Do This Now for a Better December
The Jesse Mecham Show
Happy New Year, Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays! We hope you had a wonderful holiday season. Now that it's January once more, it's time to tally up the damage from the holiday season... that is, if you didn't plan for the damage already! Unfortunately, Christmas and New Year's is a season where many folks go into debt. Some are still carrying debt from the prior year. Holiday spending doesn't have to be a surprise, however. If you start now, you can set aside a little bit each month so that when next December arrives, your holiday spending category will be stuffed as a...
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Buy Or Rent? The Real Question You Should Be Asking...
The Jesse Mecham Show
Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on YouTube: 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/X: Tik Tok:
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More Money = Less Stress? Think Again
The Jesse Mecham Show
It's a common trap to think that making more money is the answer to your financial worries. Many people think that if they just had a bigger income, then they'd be able to afford everything they needed and wanted, and they wouldn't have to worry anymore. But a recent experience reminded Jesse that this simply isn't true. Jesse spoke at an event with wealthy business owners, and he posed a simple question to the audience: "who here is worried about money?" Every hand went up. Now, these people may not be worried about paying the monthly electric bill, but they do have money worries --...
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How Savers Become Spenders
The Jesse Mecham Show
Everyone is familiar with the "savers and spenders" dichotomy: some people identify as savers and others spenders, the implication being that spenders are irresponsible with money and savers are wise and frugal. As Jesse has argued, it's a false dichotomy. In fact, YNAB's overarching goal is to help everyone become a "spender" -- a wise spender whose spending is in alignment with their priorities. A good spender knows exactly what he or she is spending for; she gives every dollar a job. When you look at money through this lens, everything is spending, including savings. Savings is just...
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Want to Stop Worrying About Money? It's All About Timing
The Jesse Mecham Show
Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on YouTube: 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/X: Tik Tok:
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You're Bad With Money. Here's How to Fix It
The Jesse Mecham Show
The average person is bad at money. Actually, most people are bad at money! Living paycheck to paycheck, with little to no savings and a lot of debt is the norm. But you don't have to be. Learning to spend well is the key to learning to be good with money, because all things finanical flow from spending. YNAB teaches you just how to do that. Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on YouTube: 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/X: Tik Tok:
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Delay... Not Debt
The Jesse Mecham Show
Jesse shares a story about helping his daughter use YNAB to plan her spending and save for an electric bicycle. The bike was $600, quite a big ticket item for a 9 year old, but together they came up with a plan and created a target in YNAB to assign money toward that goal each month. And when the day came a few months later to make the purchase... she didn't want it. The burning desire for the bike had passed, and the clarity of the tradeoffs she would have to make to buy it set in. At the end of the day, the bike wasn't worth it to her. That is the power of YNAB and delayed...
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Jesse Is Taking a Short Break: Stay Tuned!
The Jesse Mecham Show
Jesse is taking a short break while he's on the road. He'll be back in a couple weeks! Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube: Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on YouTube: 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/X: Tik Tok:
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Changing The Rules of Money | Dave Crombleholme Live from Fan Fest Minneapolis 2025
The Jesse Mecham Show
In today's episode, Jesse hands over the mic to YNAB team member Dave Crombleholme, who presented at the Minneapolis Fan Fest in June 2025. Dave is perhaps most famous for his at YNAB, but he's also spent a long time wrestling with the word budget. In Dave's presentation, he outlines various iterations of the YNAB rules over the years, explains why the concept of rules never sat right in the first place, and how trying redefining the word budget proved to be a frustrating endeavor. In the end, it was always about spending, about giving every dollar a job, and spending to build the live...
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Money Is the Medium, Money Is You | Jesse Live from Fan Fest Minneapolis 2025
The Jesse Mecham Show
In June 2025 at YNAB Fan Fest Minneapolis, Jesse gave a talk about how money is a medium -- not just of exchange, but, ultimately, of you. When you really examine what it is that money does in the world, it is a thing which translates your energy and effort (required to earn the money) into tangible goods and services. When you draw a throughline between your work and your spending, money just falls away. It's simply a medium for you to express yourself in the world. Sign up for YNAB Fan Fest updates: Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on YouTube: Got a question for Jesse? Send...
info_outlineHappy New Year, Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays! We hope you had a wonderful holiday season. Now that it's January once more, it's time to tally up the damage from the holiday season... that is, if you didn't plan for the damage already!
Unfortunately, Christmas and New Year's is a season where many folks go into debt. Some are still carrying debt from the prior year. Holiday spending doesn't have to be a surprise, however. If you start now, you can set aside a little bit each month so that when next December arrives, your holiday spending category will be stuffed as a stocking.
So, today, pour a cup of coffee, sit down, and tally up your holiday spending from 2025. Don't forget travel and extra groceries! Divide that number by 12 -- that's your monthly savings target for the 2026 holiday category. Set aside that amount each month and next December your holiday spending will be stress and guilt free. If you use the YNAB software, you can set this amount as a target in your holiday category and YNAB will do the math for you. Simply set a target for December with the total amount you want to save in your holiday category, and YNAB will tell you how much you need to set aside in the category each month to get there.
Here's to getting better with money, one target at a time, in 2026!
Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow
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