You Need a Budget: The Proven System for Breaking the Paycheck-To-Paycheck Cycle, Getting Out of Debt, and Living the Life You Want

by Jesse Mecham

A guide based on the tenets of the "You Need a Budget" financial platform argues that a well-planned budget can help to prioritize financial goals, reduce stress through strategic cash flow allocations, and meet the challenges of unplanned expenses.

• ISBN10: 0062567608
• ISBN13: 9780062567604
• Publish Date: 26 December 2017 (first published 1 September 2010)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Harper Business
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 224
• Language: English

Reviews

[littleread1]

I like the software more than the book, but I think I took a few things from it.

[amarcum8]

This is an awesome book about budgeting to get your finances in order. It helped our family a lot.

[Hillary]

Cause I needed to get a grip on my finances. There is no reason I should be broke with the amount of money I make. I had heard of the software before and even tried it out a couple of times, but it mostly went right over my head. I need someone to go in depth how to use the software and the techniques that it uses.

 



 

What I liked

I loved that it went in depth on the techniques that the software uses. It spells it out just like I needed it. I was one of those unfortunate souls that got forced to learn Calculus but no one ever told me how to make and stick to a budget. I graduated with my fancy honors degree and was wished the best of luck.  I can count on one hand the number of times I had to know calculus and my finances speak for themselves they are in such a sorry state. SO I finally found the book that explains each step in detail and how to set up a budget and to follow it. I am hoping that my finances will be decent by the end of the year by following the principals in this book. And yes I got a year's subscription to the software and guessed hat this time I know what the hell I am doing.

 

What I did not like

I HATE finance talk. I mean why can't we just be in a cashless society where we all get what we want but alas. There was nothing that I truly disliked about the book itself. I just hate having to deal with money, and I have stuck my head up my ass for so long that everything now is coated in shit.

 



This is a book that every first-year college student should be forced to take instead of saying Calculus 2. My calculus class comes in handy SOOOOO MUCH (note the sarcasm). Seriously though financial literacy is a very valuable skill to have especially if you are escaping poverty (like me). Maybe outside of the Appalachians, people learn financial literacy at a young age but not in the mountains. This is the sort of book that I wish I had when I was 18 and had control of my money. This is a book that everyone should read.

 

Buy Borrow or skip

 

Do you have a budget system in place? Or are you just winging it as I did for many years?

 

 This review was originally posted on Adventures in Never Never Land

[Beth C.]

I borrowed it - now I'm buying it. I have struggled with budgets in the past, trying to know what will happen in the future. The idea of budgeting now vs. future sounds much more doable. Certainly worth reading the book or checking out the website if you're curious!