“So, you have a brain aneurysm.”

Last summer, my world turned upside down in a single day. I went from training for a half-marathon and helping my parents with a garage sale to sitting in the ER, learning I had a mass on my thyroid and a brain aneurysm behind my right eye.

This was the last thing I ever expected to happen, but there it was— happening .

The next few months were a blur of doctor visits, well-wishes, tears, naps, and calming breaths. I started making some significant changes to my life, from the products I used to the way I dealt with stress.

I started questioning everything, including my relationship with money. In my mind, there were more pressing matters to address, like my health and stress management. When your life is rocked to its very core, money shouldn’t be as important, right? So I stopped caring about money, and I stopped using YNAB.

It turns out, money is more important than I ever thought.

The longer I went without using YNAB, the more stress I felt around my finances.…