The YNAB Podcast

Where Jesse Mecham obsesses out loud about spending purposefully, saving aspirationally, and giving joyfully. It all comes down to just four simple habits.

A Fun Way to Do Fun Money 07/22/2024

A Fun Way to Do Fun Money Jesse shares a fun way to handle "fun money" from long-time YNAB software engineer Kyle. Kyle suggests creating separate bank accounts for fun money with separate budgets as well. His method evolved from the desire to keep the visibility of fun money separate from his spouse, so they could 1.) take any judgment or guilt away from spending fun money, and 2.) spend on fun things for each other without ruining the surprise! Ordinarily, Jesse advocates for simplifying your bank accounts as much as possible, but Kyle is a veteran YNAB'er and his method may be a fun experiment for you to try in your own family! 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: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/32233812

The Utility (or Not) of the Month 07/15/2024

The Utility (or Not) of the Month We organize our lives by the calendar, and the calendar is organized into months. It's no surprise then, that we tend to think of finances in terms of months -- monthly payments, monthly contributions, having 3-6 months of expenses saved. The month has a lot of utility, but it is an arbitrary division of time. Jesse examines how the month can be useful, yet also detrimental, to making money decisions. 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: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/32129082

Maybe Just Buy the Thing (and Costco) 07/08/2024

Maybe Just Buy the Thing (and Costco) Jesse waxes poetic about Costco and how simple their model makes purchasing decisions. He also brings up the point that we often spend a lot of time searching for the best deal, for that one hot tip that will maximize our dollars for a certain purchase. Our time and attention is a resource as well, and perhaps we should just go buy the thing, and be done with 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: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/32042527

Let's Be Clear, I Hate Debt 07/01/2024

Let's Be Clear, I Hate Debt Jesse delivers a good old fashioned rant about the evils of debt. While he may have softened his rhetoric over the past decade, Jesse is no less serious about his distaste for debt! 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: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/31892757

Run Like You Stole Something (to HR) 06/24/2024

Run Like You Stole Something (to HR) Well meaning companies will bring in financial advisors to extol the virtues of investing in 401ks and matching plans, while some of their employees are still living paycheck to paycheck. With YNAB, you can take control of your money and get off the paycheck to paycheck cycle, then run to HR and take that 401k match like you stole 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: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/31860062

Money Is Chaotic, Money Is Boring 06/17/2024

Money Is Chaotic, Money Is Boring Money can be chaotic, noisy, tinged with anxiety and fear. Or, with YNAB, it can be boring! At YNAB we strive for money to be boring, so that life can be rich, exciting, and full. 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: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/31733722

Shock Absorbers 06/10/2024

Shock Absorbers As the saying goes, "stuff" happens. Life throws curveballs, sometimes several in a row, and YNAB'ers prepare for this financially by following the Four Rules: Give every dollar a job Embrace your true expenses Roll with the punches Age your money Today's episode is mostly about rule #3. When you roll with the punches, you reassign money you have saved up for other expenses in the future to cover the unexpected expense you are facing right now. After working the method for a while, you'll build up more and more money in your categories, and therefore have more money available to cover unexpeceted expenses when life decides to throw you a curveball. Think of your money like shock absorbers -- it doesn't take away all the pain or stress of unforeseen circumstances, but it does take away the money stress, which can be a blessing! 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: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/31669282

Category Tractor Beam, Sucked Me Right In 06/03/2024

Category Tractor Beam, Sucked Me Right In Those categories that you love to spend in, those categories that suck you right in. What if you could increase your spending in that category by 50%? Jesse challenges you that you can in fact do this, by honing in on the things you love, and the things you don't. Spend less on the things you don't love -- not because you are cutting! -- but so that you can spend more on the things you love. 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: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/31564112

Can You Plan to Be Spontaneous? 05/27/2024

Can You Plan to Be Spontaneous? According to Jesse, absolutely you can! In fact, YNAB enables you to be more spontaneous. Planning your spending with YNAB doesn't mean locking your dollars into rigid categories that cannot change. It means setting aside money ahead of time for the things you don't know you want yet. Many people who thrive on spontaneity unfortunately end up in financial trouble, because they're never sure whether they have the money to afford their spur of the moment purchases and experiences. Using YNAB, however, you can set up categories whose only purpose is to hold money for spontaneous expenses, so that when the time comes you can spend the money without worrying about the consequences later. It's already there, and it's meant to be spent! Celebrate YNAB's 20th Anniversary: YNAB Fan Fest, September 21, 2024 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: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/31453812

Helping Savers Spend 05/20/2024

Helping Savers Spend We tend to think of spending as a problem that needs to be solved, however YNAB encourages spending as a thing to be enjoyed, as long as that spending is in accordance with priorities and people understand the tradeoffs they are making when they spend. In the world of personal finance we also tend to think about people who are natural spenders, but they are natural savers as well, and YNAB can help them too! Jesse responds to a comment from a YNAB team member who identifies as a natural saver, who has used YNAB to learn to love spending money as much as she does saving 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: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/31293942

Cheaper Milk and Eggs 05/13/2024

Cheaper Milk and Eggs Jesse fields a question from the YNAB team about how he stays positive in light of rapidly increasing grocery prices. 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: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/31249787

Ask Jesse: Heady Books and Final Settlement, Among Other Things 05/06/2024

Ask Jesse: Heady Books and Final Settlement, Among Other Things Jesse answers another round of questions from his inbox, including a number of suggestions for new books to read! 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: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/31135388

It's Just No Way to Live 04/29/2024

It's Just No Way to Live It's not uncommon for people to remark to Jesse that they wished they would have found YNAB sooner. The four habits are such a powerful tool for bringing clarity to your money and joy to your spending. Today Jesse wants to remind you that regretting the past is no way to live! 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: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/30999428

What's the Alternative? 04/22/2024

What's the Alternative? Jesse reviews the Four Rules and takes issue with those who say, "yeah must be nice to have extra money to make a plan with... everything I make is spoken for." It's true, there are some people who have a legitimate income problem. But this argument often becomes an excuse to not actually make plans for your money, to not try to follow the rules and start to get ahead on your expenses. After all, what's the alternative? 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: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/30925338

Your Biggest Single Expense 04/15/2024

Your Biggest Single Expense Your biggest single expense is one you probably don't think about much... unless you're American and it's April 15th. You may think it's housing, or maybe education, or raising kids, but all those costs are dwarfed by the elephant on your income statement: taxes. We are taxed in hundreds of ways, some obvious like income taxes and sales tax, others more insidious like fuel tax, air travel tax, liquor tax, etc, etc. Jesse points this out to demonstrate something important -- you can be desensitized to almost any expense, even the single biggest expense in your life! Beginning Balance Podcast with Jesse and Mark Butler Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beginning-balance/id1569423517 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7APubdzXN2eeeMdNpCLkiy?si=75eb73f1ac0a49ba 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: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/30811998

Let's Cut Spending! 04/08/2024

Let's Cut Spending! Let's cut spending! And then... what exactly? The all too common advice that you need to "cut spending" implies that your level of consumption is simply too high. That may or may not be the case, but in Jesse's experience and the thousands upon thousands of people YNAB has helped to regain control over their money, "spending less" is rarely the problem. Most people don't have a spending too much problem, they have a spending on the wrong things problem. For that reason, you'll never hear Jesse give advice to just "cut spending." 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: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/30712393

Ask Jesse: Perfect YNAB, Tithing Confusion, and More Credit Card Comments 04/01/2024

Ask Jesse: Perfect YNAB, Tithing Confusion, and More Credit Card Comments Jesse answers another round of questions from YNAB listeners. Today someone asks whether there is such a thing as "perfect YNAB" use and if good enough use is OK (yes!). Another YNAB'er is confused on how to calculate tithes for business income, and, as always, there are some questions and comments about credit card rewards. 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: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/30609018

Gaming the Credit Card System... Maybe 03/25/2024

Gaming the Credit Card System... Maybe Jesse answers a question from a listener who argues that becuase he carries enough cash to cover his credit card spending at all times, he is not riding the float and therefore is gaming the credit card companies. Jesse quotes Charlie Munger -- "show me the incentive, and I'll show you the outcome" (he actually said outcome not behavior) -- and observes that financial institutions have big incentives to encourage more spending, because spending increases their fees. So where there's an incentive, there's a behavior they want to encourage, and using credit cards is it. In Jesse's experience, ditching the credit card has made him less likely to impulse spend, and that experience is likely what financial institutions have figured out! 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: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/30460183

Inherent Value Doesn't Exist 03/18/2024

Inherent Value Doesn't Exist Jesse argues that the common refrain of a thing having "inherent value" or "intrinsic value" is not actually a thing. As Jesse explains, value is a moving target, constantly shifting along with our desires and material circumstances. To a starving man, food is worth more than gold. To that same man well-fed, it can be worth little. We see this with our own money -- as our circumstances change, the categories we prioritze shift. Rule 3, roll with the punches, acknowledges the ever-shifting nature of our needs and desires, and challenges us to make trade-offs to materialize those changes in our financial plans. To that end, nothing has an inherent value, but rather a variable value, the only certainty being that it will fluctuate over time. Beginning Balance Podcast -- the show Jesse mentions has not aired yet, but will be coming soon! In the meantime, check out more of Jesse's musings about money here: Apple: Spotify: 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: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/30412333

Ask Jesse: Lavish Praise and Woodchip Gardening (Sort Of) 03/11/2024

Ask Jesse: Lavish Praise and Woodchip Gardening (Sort Of) Jesse is back answering another round of questions from his inbox. Today he responds to listeners asking whether the Four Rules are really rules or rather habits, what his favorite time management tools are, and how to relate to a spouse uninterested in budgeting. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals 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: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/30297598

Young Creatures Just Looking to Party 03/04/2024

Young Creatures Just Looking to Party Jesse shares a story from a YNAB'er who had a major mindset shift about money. For this person, money went from a stressful topic to envisioning it as "young creatures just looking to party." Imagining your dollars as little "you's," searching for ways to improve your life and live out your values takes away the fear and anxiety around money. 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: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/30218553

Looking In the Mirror 02/26/2024

Looking In the Mirror Mirror, mirror on the wall... which category is the truest of them all? Over the last several weeks, Jesse has explored the idea that money is more than just a tool, it's a reflection of you. Your spending is a representation of your energies and your desires, and therefore a proxy for who you are. So, if you imagined the categories in your spending plan as a mirror -- what would that mirror say about you? Do you like what's in the reflection? 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: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/30106228

Money Is Not a Tool 02/19/2024

Money Is Not a Tool One of the pervasive messages about money is that "it's just a tool," and Jesse takes issue with that! When money is reduced to a mere tool, like a wrench or a screwdriver, it invites people to be more careless with it, to use it then put it in a drawer and forget about it. Hearkening back to episode #650: It's You All the Way Down, Jesse reminds us that if a dollar is the product of your energies, then a dollar is you! You aren't just a tool -- you are a human, with desires and values which are reflected in your spending. In this light, then, money takes on a much larger role than merely "tool," and it should be treated with the importance and attention it deserves. 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: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/29987803

Dire Straits, or Rolling In It, It's All the Same 02/12/2024

Dire Straits, or Rolling In It, It's All the Same Whether your bank account is looking bare and collecting dust, or flush with cash, the temptation is all the same: to run away from the money. The person in dire financial straits often wishes they had a bunch of money, because then they wouldn't have to worry about money. On the flipside, the person newly flush with cash is quick to forget about the money, because they feel like they have enough now. Inattention is a mistake, no matter how it happens! Send your question to Jesse: Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: Instagram: Twitter: Tik Tok: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/29899668

Ask Jesse: How to Plan with a Reluctant Partner, and Some Successes 02/05/2024

Ask Jesse: How to Plan with a Reluctant Partner, and Some Successes Jesse opens his inbox for another for round of Ask Jesse, where he answers emails from YNAB'ers about all things money, finance, and... well, life! In today's episode, one listener asks about how to deal with a reluctant partner who doesn't want to participate in the YNAB process. Other listeners share their successes paying off debt and gaining control of their money for the first time. Send your question to Jesse: Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: Instagram: Twitter: Tik Tok: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/29786038

A Sample of Interesting, Joyful Spending 01/29/2024

A Sample of Interesting, Joyful Spending Back in October 2023, Jesse asked listeners to look at their last ten transactions on YNAB and rank them on a scale from one to three, with one being spending that sucked joy from them and three being spending that sparked joy. Then he asked listeners to share their most interesting "three," the most interesting transaction that brough joy. Today, Jesse digs through the answers and discovers an interesting commonality -- the spending that sparked the most joy was spending on other people. Have a question for Jesse? Email him at: Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: Instagram: Twitter: Tik Tok: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/29688098

YNABers Share Their New Years Resolutions 01/22/2024

YNABers Share Their New Years Resolutions A few weeks ago, Jesse put out the call to share your New Years resolutions, as well as a guiding word for 2024 -- something to help you put your resolution into action day to day. Jesse received a number of great responses, and shares a sample of them on today's podcast. Good luck working toward your goals in 2024! Have a question for Jesse? Email him at: Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: Instagram: Twitter: Tik Tok: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/29571313

I Love Money 01/15/2024

I Love Money Jesse revisits his infamous experiment in which he essentially stopped budgeting for an entire year. The result from that experiment was that he and his family spent several thousand extra dollars that they couldn't account for, and even though the extra spending was not material to the family bottom line, it still bothered Jesse. Today, he hits on what exactly it was that bothered him. Managing money well, building a plan for spending, is virtuous, and virtue is something that you do, not something that you simply have. When the Mecham family stopped following the Four Rules, they lost the habit! Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email at: Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: Instagram: Twitter: Tik Tok: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/29454458

A Clarification on Goal Failures 01/08/2024

A Clarification on Goal Failures Anytime the word resolution comes up, there are naysayers claiming that they don't work. That goals don't work. Unfortunately a lot of people buy into that when they set a goal and fail to achieve it. Their failure leads them to believe that settings goals is a useless endeavour. Jesse offers some encouragement this year, for the goals you seek to achieve and those you fall short on. Tell Jesse about your goals for 2024! Send him an email at: Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: Instagram: Twitter: Tik Tok: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/29318573

Goals Are Awesome 01/01/2024

Goals Are Awesome As we embrace the New Year, Jesse challenges you to pick some goals and set some resolutions. Even if you fail, you will certainly learn some things in the process of chasing a goal, and that experience is invaluable! Tell Jesse about your goals for 2024! Send him an email at: Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: Instagram: Twitter: Tik Tok: /episode/index/show/youneedabudget/id/29242668

The YNAB Podcast

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