About YNAB
What is YNAB?
YNAB (pronounced "why-nab") — short for You Need A Budget — is a personal-budgeting platform founded in 2004 by Jesse Mecham in Lehi, Utah. The product centers on a proven four-rule method to help people give every dollar a job, embrace true expenses, roll with the punches, and age their money. The company is bootstrapped — no outside funding — and has built a passionate user base over two decades.
The mission as the team frames it: "Turns out helping people reduce their financial stress makes working at YNAB really, really enjoyable." The product is also a regulated agent of Plaid Financial Ltd. (Firm Reference Number 804718) for account-information services in the UK.
Where will I work?
YNAB has been fully remote since its founding. The team is spread "all over the world—mostly in the United States, but also in the UK, Canada, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, and several other countries." Team members in the US or UK are set up as employees; those in other countries are independent contractors — but, as the careers page emphasizes, "You're an equal part of the team no matter where you live."
There's a Lehi, Utah corporate address (770 East Main Street) but no required office presence. Connect-in-person time happens through small-team work meetups and the biennial all-company retreat.
What is the YNAB team like?
The single overarching requirement for joining: alignment with YNAB's Core Value Manifesto. The team describes itself as "truly awesome people" with "a culture that encourages the growth of every individual." There's a strong work-life-balance mindset baked in — "We work hard but smart—we're in this for the long haul" — and personalized touches like curated birthday gifts sourced from the team member's 50-item bucket list and trusted recommendations.
Retreats are legendary in the team's telling — past locations include Palm Springs, Laguna Beach, Costa Rica, and a Montana dude ranch with a Yellowstone day trip.
Work-Life Balance
YNAB operates on a four-day work week — "We've adopted a four-day work week and rarely work more than that. There may be times where things get busy and people put some extra time in but then they take some extra time off, so it all balances out."
Vacation is a minimum three weeks per year — and management will "kindly bug" anyone who isn't taking it. On top, there's a two-week company-wide break every December. Generous paid parental leave is available for all full-time team members.
Perks and Benefits
Confirmed verbatim from YNAB's own careers page:
- Four-day workweek (32 hrs) + minimum 3 weeks vacation/year + 2-week December company break
- Fully remote — work wherever you have a reliable internet connection
- US full-time: 100% medical, dental, vision premium covered for employee + family
- US: 401(k) match up to 6% (Traditional + Roth), immediate vesting · UK: 6% pension contribution
- Generous paid parental leave for all full-time team members
- Profit-share twice a year (US and UK employees)
- Annual professional-development stipend + separate book stipend
- Biennial all-company retreat (past: Costa Rica, Montana, Palm Springs)
- Personalised birthday gifts curated from a 50-item bucket list