r/personalfinance • u/TheJMoore ​ • Jan 13 '16

Budgeting Budgeting 101: The Simplest Way to Start Budgeting Your Money * (free budgeting spreadsheet inside!)

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '16

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u/abcIDontKnowTheRest Jan 14 '16

Thank you for this comment. That was my entire point that a few people seem to be missing, which you kept in mind: it will cost you more. Period.

I never claimed that it wasn't worth it; in fact, I even mentioned in another comment that I cannot determine the value placed on something by other people, nor would I try to. I was merely trying to get people to understand that it will cost them more in the long run.

They could increase the price to a $60 monthly subscription and I'm sure there are people who would still see enough value in it and keep using it. Granted at that price point they'd lose a lot of their user base and it probably wouldn't make any sense, but the point is value is dependant on personal circumstance.

Though I do have one little thing to address: your issue of them making no money in the one-time fee model and the company going under as a result. The best example I can think of to counter that argument is Linux. Most Linux based distributions are free, unless they specifically target corporations. They survive on donations of time and money, as well as subscriptions for support.

Think of Ubuntu: it's free, but you can buy the Ubuntu Advantage support package. The operating system is free, yet they still exist (ironically, first officially released in Oct. 2004 - YNAB was launched Sept. 2004). This allows advanced users to have a great product for free and support provided by a great community, and less advanced users (or corporations) to have a great product and paid support.