Alex Tran - Page 2 of 35 - disciple in the making

The New You Need a Budget (YNAB) vs YNAB 4

It’s been almost two years since You Need a Budget switched to a web based, subscription model for their software. When I first tried the new version in January 2016, there were significant gaps in features that prevented me from switching.

Now that YNAB’s had a couple years to evolve, it’s time to take a second look.

So here’s a review comparing YNAB to the old YNAB. For this review, YNAB means the web based, subscription version and YNAB 4 refers to the old, downloadable version.

I used YNAB and YNAB 4 side-by-side for about a month and a half in order to answer these questions:

Is YNAB worth using for new users?
Should YNAB 4 users upgrade to YNAB?
Would I recommend YNAB over Mint or Dave Ramsey’s EveryDollar?
Is it time to look for YNAB alternatives?

Well, here we go. Let’s jump in and see what I like about YNAB compared to YNAB 4.

[Read more…]

5 Lessons from 15 Years as a Christian

2 Comments

Today (October 18, 2015) is a significant milestone in my faith journey.

Fifteen years ago today, sitting at my computer in my dorm room, I gave my life to Christ and began a relationship with him. Along with that milestone, I also hit 10 years in full-time church ministry last month.

So I thought it’d be fun to reflect back and jot down a few lessons I’ve learned along the way.

[Read more…]

Two Simple and Free Ways to Eliminate Porn Temptation

2 Comments

The Internet is a giant, never-ending vat of visual temptation.

Pornography, celebrity sex tapes, websites dedicated to adult content/explicit images, half-naked women in ads.

It can appear quickly and from the most unexpected places.

I was listening to music from Pandora’s website once when a full-page ad of a half-dressed woman appeared as a new song started playing.

Pandora!? #nothelpful

That’s enough to get the mind traveling down the wrong path. Before you know it, you’re opening a new tab, visiting your go-to porn websites, and scouring the web for more. It’s a scenario I’ve repeated, and I know countless others have experienced as well.

So how can we combat porn and visually explicit images coming at us from every direction?

Why resist temptation tomorrow if you have the power to eliminate it today? ~@craiggroeschelClick To Tweet

In this blog post, I’m going to show you two free ways I’ve eliminated visual temptation today, so that I won’t have to resist it tomorrow.

And I’ll show you step-by-step how you can use them too!

[Read more…]

You Need a Budget (YNAB) vs EveryDollar

69 Shares

In the budgeting world, you won’t go far without hearing about Dave Ramsey’s EveryDollar. Being a long-time You Need a Budget (YNAB) user, I was curious to see how EveryDollar stacked up. Especially since EveryDollar has a free option.

Would EveryDollar be good enough to switch away from YNAB? Or at least worth recommending to friends who don’t want to pay for YNAB?

I used YNAB and EveryDollar side-by-side for an entire month. Here's what I learned.Click To Tweet

I focused on three areas I believe are important for any app wanting to help people get their money under control.

How easy is it to:

Create your first month’s budget?
Add transactions from your smartphone?
Balance your budget at the end of the month?

This post shares what I learned and crowns a winner!

[Read more…]

You and I Are Both in Full-Time Ministry

2 Comments

Let’s play a word association game. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when I say the following words/phrases.

Hipster
Netflix
Full-time ministry

My answers would be: skinny jeans, binge watching and working at a church.

Since I work at a church, people often ask me what it’s like to be in full-time ministry.

I hate this question.

It implies I’m in full-time ministry and you are not. Here’s the truth. If you’re a Christian, you are in full-time ministry.

Full-time ministry is not what your job is. It's the attitude you go into every day with.Click To Tweet

So how about you tell me, what’s it like being in full-time ministry? What are ways we can all have that mindset each day?