Ask Jesse: ...And Done!
You Need A Budget (YNAB)
Pfew! Done, finally! Jesse clears up the backlog in his Ask Jesse mailbox, answering listener questions about the nature of credit card spending in YNAB, whether YNAB'ers should still have emergency funds, and what to do when saving up for a down payment while houses continue to rise in price. Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: Instagram: Twitter: Tik Tok:
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Ask Jesse: We're Getting There People!
You Need A Budget (YNAB)
Jesse continues to work through his backlog of Ask Jesse questions, including his thoughts on credit karma, the magic of 1% retirement contributions, and whether he would save cash in case of recession or pay down debt. Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: Instagram: Twitter: Tik Tok:
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Ask Jesse: Still Catching Up
You Need A Budget (YNAB)
Jesse is catching up on his inbox after a summer break, and answering your questions! Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: Instagram: Twitter: Tik Tok:
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Ask Jesse: Catching Up
You Need A Budget (YNAB)
Since Jesse has been away, the emails have been piling up! Jesse works through his backlog of Ask Jesse questions today, including a woman who has a newfound distaste for credit cards... and wrote to Jesse to tell about it! Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: Instagram: Twitter: Tik Tok:
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An Experiment Made Permanent
You Need A Budget (YNAB)
Jesse is back from his summer break and ready to answer your questions and talk money! Long-time listeners of the podcast know that each year Jesse experiments with something in his financial life, whether its reconciliation intervals or category structures. This year Jesse decided to wean himself off credit cards entirely, and he provides an update on that project. So far it's looking good, and he expects that this will be a permanent change. Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: ...
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When Expenses Rise: Ben Rolls With the Punches
You Need A Budget (YNAB)
What do you do when the biggest line item in your budget increases, like, a lot? You engage your Rule Two super powers and roll with the punches of course. Emotionally, however, it's not easy when you have to reallocate dollars away from categories to handle the increased expenses in another category. It's not just a math problem -- each of those dollars symbolizes intentions and plans, which now must be put on hold, or changed altogether. In Ben's case, it's renovating a bathroom badly in need of a refresh. In this episode, Ben shares how he keeps his spirits up when he has to roll...
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Money Stress
You Need A Budget (YNAB)
Ernie is running solo today, and sharing some recent developments in his financial life that have made him rethink his budget entirely. YNAB'ers are creatures of habit, and many of us enjoy the budgets we have created and honed over the years as neat pieces of work in themselves. But as Jesse has said over and over on the podcast, the budget really exists to serve your needs and help you prioritize your spending in accordance with your values. Life is dynamic, and sometimes those needs change! That means the budget needs to change with your life. Ernie shares how he blew up his budget...
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Rules Changes: A Quick Trip Through YNAB History
You Need A Budget (YNAB)
Did you know that YNAB's Four Rules weren't always four? And contrary to popular belief, they did not spring forth from Jesse's head fully formed! No, the Four Rules developed over years as Jesse refined and clarified the YNAB method behind the software (and originally, the spreadsheet). Ben and Ernie take a quick spin through the history of the Four Rules, going all the way back to the very first YNAB website in 2004. Budget Nerds Episode #50: A Brief History of the YNAB Rules Apple Podcasts Spotify Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: Follow Ben and...
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How to Talk to Your Partner About Budgeting
You Need A Budget (YNAB)
Ben and Ernie share their personal experiences talking to their partners about budgeting and YNAB. Every family is different, and every partnership will handle communicating about money and budgeting differently, but the important thing is that you do it! Frequent, regular money conversations help everyone stay on the same page and focused on the same goals, whether one person manages all the YNAB details or each person shares equally in that task. Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: Follow Ben and Ernie on the Budget Nerds Podcast Apple: Spotify: Sign up for a...
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Managing Vacation Transactions
You Need A Budget (YNAB)
It's peak vacation season, so Ben and Ernie are comparing notes on handling the vacation budget in the moment. One the one hand, you want vacation to be vacation -- a time to unplug, be in the present moment, engaged with your family and friends. On the other hand, waiting until the end of the trip to categorize all your transactions can be overwhelming! Ben and Ernie share their approach to managing the transaction log without going crazy or burying your face in your phone the whole trip. Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: Follow Ben and Ernie on the Budget Nerds...
info_outlineJesse shares a trick for improving your Rule Two planning (Embrace Your True Expenses), and better prepare for the next unexpected expense.
Jesse suggests pulling your last six months of bank statements, and quickly scanning them for large expenditures. Look at the number of digits, and flag the transactions that have a large number of digits (to you). This should only take a few minutes. Note the payee. This exercise is the first place to look when planning for future unexpected expenses. Did you get in a fender bender and end up with a $1,000 bill from the body shop? Did you hire a plumber to fix some leaking pipes in your basement? These are possible future expenses you can use Rule Two to plan for.
Now, hopefully you won't be getting into fender benders on a regular basis! But that auto shop expense might trigger you to think about upcoming regular car maintenance that you haven't yet budgeted for. Likewise, owning a house means regular maintenance, so at some point you're probably going to call a plumber out again. Time to assign money in your budget and plan for that!
This is a good, easy strategy for improving your Rule Two thinking, and put future you in a better financial position.
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