EP09 Money Stories: Carol Kissinger Was "Bad At Money," Until She Found YNAB
Release Date: 07/05/2021
The Most Important Thing Is Right In Front of You
The Jesse Mecham Show
Jesse reflects on the technological and cultural sea change underway as AI permeates everyday life. After publishing his new book, , Jesse scheduled the release of the audiobook version -- which he recorded himself in a studio in Salt Lake City -- only to find that someone had already released an audiobook with an AI generated voice clone. There are many such cases nowadays, leading Jesse to wonder -- how do you know whether anything is authentic anymore? Authenticity seems to be becoming a more and more valuable quality in an AI infused world, and how you spend your money is tangled up...
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Ask Jesse: Ditching Credit Cards, Leasing Teslas, What Jesse Eats for Breakfast
The Jesse Mecham Show
In part 3 of the latest installment of Ask Jesse, Jesse reflects on his 2023 experiment of ditching his credit card and spending only with a debit card -- which he stills does today! He also answers a question about what he eats for breakfast, and shares how his experience leasing a Tesla (which he now owns) led to him to realize that his insistence on driving a 2002 Honda Civic was really just pride masquerading as frugality. Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: Pre-order Jesse's new book! Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: Instagram: Twitter/X: Tik Tok: ...
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Ask Jesse: Getting Your Partner On Board with YNAB, Kids Savings Accounts, and YNAB'ing with Kids
The Jesse Mecham Show
In part 2 of the latest installment of Ask Jesse, Jesse offers some advice about how to work with a spouse who is reluctant or disinterested in YNAB. He also discusses savings accounts for kids, and how the Mecham family uses YNAB with the kids, at each stage of age and maturity. Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: Pre-order Jesse's new book! Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: Instagram: Twitter/X: Tik Tok:
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Ask Jesse: Pre-Tax vs Roth IRA's, Giving Dollars Jobs in Retirement, Saving for Multiple Goals at Once
The Jesse Mecham Show
Jesse's answering questions from his inbox, including questions about which retirement accounts to contribute to, how to save money in retirement when you don't have an income, and how a young person can save for multiple goals at the same time. Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: Pre-order Jesse's new book! Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: Instagram: Twitter/X: Tik Tok:
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Never Worry About Money Again (An Excerpt)
The Jesse Mecham Show
Jesse reads a short excerpt from his new book, Never Worry About Money Again. How does it feel to not worry about money day to day? It's not the end of all worry, but the freedom from money worry gives you the space to think about and work through the rest of your life. As Jesse says, the way you spend isn't just a parallel to the rest of your life, it is your life. Pre-order Jesse's new book! Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: Instagram: Twitter/X: Tik Tok:
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Signs You Need to Work on Your Money Skills
The Jesse Mecham Show
Pre-order Jesse's new book! Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: Instagram: Twitter/X: Tik Tok:
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I Just Wanted a Donut
The Jesse Mecham Show
Jesse shares a story about how one little donut that he passed by every day on his way to class as a struggling college student inspired him to develop a method for managing money that transformed his life, and millions of others by creating YNAB. Pre-order Jesse's new book now! Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: Instagram: Twitter/X: Tik Tok:
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Sticking It to the Bankers
The Jesse Mecham Show
Americans have done it again, setting a record $1.25 trillion in credit card debt as of Q1 2026. There was a time in not too distant history, however, when credit card debt went down, and bankers were afraid, at least for a little bit. Getting good at money doesn't have to be hard, and money doesn't have to be a constant source of stress and anxiety. You just have to answer one simple question. Pre-order Jesse's new book now! Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: Instagram: Twitter/X: Tik Tok:
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Getting Good at Money Is for Both of You
The Jesse Mecham Show
For those in relationships, getting good at money is not just a gift to yourself, it's a gift to you and your partner. Getting good at money means spending well, and spending well for a couple means putting more of yourselves out into the world via your dollars. Spending well leads to alignment, both of you on the same page regarding what you want your money to do for you and what you want your future to look like. Getting good at money doesn't have to be hard, and money doesn't have to be a constant source of stress and anxiety. You just have to answer one simple question. Jesse's new...
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From Good to Great at Money: Becoming a New You
The Jesse Mecham Show
Over the last several weeks Jesse has laid out some of the hallmarks of going from being bad at money (which is, frankly, how most of us start out) to good at money, including the benefits of being good at money -- less stress and anxiety, enjoying life more, engaging with life more. All these wins compound over time, and eventually you can become great with money, which means you can start bending the world to your will like Neo in the matrix. Ok, perhaps that's a little embellished, but you can shape your life and the world around you by totally expressing yourself with the money you...
info_outlineIn today's money story, Carol Kissinger tells her story of discovering YNAB after moving from America to Berlin. She had never been good with money, was indebted to her parents for years, and frequently argued with her husband about money. Moving to Berlin put new stress on her bank account, until she discovered YNAB. The Four Rules helped her put a simple framework around money and clarify what it was she was spending on.
As it turns out, impulse purchasing was a recurring theme in Carol's budget. She and her husband would see money in the bank account after pay day and start buying things... without first reserving money for rent, utilities, and the various unplanned expenses that inevitably come up during the year. With an ADHD diagnosis, Carol found it particularly difficult to stop impulse purchasing without having a solid plan of what to do with her money after pay day. YNAB provided a framework for her to budget her dollars and give them jobs before they got spent. She found initially she had to "roll with the punches" frequently as she would forget about irregular expenses, but as she made it through the first several months of budgeting it became easier to predict those and her budget became more stable.
Most importantly, Carol discovered in the process of budgeting with YNAB that some of her long-held preconceptions were really just not true. She believed for a long time she was simply bad at money, and nothing would change that -- it was just a part of who she was. After paying off every dollar of debt to her parents and building an emergency fund, she could no longer say that about herself, and her personal narrative changed. She wasn't just not bad at money anymore, she was good with money. This transformation has extended outside her budget too. Carol and her husband were always very messy housekeepers, she says, to the point where they didn't want to have company over. After going through the budgeting transformation with YNAB, they now have a much cleaner home!
Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com