a worthy add-on to the full desktop application. We’ve found it extremely useful to enter receipts while we’re out and about, as well as to make sure we stay on top of our budget. If you’re a YNAB 4 user already I’d highly recommend purchasing and using the mobile app as well.

Try YNAB 4 And The Mobile App Now!

ynab4-ad

Related Posts

  • You Need A Budget 4 Review
    You Need A Budget 4 (YNAB) Review: Cloud Sync, Better Design, Improved Reporting

    You Need A Budget 4 (YNAB) was just released and has a better design, cloud sync and improved reporting. YNAB4 may be the only budgeting…

  • You Need A Budget 4 (YNAB) Is Now Free For College Students

    You Need A Budget recently announced that they are making YNAB free for college students. Here's a step by step of how you can get…

  • Book Review: The Budget Kit By Judy Lawrence

    Judy Lawrence, in her book, The Budget Kit, seeks to demystify the budget process and help readers make a budget that works. So is this…

Share17
Pin4
Tweet33
Share1
55 Shares
Last Edited: 31st May 2018 The content of biblemoneymatters.com is for general information purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Visitors to biblemoneymatters.com should not act upon the content or information without first seeking appropriate professional advice. In accordance with the latest FTC guidelines, we declare that we have a financial relationship with every company mentioned on this site.

This article is about: Budget, Review

About Peter Anderson

Peter Anderson is a Christian, husband to his beautiful wife Maria, and father to his 2 children. He loves reading and writing about personal finance, and also enjoys a good board game every now and again. You can find out more about him on the about page. Don't forget to say hi on Pinterest, Twitter or Facebook!

Comments

    Share Your Thoughts: Cancel reply

  1. Patman says

    We’re currently using YNAB 3 (and had the version before that). The upgrade to 4, with cloud sync, seems very nice. Currently, we’re syncing between computers to a networked device.

    Reply
    • Peter Anderson says

      That’s what we were doing before, it worked fine except when we accidentally started editing the file at the same time. No worries about file conflicts with cloud sync on YNAB 4. :)

      Reply
      • Patman says

        Yeah, we’ve had some overwrites here and there.

        Reply
  2. Patman says

    We’re currently using YNAB 3 at home – the cloud sync would be a great feature to have!

    Reply
  3. Brent Pittman says

    I’d love to win YNAB, read reviews on other sites. currently budgeting on spreadsheet, but keeping up accounts on i-bank and not a fan, but mac users don’t have many good choices.

    Reply
    • Peter Anderson says

      Definitely recommend YNAB 4, I was using a spreadsheet before as well, and the difference between that and this is amazing.

      Reply
  4. Kelley Mathews says

    I do budget but have not gotten it down to the penny yet, the zero-balance thing. I recently moved my checkbook register onto an excel spreadsheet to ease the pain of incorrect calculations on my part. A software program to help coordinate the checkbook w/a monthly budget would be awesome.

    Reply
    • Peter Anderson says

      You Need A Budget is so much easier from a budgeting standpoint. I used to do the excel route as well, and YNAB is 100% better. :)

      Reply
  5. David Coutcher says

    We currently do not budget. Have never been truly happy using quicken over the years. We will be starting the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace and having YNAB would be a fantastic way to start!

    Reply
  6. Janara says

    We are in the process of developing a better spending plan and YNAB would be perfect to embark on our new thought of money.

    Reply
  7. Janara says

    I’ve been using a spreadsheet for the past 8 years.

    Reply
  8. Doug says

    YNAB is a super zero-based program that takes some getting used to at the start, but the effort learning the program seems to be well worth it. As Peter said in his earlier review, YNAB 4 seems to be quite a step up from YNAB 3.

    Reply
  9. Cari says

    This would be a really great tool for me. I’ve just been eyeballing my spending the last year or so because I have irregular income, but I start getting my pension in October, so this would help me organize and keep a better handle on my money.

    Reply
  10. Kathleen says

    My hubby and I are now semi-retired and find it difficult to manage on our current income. No we don’t actually have a budget. We really need one. YNAB sounds like the perfect solution to keep us on track. It is too easy to spoil grandkids with impulse purchases. We need help!

    Reply
  11. Cassie D. says

    I budget on paper for the most part but have used YNAB in the past. I would love to be able to have the Mobil one to try out and the new program. Need to get a better handle on it.

    Reply
  12. Brandon Horne says

    I am an occasional user of YNAB 3 and have tried YNAB 4 a couple of times, I would love to get away from my spreadsheet that I have been using for 7+ years.

    Reply
  13. Olivia says

    We (actually I) use the paper and pencil budgeting method. Husband and kids have been on me for some time to leave the ice age and go electronic. YNAB sounds like a good option. Not only does it NOT make math errors, it works with a zero budget system. That would help us wrestle a tad more out of our dead presidents.

    Reply
  14. cheryl says

    Please enter me in to win the YNAB that you’re offering.
    Thank You

    Reply
  15. Kathy says

    This would be such a help, as we have not had success in the past with other programs & this one sounds like it would really work! We are working really hard right now to get back on track with our finances & could use help!

    Reply
  16. Adam Gerard says

    I’m giving YNAB a shot. I agree that YNAB4 is pretty impressive. I gave the 30 day trial a shot with the previous version and liked it, but couldn’t keep up. Decided to try again and was surprised at all the new features (and how much prettier it looks now).

    Reply
  17. Travis says

    I currently use a spreadsheet to track our finances, but don’t really budget anything yet. This might be worth a try.

    Reply
  18. Ed says

    I have never used a computer software budget program. I have spent many hours trying to make a budget on paper. It gets lost or put aside and results in good bye budget. I am definately going to try the demo. Thank you Peter.

    Reply
  19. Charles says

    I currently do not have a set budget, neither do I have steady income currently. This may bring better order to the finances, so I am looking forward to winning YNAB.

    Reply
  20. jaime says

    Last fall we began with a budget spreadsheet. We then combined the spreadsheet with Mint.com. This summer, mostly due to my wife being off work, we’ve stopped using both. YNAB would be a great start to getting back on track this fall! Thanks.

    Reply
  21. Katrina Miller says

    We decided about 6 months ago to begin a budget using mint.com. It’s good, but for me, it’s lacking in some way. For our family YNAB 4 with cloud sync sounds like it would fit the bill as our budgeting system. Thanks.

    Reply
  22. Rach says

    I have been trying to start a budget. Hopefully, my husband and I can start one soon. Thanks for the giveaway.

    Reply
  23. Peter says

    I’ve been using a spreadsheet, but this looks great. I hope I win it.

    Reply
  24. godzonekid says

    I don’t believe in budgets. Such a “Negative” word. I believe in Spending Plans. I believe YNAB would help me see where my dollars are going. Hopefully I can see where my wife’s dollars are going too.

    I would LOVE to win this… in lil ol’ Noo Zilund! : )

    Reply
  25. Leiton Powell says

    We use an excel spreadsheet I created for our budget. We have used Quicken years ago, but when our version was outdated, I didn’t want to spend the money to upgrade, so I have been looking for other alternatives.

    I have seen many reviews of YNAB and it looks like one of the best alternatives, but something we couldn’t pull the trigger in purchasing. I would be really thrilled in winnning this as one of the big features I like in this review is the cloud storage. With the variety of computers and devices we have, it would be nice to have it anytime we need.

    Reply
  26. Laura Carroll says

    Thanks for this opportunity…

    Reply
  27. Luke says

    I’m getting married in a month, and downloaded the trial of YNAB for free. So far, it’s amazing! I’m used to budgeting on my own with googledocs spreadsheets, and it’s a mess. After spending 10 minutes with YNAB, it’s like a switch flipped in my brain and I was like, “Oh. I see.” This makes so much more sense than the way I did it before.

    Luke

    Reply
  28. jgos says

    I have been wanting to start budgeting, haven’t yet. Would love to win a copy of YNAB to use!

    Reply
  29. Doug says

    Tried out YNAB and it seems to be a strong program. Have used Dave Ramsey’s budgeting method for some time. This fits well, though not exact.
    Thanks for offering the giveaway.

    Reply
  30. Michael Brown says

    Well, I would love the opportunity to have something to work with that I didn’t create myself. Doesn’t seem like I am too good at budgeting as a planning activity. I can sure track where it all goes, but I’m not too great at planning where it should have gone in the first place.

    Reply
  31. caroline says

    I currently use an excel spreadsheet to manage my finances. Would love this though. thanks…

    Reply
  32. kristy says

    This software looks pretty cool!

    Reply
  33. Jennie says

    I’ve been using the old Excel version of YNAB for quite a few years now, and while it doesn’t magically get you out of debt, it does make it so you always know where you’re at. I would NEVER go back to not knowing where every penny was spent! You’ll do so much better if you have a plan!

    Reply
  34. Melissa says

    We keep trying to do a budget every month but we currently fail at it. My husband and I have tried a bunch of different budgeting software without finding one we really like, but at the current time we don’t have 60 bucks to drop on software so it would be great to win it. I’ve heard awesome things about it.

    Reply
  35. Johanna says

    Would love to win a copy of YNAB, we are following the Dave Ramsey plan and the new software would be a HUGE help!

    Reply
  36. John says

    I’ve recently made a bit of progress on knocking out debt and adding to savings thanks to some of the tools I’ve learned about through this site. I need a better budget, so it sounds as if YNAB is another tool which I could really use. Thanks for the article and the giveaway!

    Reply
  37. David says

    I want to try YNAB – tired of quicken!

    Reply
  38. jaime says

    I won! I won! Thanks for letting me win this great prize! we will do our best to get on track this coming fall!

    Reply
    • Peter Anderson says

      Congrats Jaime, I hope you love the software!

      Reply
  39. Kevin says

    I use Gnucash. The principle is same as YNAB from your review. Its a free and a powerful software as well. The only difference i see is Gnucash doesnt have syncing with other computers feature. Apart from that its a powerful free software. Check it out when you get a chance.

    Reply
Previous Post: Our Wealth Can Put Us At A Disadvantage
Next Post: Zombie Attack! Giving The Axe To Zombie Accounts, Subscriptions And Services
Discover Investment Platforms

Popular Posts

  • 21 Easy Ways To Earn Free Amazon Gift Cards
  • 10 Best Free Tax Filing Services And Software Online
  • 21 Apps That Pay You Real Money Fast
  • 17 TV Apps And Live TV Streaming Services To Watch TV Free
  • 30 Legit Online Jobs That Pay Well
  • 37 Easy Ways To Get Free Gift Cards
  • How To Get Free Stock
  • 40 Easy Ways To Get Free Money Fast
  • 21 Places To Read Free Books Online
  • 24 Legit Online Jobs
  • 17 Best Work From Home Jobs: A List Of Legit Online Jobs That Pay Well

Recent Posts

  • How To Save $100k In 7 Practical Steps
  • How to Save Money When Remodeling A Home
  • How To Hire A Contractor For Your Remodeling Project
  • Remembering 9/11 Years Later: Where Were You On That Fateful Day?
  • TradeStation Review: Commission Free Stock And ETF Trades
  • Firstrade Review: Commission Free Trades on Stocks, Crypto, And Options
  • Cadre Real Estate Investing Review: Commercial Real Estate Investing
  • Best Sites Like Fiverr To Make Money As A Freelancer
  • Axos Self Directed Trading Review: Invest, Trade Stocks For Free
  • 30 Quotes About Easter And Resurrection: He Is Risen!

Disclaimer

The information contained in BibleMoneyMatters.com is for general information or entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional financial advice. Please contact an independent financial professional for advice regarding your specific situation.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, we state that we have a financial relationship with some of the companies mentioned in this website. This may include receiving access to free products and services for product and service reviews and giveaways.

Any references to third party products, rates, or websites are subject to change without notice. We do our best to maintain current information, but due to the rapidly changing environment, some information may have changed since it was published. Please do the appropriate research before participating in any third party offers.

Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

We respect your privacy: Privacy Policy.

Thanks for visiting!

Bible Money Matters - Seen On These Sites and more..
Bible Money Matters is a personal finance, entrepreneurship and investing community. Give more, save more and live more.

Copyright © 2023 · Bible Money Matters | Sitemap | Advertise | Privacy Policy