The YNAB Podcast

If you made it through the last few weeks, you know why Jesse hates debt and why you should too!

 

Start the New Year by putting those feelings into action. Jesse has created a "debt bootcamp" for YNAB users to help you get serious about getting rid of your debt for good. Best of all, it's FREE for all YNAB software subscribers.

 

The Debt Bootcamp will be an intense, 8-week challenge to get rid of as much debt as possible. The camp will be run through a private Facebook group where you can stay accountable with other YNAB'ers and share your successes and challenges.

 

Go to https://www.youneedabudget.com/bootcamp/ to sign up now!

 

 

Direct download: 409_YNAB_Debt_Bootcamp.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

The corporations are playing a game, and you can't win. So opt out and stop playing the game! In the part 4 of the "Why I Hate Debt" miniseries, Jesse explains how behind every credit card is a clever system of points, travel miles, and other "free" rewards designed to keep you spending and in debt.

 

Credit cards are a very profitable industry. Would banks and finance companies be giving away rewards if they weren't making a profit from it? Of course not! They've got the data, they've studied the statistics, and they know people will drive themselves into debt, where they can rack up fees and interest.

 

So join Jesse, stop playing the game, and start hating debt!

 

Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Direct download: 408_Why_I_Hate_Debt_Pt4_Corporations.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

Jesse hates debt, and you should too! In Part 3 of anti-debt miniseries, Jesse argues that debt is not just a drain on our cash flow and creativity, it also restricts our future opportunities!

 

The burden of debt keeps us from realizing our full potential in many ways -- starting a business, taking a lower paying job for more fulfilling work, moving to a new state or country -- often in the early phases of life when we are most energetic and open to growth.

 

Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Direct download: 407_Why_I_Hate_Debt_Pt3_Cost_of_Opportunity.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

In Part 2 of the Why I Hate Debt miniseries, Jesse explains why debt is a non-negotiable for him, and why is should be for you too.

 

At 22 years old, trying to finish his Masters degree and expecting his first child, Jesse found himself caught between two non-negotiables: 1.) Living without debt, and 2.) Allowing his wife to quit work to focus on raising their child. The problem? They didn’t have enough money to last until Jesse started working his new job after graduation, even living a very frugal existence.

 

At this point, it would have been so easy to simply sign for a student loan to cover the shortfall. It was only about $7,000. Other students around him were borrowing far more. The interest rates were low, the payback period would be short… debt was the easy way out.

 

But choosing to borrow would have blinded Jesse to the possibility of another solution, another way to make up the shortfall. The constraints of his non-negotiables led him to start selling his budgeting spreadsheet, which eventually turned into You Need A Budget.

 

Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Direct download: 406_Why_I_Hate_Debt_Pt2_Constraints.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

Jesse hates debt, and you should too. Debt service constricts our cash flow, limits out ability to do other things like savings and investing, and generally introduces more stress into our lives. In this first part of a mini-series on debt, Jesse makes a case for living completely debt-free.

 

Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

 

Direct download: 405_Why_I_Hate_Debt_Cash.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

Some of you may be thinking, YNAB sounds great, but what if I don't get a regular paycheck? How am I supposed to budget with that?

Well, first off, you definitely need a budget! Planning to fund your expenses in future months becomes more critical the more variable your income is.

 

Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Direct download: 404_Handling_Wildly_Variable_Income.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

Jesse is thinking about launching a separate podcast to discuss small business, internet marketing, and how you can use YNAB to manage your business cash flow, and he wants to know what you think!

 

Would you be interested in a business-focused podcast? What kind of topics would you like to hear about?

 

Email Jesse at podcast@youneedabudget.com and share your thoughts!

 

Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Direct download: 403_A_Business_Podcast.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

Jesse asks the most important question about your reasons for getting out of debt, saving money, and achieving your financial goals. Why?

 

Why do you do it? What's the reason behind the goals? If you could write a mission statement for your life, what would it say? Answering the simple question "Why?" might be the most important thing you do after you complete the blocking and tackling of paying off debt and building an emergency fund.

 

Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Direct download: 402_Why.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

"FI" is an acronym that has steadily grown in popularity over the last decade, though the concept is much older than that. It stands for financial independence -- some people call it early retirement (the longer acronym FIRE stands for financial independence, retire early) -- but the idea is simple. Live below your means, drastically increase your savings rate and accumulate enough wealth to "retire" or perhaps better said, until you can do what you want to do.

 

Time and savings rate are the key components of financial independence. What if you could save half of everything you make? What if you started doing that from the beginning? Jesse shares some lessons he's trying to instill in his kids as they take their first steps toward financial independence.

 

Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Direct download: 401_Sowing_the_Seeds_of_FI.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

It's common to set milestones for paying down debt. They're usually big, round numbers like $500, $1k, $5k, $10k. At the end of the day though, the goals are arbitrary. It's just a number, a stepping stone, toward the greater goal.

 

So if the day to day grind of fiscal responsibility is getting to you, change your milestones! Maybe it's $749, or $362.54. It's all arbitrary, right? Have fun with the game, and make it work for you. Set a new milestone -- whatever you like -- and celebrate when you reach that new number.

 

Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Direct download: 400_Arbitrary_Milestones.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

How do you order your categories? What's on top? What's on bottom? And how did you decide that?

 

Categories are easy to order once you understand your priorities. Rent, utilities, food -- these are non-negotiable. You can and should, however, drill down into the details of each category and ask yourself whether you could live without some of the expenses in that category. You need utilities to live, clearly, but if pushed, what would you keep and what would you cut? Could you live without internet if you had to?

 

Once you understand which categories sit above the line (necessities) and which sit below the line, then you can total up how much you spend on "below the line" items. Then ask yourself: do you want any of this money to go to above the line items?

 

Try this exercise to clarify your budget and see whether your budget is in line with your priorities.

 

 

Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Direct download: 399_Categories_Below_the_Line.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

Why do we become desensitized to the upticks in price of just about everything?

 

 

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Direct download: YNAB_398_TJ_master_v1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:29am MDT

"We could spend less if we wanted to."

 

 

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Direct download: 397_-_Sure_We_Could_If_We_Had_To.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

New feature alert: two factor authentication

 

 

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Direct download: 396_-_2FA_FTW.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

Everyone is getting into the lending money game.



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Direct download: 395_-_Everyones_a_Lender.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

Jesse discusses payroll advance apps.

 

 

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Direct download: 394_-_Payday_Lender_Apps.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

Jesse discusses payroll advances in relation to age of money.

 

 

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Direct download: 393_-_Fixing_the_Paycheck_to_Paycheck_Cycle.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

Jesse goes back to basics and breaks down YNAB's Rule Four: Age Your Money

 

 

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Direct download: 392_-_Rule_Four_and_Waistlines.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

Jesse goes back to basics and breaks down YNAB's Rule Three: Roll With The Punches

 

 

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Direct download: 391_-_Rule_Three_is_War.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

Jesse goes back to basics and breaks down YNAB's Rule Two: Embrace Your True Expenses



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Direct download: 390_-_Rule_Two_Broken_Down.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

Jesse goes back to basics and breaks down YNAB's Rule One: Give Every Dollar A Job.


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Direct download: 389_-_Rule_One_Broken_Down.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

How do we curb the immediacy bias with DIY?

 

 

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Direct download: 388_-_DIY_FTW.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

How many dollars are you sending to your retirement fund?


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Direct download: 387_-_Singular_Focus_on_the_Shovel_and_its_Size.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

Jesse reviews the automated investing app, Acorns.


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Direct download: 386_-_Testing_Rounding_Up.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

The rock solid measure of whether or not you're succeeding



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Direct download: 385_-_Is_it_Going_Up.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

Jesse takes issue with a phrase we use when it comes to spending money on children.


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Direct download: 384_-_Its_for_the_Children.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

Jesse interview's authors and married couple Kristy Shen, Bryce Leung about their book—available today—Quit Like a Millionaire: No Gimmicks, Luck, or Trust Fund Required.




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Direct download: YNAB_Podcast_Kristy_Shen_and_Bryce_Leung_Interview.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

One simple question—should you start your budget over?


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Direct download: 383_-_Should_You_Start_Over.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

A follow up to episode 331, Sacreligious Budgeting.


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Direct download: 382_-_The_Clothing_Credit_Card_Experiment.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

Data and the ideal budget.

 

 

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Direct download: 381_-_The_Ideal_Budget.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

A follow up to episode to 365 on manually entering transactions.


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Direct download: 380_-_A_Report_on_Manual_Entry.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

How is a budget like strength training?


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Direct download: 379_-_Bulking_and_Cutting.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

There are two sides to every slice of cheese.



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Direct download: 378_-_A_Thin_Slice_of_Cheese.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

Simple benchmarks for budgeting progress


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Direct download: 377_-_Thats_Progress.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

A road trip, a Tesla and a story about Mr. Money Mustache



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Direct download: 376_-_Is_Wanting_It_Enough.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

Jesse interview's author Ramit Sethi about the update of his 10 year old book, I Will Teach You To Be Rich.



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Direct download: YNAB_Podcast_Ramit_SethI_Interview.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

Ladies and gentlemen, as we start this episode, please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright position



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Direct download: 375_-_Oxygen_Masks.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

Stand up for your nonnegotiables.



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Direct download: 374_-_A_Rock_and_a_Hard_Place.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

Tips for getting over the hurdle of learning to budget.

 

 

 

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Direct download: 373_-_Its_Just_Not_Working.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

A simple look at the approach to investing vs budgeting




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Direct download: 372_-_Investing_vs_Budgeting.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

The upside to renting.


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Direct download: 371_-_Renting_a_House_is_Awesome.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

How is a budget like swearing?



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Direct download: 370_-_Dropping_Swears.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

We're introducing a new service!


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Direct download: 369_-_The_Power_of_Pencil_and_Paper.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

A message for the budgeting nerds


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Check out our book! - www.ynab.com/book

 

 

Direct download: 368_-_Hey_Nerd_Chill.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

Jonathan and Miranda were college sweethearts with $52k in student loans. This is the story of how they paid it all off in just 21 months … and started their family.

Direct download: Debt_Stories_Ep_13_001.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am MDT

A message for the free spirit budgeter

 

 

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Direct download: 367_-_Hey_Free_Spirit_Heres_a_Calculator.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

A little behind the scenes at YNAB and Jesse asks listeners a favor

 

 

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Direct download: 366_-_Financial_Wellness_by_YNAB.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

When Tanya and her husband became parents for the first time, suddenly their financial priorities clicked into place—and, within just 12 months, they’d paid off $31,000 of debt so that they could truly enjoy life with their new son.

Direct download: Debt_Stories_Ep_12_001.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am MDT

Taking another stab at entering transactions one at a time the old fashioned way.



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Direct download: 365_-_Manual_Entry_Take_Two.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

Stash some cash

 

 

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Direct download: 364_-_Cash_is_a_King_in_Hiding.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00pm MDT

Siobhan came to YNAB looking for a solution to her debt—$60k+ in student loans and $16k+ in credit card debt. Flash forward, and she’s on track to pay the last $30k off by next year. What a difference a couple of years can make!

Direct download: Debt_Stories_Ep_11_001.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am MDT

This is a tinfoil PSA ... perhaps


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Direct download: 363_-_The_Allure_of_Plastic.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am MDT

Day-old money is stressful!




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Direct download: 362_-_Age_of_Money_When_it_Just_Keeps_Climbing.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am MDT

Erin thought that she’d never be able to retire, much less do it comfortably on half of the amount than she previously thought ... but then she found YNAB.

Direct download: Debt_Stories_Ep_10_001.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am MDT

How is a budget like a college football game?


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Direct download: 361_-_Rule_Three_and_Alabama_Football_a_little.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am MDT

How is a budget like a visit from the in-laws?



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Direct download: 360_-_Rule_Two_the_In-Laws_are_Coming.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am MDT

How is a budget like a clock?



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Direct download: 359_-_Rule_One_in_an_Afternoon.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am MDT

Jesse gets back to basic budgeting talk with a discussion on priorities.

 

 

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Direct download: 358_-_Priorities_Priorities_Priorities.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am MDT

Chelsea and her husband had the wedding of their dreams in Hawaii ... then reality hit. They were $215,000 in debt! Find out how they teamed up to fix their finances.

Direct download: Debt_Stories_Ep_09_002.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am MDT

Some advice on annual goals.



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Direct download: 357_-_Goals_and_a_Single_Piece_of_Paper.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:20am MDT

This is a story of $9 salads and a $12,000 C-Section—and it’s proof that you can fix five-figure debt by paying attention to the little things. It all adds up

Direct download: Debt_Stories_Ep_08_001.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am MDT