How to Tell Your Money Where to Go

Christ Church Communications Team
A Conversation with Joshua Dos Santos (Contributor)

“Budget.” The ugly B-word. Just like how nobody likes to count calories, most people don’t enjoy budgeting. For starters, there is a swarm of negative connotations associated with “budgeting.” For instance, feeling restricted, being a “no fun” boring person, or forgoing the joy of the here and now with saving for retirement.

Instead, try thinking of it as a spending plan. That’s all a budget is: A game plan for spending and saving your money. It’ll help make sure your financial bases are covered, help you steer clear of debt or manage existing debt, and help you stay on track with your money goals. Without a spending plan of sorts, you run the risk of having those “amnesia-like” moments where you don’t know exactly where your last paycheck went, or not having enough money to cover a month’s worth of living expenses.

For the analytical type, budgeting can be both easy and fun. But for others, it can become boring and a chore. But, to break away from the traditional computer spreadsheets, more and more Americans are downloading financial apps and using their smartphones to keep tabs on their finances. According to the respondents of a 2018 survey conducted by Bankrate: 55 percent have a full-service banking app, 40 percent have a peer-to-peer payment app like Venmo, and 17 percent have a standalone budgeting app or an investing app. Age also has some impact on who is downloading financial apps: 64 percent of Millennials and 59 percent of Gen Xers have a full-service banking app on their phone. Young adults are twice as likely as Gen Xers to have a budgeting app, per Bankrate.

Joshua dos Santos, a member of the Christ Church staff, recently shared his financial journey, and how using a budgeting app helped him realize his goals. He said that it never occurred to him that he could ever get his financial life in order. Like many young adults, after his college graduation ceremony, there was student loan debt, credit card debt, and bad spending habits. It was a great feeling to finally get on with his career and be in the workforce. In fact, receiving a paycheck every two weeks for putting in all of his hard work was pretty awesome. However, the downside was that he didn’t understand basic financial management techniques like budgeting, having an emergency fund, and saving for the future.

Joshua remembers a time when he would receive his paycheck in one hand, and with the other give it all away. He could attest to what it felt like to have only a few dollars left in his pocket until his next paycheck, and the stress of struggling to pay his monthly expenses. In the back of his mind, he knew he couldn’t continue down this path.

Joshua said that he recalled hearing a podcast from the personal money-management expert, Dave Ramsey, saying; “you need to take control of your finances rather than letting it control you.” Soon after, he realized that Dave Ramsey believes that one of the proven ways to get your financial life in order is to develop the “zero-based budgeting” technique.

Zero-based budgeting is a way of budgeting where your income minus your expenses equals zero. With a zero-based budget, you have to make sure your expenses match your income during the month. That way, you’re giving every dollar that comes in a job to do. Joshua said: “I can do this!”

Joshua could easily monitor his expenses using a spreadsheet software program, but Joshua said that he wanted an app that was easy to use, convenient to download on his smartphone, and that focused on the zero-based budgeting technique.

While doing his research, Joshua recalls there being many budgeting apps to choose from such as Mint, PocketGuard, Wally, Mvelopes, and Goodbudget, just to name a few. Each fighting to distinguish itself from the others. Most are designed for general personal budgeting, but each has something unique to offer. One app specializes in personal budgeting tools, while another offers bill tracking. Another offers warnings when you are close to overspending.

One day, while listening to a radio advertisement, he heard about a popular budgeting app: “You Need a Budget.” It turns out, this is one of the top 10 budgeting apps for young adults who also lovingly refer to the app as YNAB. YNAB has a unique approach compared to other budgeting apps. Rather than relying on traditional budgeting buckets, you build your budget based on your income, giving every dollar a job in your budget—just like the zero-based budgeting technique.

These jobs include everything from living expenses to debt payments, savings, or investments. Leaving no dollar unaccounted for forces you to think about every dollar you acquire and spend, says Joshua. The app is great for individuals or couples working together on their budget. It offers both desktop and mobile interfaces, options to sync your bank accounts automatically or enter expenses manually, and includes debt payoff and goal-tracking features to help motivate you to reach your money goals.

Joshua said; “After accessing the app on www.youneedabudget.com, paying a small fee, and linking my bank account to the app, it allowed me to assign every dollar a job and even to set up specific categories for future purchases.”

He confesses that he has been using the app for the last two years, but it was not easy in the beginning. No budgeting app can replace your will to overspend, says Joshua. The app will not stop you from indulging at the movies and overspending on your entertainment category. Joshua said that it took a few months to develop some will power and stick to his financial goals, but then he got the hang of it.

I asked Joshua; “What was the number one financial goal that you were able to attain while using this YNAB app?” With a big grin on his face, he said that he was not only able to stay off credit cards and learn how to manage his expenses better, but is looking forward to starting his marriage with his fiancée Rae with a debt-free wedding and honeymoon. I don’t want basic money management to be a sticking point in my marriage, says Joshua.