Hi everyone, I’m currently using Monarch for budgeting, and overall, I find it helpful. That said, I’ve been hearing about YNAB, and I’m curious if it’s worth considering a switch. Has anyone here moved from Monarch to YNAB? If so, what differences or benefits did you notice? Was it easier for you to stay on top of your budget, manage debt, or save more effectively? I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience — both the pros and cons — to help me decide if it makes sense to explore YNAB further.

I’ve been primarily using Monarch but am giving YNAB an honest attempt. Here are a few things that stood out to me, based on my usage: • Monarch - I like the flexible expenses category, where I can set an overall budget a few related items. ◦ Example: Shopping Category, with subcategories of: Clothing, Home Décor, Books ▪︎ I don’t want to overspend on the parent category, but I’m not concerned about the exact amount spent on décor and books. • YNAB ◦ I like having multiple plans/budgets. ◦ I like the flexible categories and sorting. ▪︎ In Monarch, everything is sorted under “Fixed”, “Flexible”, and Non-Monthly” ▪︎ I’m picky about keeping critical items at the top (housing, utilities) ◦ I like YNAB’s “View” feature, which let’s me quickly filter categories (for example - list only medical or utilities) and see what is assigned or available for them. ◦ This may be a newbie issue, but it’s hard for me to tell what my actual standard/default budget is for a sample month. ▪︎ For example, this month I purchased a printer. I created a new electronics category for it. Once I moved the money for this item from another category, the amount for the printer shows as “assigned” for the month. ▪︎ If I skip to the next month, the electronic category is still there. ▪︎ Assigned is empty for all items until I have enough cash to fill the month. ▪︎ I would prefer if there was a “target” or “budget” next to Assigned/Activity/Remaining ▪︎ I prefer Monarch’s handling of this - Budget/Actual/Remaining

Thanks for the information!