Blog

Free Budget Software Giveaway Winners Revealed

November 25, 2009 by Silicon Valley Blogger

Just in time for Thanksgiving, I held a YNAB Pro download giveaway for two free copies of YNAB (along with some other goodies) last week. I wanted to share my gratitude with all our readers and visitors on this occasion, and to those who submitted their comments and tips on how to save and budget their money (particularly this holiday season), a big thanks! The tips I came across were very helpful!

And now the time has come to announce the winners. I’ll be contacting them to ask for their names and shipping information so I can send them their prizes. Remember that to be eligible to receive these items, you’ll have to reside in the U.S. Again, thanks to all who participated in our giveaway. Here are the items I’ll be sending out along with who won them:

Our Free Budget Software (YNAB Pro) Giveaway Winners

1. YNAB Pro, 1 copy

Suzanne shares with us this tip:

Every year I join a savings club specifically for Christmas at my local credit union. I put $80 each month into that account as we have a rather large, close family. My check is issued each October so I am able to start my shopping early. I also do look throughout the year for any special items that might not be available at Christmas time and which would suit an individual in my gift list. Finally, I would love to win the YNAB Pro to use for my new business start-up.

2. YNAB Pro, 1 copy

Mac Riddel gives us this advice:

I am a current MS Money Plus user, and was not too happy to hear that Microsoft is discontinuing this product. I’ve tried Mint.com and other similar services in the past, and though I like the immediate “State of my Money”, I like to manually balance my books, as I always seem to find a few issues here & there.

Another option is to use an online service called clearcheckbook.com. Though it allows manual entry, It still appears to be a work in progress, and the price is steep at $42/year. I’d be more interested in YNAB Pro as it appears to be more robust w/ a 1-time fee.

3. Lending Club T-shirt and Financial Book

Kelly offers us these money-saving ideas:

My money saving plan for this Christmas is to cut back on the number of people that I give gifts to. I have also categorized the recipients and put a max dollar amount next to each category (e.g. Family = $50 per person, Friends = $30 per person, Others = $20) per person. I keep an envelope with cash, my list with my $ limits, names and potential gift ideas in my purse and if I find myself in a store I can pull out the list.

If it gets near Christmas and I haven’t found a good gift, I will get an appropriate gift card and put it in with their Christmas card. I read on another forum — I forget which one — that you can purchase discount gift cards at Sam’s or Costco. I will definitely be checking that out!

Also, a lot of stores around here offer a discount if you purchase 6 bottles of wine. I take advantage of that so I will have a some on hand to bring as a gift if I’m invited to a party, or if I’m caught in a situation where I need a last minute gift.

4. Lending Club T-shirt and Financial Book: RC @ ThinkYourWayToWealth.com.

5. Lending Club T-shirt and Financial Book: Kevin Foster

More YNAB In The Near Future

If you didn’t win this time around, no worries. There will be more opportunities for giveaways like these in the future. Please watch this space for more of these events.

If you’re interested in learning more about YNAB, a popular desktop budgeting tool and money management software product that’s now seen as a great alternative to Quicken, then please check out our YNAB (You Need A Budget) review or visit this website for additional information.

 
Thanks to our advertisers YNAB and Lending Club for providing the promotional items for this event.

• Middleman Beware: The Internet is Making You Obsolete I'm not an expert in business trends by any means, but it really seems like the disintermediation opportunities the Internet provides is beginning to replace,...
• NSFW: Free as in “my publisher will disown me after I pirate my book on TechCrunch” “So that’s your advice is it? As my agent? On the week my book comes out in paperback, I should produce my own pirated version...
• linklings, if it's not one thing, it's another edition In case it hasn't been obvious, I fell slightly behind on both the Wednesday link roundups ("the linklings") and the blog in general. No one...
• 10 Websites Where You Can Manage Your Money Online For Free. Besides your own bank which might also offer the service (mine does - Bank of America), there are plenty of other websites where you can...
• Improving Money Behavior with Online Budget Tools We have all heard (or experienced ourselves) that "there is too much month left at the end of the money" and "I just don't know...