Category: Featured Posts

You Need a Budget (YNAB) vs EveryDollar

Post author By Alex Tran
Post date December 31, 2020
197 Comments on You Need a Budget (YNAB) vs EveryDollar

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 and 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!

Note: Because YNAB is a subscription service, I’ll be comparing YNAB to EveryDollar’s subscription service (called Ramsey+) with a separate section for the free version.

The Best Pen for Writing Notes and Underlining in Your Bible

Post author By Alex Tran
Post date August 8, 2020
110 Comments on The Best Pen for Writing Notes and Underlining in Your Bible

What is the best type of pen to use in a Bible?

I wish I would’ve asked that question earlier.

After trying highlighters, dry highlighters, pencils and pens (ball point, gelly, rollerball, etc.) without being satisfied with any for underlining and taking notes, I went on a quest to find the best pen.

The short answer: pigment ink (i.e. archive quality) pens.

Here are some of the key benefits:

How to Dig Yourself out of a Bible-Reading Rut

Post author By Alex Tran
Post date July 4, 2017
8 Comments on How to Dig Yourself out of a Bible-Reading Rut

In college, I remember a piece of surprising advice. I remember thinking, “Is that something a Christian is allowed to say?”

A friend shared how reading the Bible had gotten boring and monotonous for him. To which someone suggested he stop reading the Bible for a season.

Say, what!?

I’m surprised my friend didn’t turn into a pillar of salt after giving that advice.

But many years later, I get the underlying principle. Sometimes you just need to shift things up when you’re in a dry season.

To maximize the Word’s impact on our lives, we need a consistent habit. But to keep that habit from going stale, we need to vary our approach so our reading remains fresh.

So here are some different ideas to try if you find yourself in a Bible-reading rut.

5 Lessons from 15 Years as a Christian

Post author By Alex Tran
Post date October 18, 2015
2 Comments on 5 Lessons from 15 Years as a Christian

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.

6 Uber-Practical Steps to a Spiritually Significant Fast

Post author By Alex Tran
Post date December 29, 2014
12 Comments on 6 Uber-Practical Steps to a Spiritually Significant Fast

Honestly, I never look forward to whenever my church does a 21-day fast to kick off the year.

I don’t look forward to it because what should be a deeply spiritual act nearly always deteriorates into nothing more than a shift in what I eat.

I keep trying year after year to raise the spiritual bar, but haven’t quite nailed it (yet). What I have nailed is a few practical pointers that I hope will help on your next fast.