After more than 10 years, Eli Finer cancels YNAB for his own budgeting app
Eli Finer just cancelled YNAB after more than 10 years. He admits budgeting software is complex and hard to get right, but he built his own, to his needs, and he's happy to maintain it. He thinks there's still room for paid software, but using anything he can't change with a prompt, or connect to over MCP for analysis and bulk updates, now feels incredibly anachronistic. And owning something as important as his money tools matters to him too. A decade of loyalty, ended at a prompt box.
I just cancelled YNAB after more than 10 years. Budgeting software is complex and hard to get right, but I built my own, to my needs, and I'm happy to maintain it.
There is probably room for paid software or SaaS still, but using anything I can't change with a prompt and that I can't even connect with MCP to for analysis or bulk updates feels incredibly anachronistic.
And the sense of ownership I get from something as key as my money is significant too.
— Eli Finer, read the original on XMore SaaS obituaries
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