From College Freshman to Financial Freedom: Lucas's Journey

Most college students spend their late-night hours cramming for exams or scrolling aimlessly through social media. Lucas? He stumbled upon a Facebook ad for YNAB that would change the course of his financial life forever. What started as curiosity turned into a lifelong skill and a launchpad to financial independence by graduation.

And, no, Lucas didn’t win the lottery and he didn’t start with a lot of money! He made the intentional choice to give every dollar a job, starting with just $363 in his bank account. Even in college, you can set yourself up for a future you love. I’ll let Lucas tell you how he did it. He made my job easy by basically writing his own ready-made blog in our story survey. Thank you, Lucas! 

Planning on paper worked when life was simple…

I've always walked the fine line between being a spender and a saver. When I got my first bank account and job at age 16, I carefully portioned out my wages into four categories: car, clothes, food, and entertainment. I was zero-based budgeting, but I didn't know it. It all existed in a pocket notebook I carried with me everywhere I went, grid lines drawn on each page in pencil.

After graduating high school my life became more complicated and I quit my notebook, instead checking my bank balance daily and trying to be reasonable in my spending without actually knowing what dollars needed to be used where.

Are you more of a spender or a saver? Find out with our Spending Personality Quiz!

…Then things got complicated. Enter YNAB!

One night around midnight, in February of my freshman year of college, everything changed for the better. An ad for YNAB showed up on my Facebook feed. As an econ student, I was intrigued. As a former notebook-budgeter, I was instantly enthralled. YNAB was just like my old system from high school, but it would actually work for my newly complex financial life!

I immediately signed up for a free trial and dropped in my bank accounts: $363. For a freshman in college I was rolling in it—except I wasn't. That $363 needed to be used for so many things, but each dollar could only be placed into one category at a time. 

My parents sent me money every month for necessities, but it was time to start giving that allowance the respect it deserved. Their allowance was generous—where was it all going each month? It was time to figure that out.

My one big goal: Financially independent by graduation

In my first month, I read and watched every bit of YNAB content out there. I gathered as much knowledge as possible, and began to see where my dollars were going as I spent them. It was fascinating. I was hooked! After three months, I was saving a bit of my allowance each month. But I got a full-time internship that summer, and that was when my YNAB story really took off. 

I gathered as much knowledge as possible, and began to see where my dollars were going as I spent them. It was fascinating. I was hooked!

I had some short term goals, but one long term goal really inspired me: I wanted to graduate college and be independent on day one. No living at home, and no requests for rent money either. I even had an apartment building in mind in my hometown. And I had three summer internships and three years of parental support left to get ready.

YNAB kept me focused

YNAB kept me focused on my goal from the start. I spent on necessities, I was generous when I could be, I had fun in my free time. All along the way, however, I was putting any extra money into my "Move Out" category, a goal initially over 3 years in the future.

I got home from my final semester of college in May of 2023. I spent the night at my parents' place that weekend, and on Monday I got the keys to my apartment; it wasn't fancy, but it was the one I picked out three years previous. I wasn't due to start working full time until July, but I had paid 3 months of rent up front, because I had been able to prepare for that using YNAB. I didn't even need a deposit for utilities, because I had opened a credit card when I started YNAB, and paid it off every month since, leaving me with very good credit. 

I worked for independence and found confidence

Many people are not as lucky as I was. They don't have parents who can afford to support them through college in the first place. But I also recognize that young adults who get that help often become dependent on it, and have to delay milestones like moving out as a result. 

My independence is very valuable to me. YNAB has enabled that independence and allows me to wake up every morning confident that I can take any financial punches the day wants to throw at me. Now, over a year into working full time, I pay my bills with confidence, and rarely worry about anything money-related. 

Now, over a year into working full time, I pay my bills with confidence, and rarely worry about anything money-related. 

I treat friends to dinner because I set aside money for it. I have two cats who are spoiled to bits. I max out my Roth IRA. And I go to my parents' house on weekends to do laundry, but not for financial reasons. I just like seeing them and the family dog. For a 24-year-old, I can't imagine a better position than the one I'm in, and I credit YNAB for much of that.

Be like Lucas. Find out how to fit your pets into your adulting spending plan.

A spendful life ahead

Lucas’ story is a masterclass in spendfulness: aligning your spending with the life you want to live. The daily practice of giving every dollar a job showed him that he could do more with his money. And that led him to make thousands of small, intentional decisions as a student that grew into long-term financial stability and freedom. 

It’s stories like Lucas’s that make working at YANB so rewarding—seeing so many stories of it really working for people! But Lucas made it happen! He was always able to work toward independence, but using YNAB helped him to see it. It helped him to chart a path toward becoming financially independent from his parents exactly when he wanted to and make tradeoff decisions that kept him on that path. And those skills he developed will stick with him the rest of his life.

If you’re ready to align your money with your own dreams, YNAB can help you do it too, starting with the money you have today. You don’t need to wait until you earn more. Start right now by putting the dollars you already have to work toward the life you envision.

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