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I'd be curious if anyone has used this and also used YNAB (and can compare them). I'd put YNAB along with 1Password (and probably Fastmail) in the class of bes

I'd be curious if anyone has used this and also used YNAB (and can compare them). I'd put YNAB along with 1Password (and probably Fastmail) in the class of best single purpose pieces of software that I pay for.

boromi 6y ago
Why 1Password? I've tried it throughout the years, and IMO nothing has beat KeePass.
- codazoda 6y ago
  +1 for keypass. The apps aren't quite as polished, but they do what I need, and I can store my encrypted password file in my Dropbox folder so that I've still got it if any single company in this small chain folds.
  - jorvi 6y ago
    1Password its vault format is open source, so even if the company goes belly up a 3rd party tool that can decrypt your vault can easily be written.
- fossuser 6y ago
  It works really well across all of my devices and operating systems (and will continue to do so as those systems change). I’m glad keepass exists, but I’m happy to support polished software in this domain. I like paying for software I think is really good and focuses on a narrow problem.
whycombagator 6y ago
I've looked at YNAB before, I keep wanting to try a finance tracking tool - but I can't ever decide which one is worth my time. What's so good about YNAB? It seems to be marketed at a certain segment that I'm not in. At least, based on their homepage line: > Stop living paycheck-to-paycheck, get out of debt, and save more money. As for 1Password, given your username I'm assuming you've tried Bitwarden? What is better about 1Password?
- fossuser 6y ago
  I actually hadn't heard about bitwarden (thanks) - I'll check that out. I'm not in YNAB's target market either, but the value they provide is useful even if you're not struggling month to month with finances. You get really good control over your money and a much better understanding of how you're spending it and where. Being really aware of that makes it easier to actually leverage it more because you know exactly what you can put where so you can be closer to zero in your checking account (push more towards investments, etc.). It also makes it easier to change behavior and know exactly what knobs you can turn with your finances. Only downside with it is that the auto-import sucks (I suspect because the bank APIs suck). I move all transactions through one credit card and I manually create transactions in YNAB when the card is charged. I use the Apple Card which has really good software so it's easy to notice transactions and make sure things line up. My username is also from when I was 13 and really excited about linux :-), now mostly on macOS - I haven't really lived up to it.
  - PascLeRasc 6y ago
    Which file export do you use from Apple Card to YNAB? I'm looking at doing the same thing and I'm curious which works best.
    - fossuser 6y ago
      I don’t export - when a transaction is made I open the YNAB app and quickly add it. I resisted doing this for a long time because I thought it would be awful, but it’s actually easier than dealing with import issues and reconciling later.
  - jonjohn84 6y ago
    I'll give the opposing opinion that YNAB's auto-import works well for me (I use it with a local credit union, 2 credit cards, and an online savings account). In fact, I used my own homebrew budgeting software for over a year before I found that YNAB exists and does everything I needed from my own software plus imports from banks automatically which was my biggest pain point with my own solution (it involved painful csv exports every month). I have been happy with YNAB for a year and a half at this point. Your luck may depend on which bank(s) you want it to work with. I believe their bank import api provider was recently acquired by Plaid so they are now using Plaid (as I understand it).
memling 6y ago
> I'd be curious if anyone has used this and also used YNAB (and can compare them). I'm a long-time user of both. YNAB wins hands-down in budgeting and basic usability. When I got married, we integrated finances. I had been using GnuCash for years by then. Its interface was an immediate non-starter, even though as an application it's more powerful than YNAB (e.g., stocks and retirement planning, mortgage amortization, business expenses, easier splits--at least in my opinion). If it had a better budget and reporting system, I might have been able to swing it--but it didn't and doesn't, and that was that. The other killer feature YNAB offered was a mobile application. Financial apps have to reduce friction. Interpersonal first (although that's a tall order for software), but also in delivering fast entry and a big-picture view of what you're doing with your money. GnuCash really isn't designed for any of that. And that's honestly fine for what it is, although I wish the database were easier to wrap your head around—it should be possible to build a cleaner and/or web UI around it than it seems to be. As it is, I'm not really content with YNAB either, but if that's what it takes to get our internal financial reporting in order, it's a lot better than nothing.

boromi 6y ago

Why 1Password? I've tried it throughout the years, and IMO nothing has beat KeePass.

codazoda 6y ago
+1 for keypass. The apps aren't quite as polished, but they do what I need, and I can store my encrypted password file in my Dropbox folder so that I've still got it if any single company in this small chain folds.
- jorvi 6y ago
  1Password its vault format is open source, so even if the company goes belly up a 3rd party tool that can decrypt your vault can easily be written.
fossuser 6y ago
It works really well across all of my devices and operating systems (and will continue to do so as those systems change). I’m glad keepass exists, but I’m happy to support polished software in this domain. I like paying for software I think is really good and focuses on a narrow problem.

whycombagator 6y ago

I've looked at YNAB before, I keep wanting to try a finance tracking tool - but I can't ever decide which one is worth my time. What's so good about YNAB? It seems to be marketed at a certain segment that I'm not in. At least, based on their homepage line: > Stop living paycheck-to-paycheck, get out of debt, and save more money. As for 1Password, given your username I'm assuming you've tried Bitwarden? What is better about 1Password?

fossuser 6y ago
I actually hadn't heard about bitwarden (thanks) - I'll check that out. I'm not in YNAB's target market either, but the value they provide is useful even if you're not struggling month to month with finances. You get really good control over your money and a much better understanding of how you're spending it and where. Being really aware of that makes it easier to actually leverage it more because you know exactly what you can put where so you can be closer to zero in your checking account (push more towards investments, etc.). It also makes it easier to change behavior and know exactly what knobs you can turn with your finances. Only downside with it is that the auto-import sucks (I suspect because the bank APIs suck). I move all transactions through one credit card and I manually create transactions in YNAB when the card is charged. I use the Apple Card which has really good software so it's easy to notice transactions and make sure things line up. My username is also from when I was 13 and really excited about linux :-), now mostly on macOS - I haven't really lived up to it.
- PascLeRasc 6y ago
  Which file export do you use from Apple Card to YNAB? I'm looking at doing the same thing and I'm curious which works best.
  - fossuser 6y ago
    I don’t export - when a transaction is made I open the YNAB app and quickly add it. I resisted doing this for a long time because I thought it would be awful, but it’s actually easier than dealing with import issues and reconciling later.
- jonjohn84 6y ago
  I'll give the opposing opinion that YNAB's auto-import works well for me (I use it with a local credit union, 2 credit cards, and an online savings account). In fact, I used my own homebrew budgeting software for over a year before I found that YNAB exists and does everything I needed from my own software plus imports from banks automatically which was my biggest pain point with my own solution (it involved painful csv exports every month). I have been happy with YNAB for a year and a half at this point. Your luck may depend on which bank(s) you want it to work with. I believe their bank import api provider was recently acquired by Plaid so they are now using Plaid (as I understand it).

memling 6y ago

> I'd be curious if anyone has used this and also used YNAB (and can compare them). I'm a long-time user of both. YNAB wins hands-down in budgeting and basic usability. When I got married, we integrated finances. I had been using GnuCash for years by then. Its interface was an immediate non-starter, even though as an application it's more powerful than YNAB (e.g., stocks and retirement planning, mortgage amortization, business expenses, easier splits--at least in my opinion). If it had a better budget and reporting system, I might have been able to swing it--but it didn't and doesn't, and that was that. The other killer feature YNAB offered was a mobile application. Financial apps have to reduce friction. Interpersonal first (although that's a tall order for software), but also in delivering fast entry and a big-picture view of what you're doing with your money. GnuCash really isn't designed for any of that. And that's honestly fine for what it is, although I wish the database were easier to wrap your head around—it should be possible to build a cleaner and/or web UI around it than it seems to be. As it is, I'm not really content with YNAB either, but if that's what it takes to get our internal financial reporting in order, it's a lot better than nothing.