All these comments make it sound so over-the-top good it seems like they're fake, but I just started using it 2 days ago and it has already entirely changed the way I view my finances.

I'm kind of in an atypical situation where I already have a good amount of savings, have a lot of anxiety and guilt associated with spending money (uhh... thanks(?) Mom), and tend to end up accumulating money each month even if I'm not trying to save. But even in my situation, it's already had a big impact on my mindset. It's actually helping me feel less guilty about the idea of spending money, while allotting even more for savings than my records show I've been accumulating in an average month prior to YNAB. And as someone who has enough general anxiety to begin with, anywhere I can relieve that is a huge benefit.

My previous approach was to just try to avoid spending wherever possible, without negatively affecting my quality of life too much. But that's hard to balance when you don't actually have a good idea of how much money is going in and out, so what tends to end up happening is I do end up spending on things I didn't actually need or truly want and feeling guilty about it. It sounds counterintuitive, but I'm actually kind of prone to impulse spending. Not because I love buying stuff in general, but because that impulse is the one thing that will push me over the edge into spending money. And when you impulse buy one thing, it's like breaking your diet – you feel like you already screwed up and use it as an excuse to go crazy and screw up more. Plus I feel anxious spending money I actually have on things like prescriptions, and that's just dumb.

But with YNAB, it's almost like I already paid for the item up front and now I'm just picking it up. If I already allotted money for the amount I'd like to save each month and I know I have rent, utilities, and grocery money for the next couple months, I don't have to feel guilty about ordering food here or there. It's already accounted for.

Now, if your issues are with spending recklessly, this way of viewing it would probably be awful for you. But for me, it has already removed a lot of guilt and anxiety while still allowing me to save as much or more than before. I know myself and I'll still try to save wherever I can, but I won't have to feel guilty when I do spend.