Mon, 9 December 2024
It's not too late! The first rule of YNAB's Four Rules is "give every dollar a job," and you can implement it right now. Take a look at your bank account balance, and think to yourself: what does this money need to do for me right now? What does it need to do for me in the future? Now you have started thinking about your future self, and being proactive. This simple step can change your life!
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Mon, 2 December 2024
Jesse grew up in a frugal family -- frugality for frugality's sake, as he describes it. As he has grown, discovered the YNAB method, and worked the four rules, he has come to a conclusion -- he is not even a little frugal! Frugality implies thrift, spending little money so as to conserve the resource. The idea is that spending money frugally is an effort to not waste money.
YNAB's four rules help you identify the things that matter in your life, however, the things you do want to spend money on. And once you have identified those things, Jesse challenges you to double down and spend more on the things that matter to you. As he has mentioned in other episodes, money is just an extension of you, and if money is you, then why would you want less of you in the world?
So Jesse is not frugal. Not even a little bit!
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Mon, 25 November 2024
It's common parlance to say someone is "good with money," but it's often said in a way that suggests some people are innately gifted with money management skills. Jesse punches back at this supposition. He argues that becoming good with money is a skill, and skills are acquired through habit -- stringing together a lot of days with good money decisions until the good decisions become second nature.
You don't have to be perfect either! Jesse cites his favorite definition of intelligence, which is error correction, i.e. someone who makes an error, realizes the error, and then fixes it, demonstrates intelligence. It turns out, error correction is built into YNAB's four habits: rolling with the punches is the process of reacting to new circumstances by reallocating money as needed. Then, in the future you can plan for those new circumstances by embracing them as part of your true expenses (habit #2).
Next time you catch yourself thinking "I'm not good with money," focus on making one good decision, then another the next day, then correcting your errors... until it becomes another skill you have acquired!
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Mon, 18 November 2024
Most folks do a lot of mental math with their money. They see something they want to buy, they check their bank balance, and start doing some mental math on what other things that balance needs to be able to pay for before they buy the thing. The problem is, mental math gets very sloppy very quickly! Life is often just too complex, with too many variables to be able to hold all your future spending needs in your head at all times. It's too easy to spend the same dollar many times over when you rely on mental math.
YNAB helps you do money differently. YNAB gives you a simple four step method for identifying all the things your money needs to do for you now, the major things it needs to do for you in the future, and, over time, getting you to start paying next month's bills with today's money so you can finally get ahead.
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Mon, 11 November 2024
Sometimes YNAB'ers talk about money being "boring." That is, working the Four Rules patientily, consistently, until managing your money becomes another daily habit. As Jesse sees it, however, there's nothing boring about working the method. Each time you work the method, and follow the four rules, you learn more about yourself and what you want your money to do for you. And there's nothing boring about you!
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Sun, 3 November 2024
It is generally accepted that the market is driven by demand. What if YNAB was really just a long con to generate demand for quality goods and services... like toasters?
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Mon, 28 October 2024
Jesse's back with another round of Ask Jesse, where he answers questions in his inbox. In today's episode, Jesse discusses his recent engagement with Marx's Das Kapital (he gave up on it), gives an update on his debit and credit card usage, and explains how too much awareness around your investments can end up be a negative.
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Direct download: 703_Ask_Jesse_Reading_Habits_Debit_Card_Update.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am MST |
Mon, 21 October 2024
One of Jesse's takeaway from the recent YNAB Fan Fest in Salt Lake City is that YNAB'ers are good at iterating. They make a plan for their money, spend the money, and reflect on whether the spending was on things they were really looking for. Then, they adjust the plan. In the process, they're not just learning how to manage money, they're learning more about themselves.
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Mon, 14 October 2024
We've all done it before, saying something to the effect of: "I'd love to do X, if only I could afford it." We have all cited money as the reason we haven't done something, or bought something we say we wanted. The next time you catch yourself saying this, Jesse urges you to stop and examine why it is you are blaming money for the reason you can't do (or buy) the thing. Is it because you really want to do/buy it, or because you're seeking escape from some other uncomfortable part of your life? If you really DO want the thing, but you're blaming lack of money for it, perhaps you are feeling frustration that you have allowed less important priorities to get in the way of saving for the thing.
Whatever it is, money is not a good excuse for not doing something you really want to do. But, we blame money because there is some real friction we are experiencing, so it's worth honoring the feeling and digging deeper to figure out what's driving it. In that way, we can stop wielding money against ourselves and allow money to work with ourselves.
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Mon, 7 October 2024
Bigger bank account balances, paying off debt, saving marriages... these are all things thousands of YNAB'ers have praised YNAB for helping them accomplish. But it's not what YNAB is about. Jesse explains: YNAB is really about getting to know yourself better, and making better spending decisions as a result. It's about reducing the second guessing in your life, and spending your money in perfect alignment with you.
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Mon, 30 September 2024
Using YNAB reveals a paradox about money -- the more you engage with it, and spend time and energy on it, the more it gets out of the way and just let's you live your life. Money is you, so learning how to manage it really means learning more about yourself and becoming more in tune with your desires, your values, and your priorities.
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Mon, 23 September 2024
When you practice the four habits of YNAB, money just gets out of the way. In today's episode, Jesse reflects on his thought process about paying for kids' college. Where he used to be against it, now that he has kids in college, he is helping them pay for it. As he has talked about on the podcast many times, his thoughts and opinions change over the time; the podcast is a sort of audio journal documenting these changes. But the real win here is that because Jesse and his wife put money aside for their kids, they were able to make this decision without worrying about money. The money was not a deciding factor, leaving them free to decide whether helping their kids with college was the best decision for them. And that is freeing!
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Mon, 16 September 2024
Twenty years ago, in a galaxy far, far away... Jesse Mecham launched youneedabudget.com with a budgeting spreadsheet and a modest goal: cover the $350 a month in rent he owed for the next couple years until he and his wife graduated from college. Since then, YNAB has grown leaps and bounds beyond Jesse's original idea. In today's episode, Jesse reflects on the last two decades, thanks the people who have made it happen (most importantly YOU, YNAB users!), and wonders what the next two decades have in store.
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Mon, 9 September 2024
Jesse shares a YNAB win from his strength coach, Andrew, who is an avid YNAB'er. Andrew was shopping at REI when he ran across a pair of returned ski boots that were marked way down. They fit perfectly. Normally he would hem and haw over a purchase like this, but because he had been slowly funding a category for new ski boots the money was there. No stress, all joy!
Barbell Logic -- Personalized Online Strength Coaching
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Mon, 2 September 2024
Many people bemoan the fact that they don't earn more money. But what baffles many who eventually do earn more money, is that it doesn't fix any of their financial problems! There is no income that cannot be outspent. Put another way, broken spending habits lead to broken spending, and when you have more money, that just leads to more broken spending.
Now, there are people who have a legitimate income problem, but those folks are fewer in number than you might think. The solution for most isn't more, it's spending with purpose!
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Mon, 26 August 2024
The first habit of YNAB is to give every dollar a job. We tend to think of it purely as a spending exercise, as in, what do these dollars need to do for me? Buy clothes, groceries, pay the rent, etc. But Jesse points out how this process of giving your dollars jobs can help you find more meaning in your earning, not just your spending. When you know what your dollars are doing for you, the way you earn those dollars takes on more meaning, even if the work is not intrinsically meaningful.
Beginning Balance Podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beginning-balance/id1569423517 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7APubdzXN2eeeMdNpCLkiy?si=757aff0c35ad4178
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Mon, 19 August 2024
Money sinks its tentacles into nearly everything, and those tentacles can feel like, well, tentacles, or they can feel like rainbows. Jesse wants you to look at money and see rainbows, blessing all the facets of life that money touches.
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Mon, 12 August 2024
Frugality is a virtue. At least, that's what many people in the financial space would claim. Being frugal is commonly seen as a good thing, presumably because it enables you to save more money. The environmentally conscious might see value in frugality as a means to reducing overall consumption. YNAB, one could argue, aims to make you more frugal. But YNAB is more interested in a deeper question: why be more frugal?
The first habit in the YNAB method is to give every dollar a job. To do so, you have to know what it is you want your money to do for you, where you are aiming at. Saving money is a great thing, but YNAB encourages you to ask the question: for what?
Being frugal is not an answer. It is merely the means by which you get to the answer!
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Mon, 5 August 2024
Jesse shares a story about taking a group of kids hiking, and coming down with altitude sickness on the first day. He could have quit, but he figured out a way to re-route the hike where he could safely get through. It's not so different when working with personal finances. It's tempting to just quit when things get hard, or road blocks come up, but sometimes all you need to do is slow down your plans.
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Mon, 29 July 2024
Big financial goals are great. It's what we live for at YNAB! But, life happens in between those big goals, and Jesse reminds you that it's ok to spend some money "in the meantime."
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Mon, 22 July 2024
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!
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Mon, 15 July 2024
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.
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Mon, 8 July 2024
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.
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Mon, 1 July 2024
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!
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Mon, 24 June 2024
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!
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Mon, 17 June 2024
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.
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Mon, 10 June 2024
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:
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!
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Mon, 3 June 2024
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.
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Direct download: 682_Category_Tractor_Beam_Sucked_Me_Right_In.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am MST |
Mon, 27 May 2024
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
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Mon, 20 May 2024
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.
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Mon, 13 May 2024
Jesse fields a question from the YNAB team about how he stays positive in light of rapidly increasing grocery prices.
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Mon, 6 May 2024
Jesse answers another round of questions from his inbox, including a number of suggestions for new books to read!
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Mon, 29 April 2024
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!
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Mon, 22 April 2024
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?
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Mon, 15 April 2024
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
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Mon, 8 April 2024
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."
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Mon, 1 April 2024
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.
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Mon, 25 March 2024
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!
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Mon, 18 March 2024
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: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beginning-balance/id1569423517 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7APubdzXN2eeeMdNpCLkiy?si=19e8c25d5b104494
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Mon, 11 March 2024
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 https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Things-Done-Stress-Free-Productivity/dp/0142000280
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals https://www.amazon.com/Four-Thousand-Weeks-Management-Mortals/dp/0374159122
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Direct download: 670_Ask_Jesse_Lavish_Praise_and_Woodchip_Gardening.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:00am MST |
Mon, 4 March 2024
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.
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Direct download: 669_Young_Creatures_Looking_to_Party.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am MST |
Mon, 26 February 2024
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?
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Mon, 19 February 2024
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.
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Mon, 12 February 2024
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!
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Mon, 5 February 2024
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.
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Mon, 29 January 2024
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.
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Direct download: 664_A_Sample_of_Interesting_Joyful_Spending.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am MST |
Mon, 22 January 2024
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!
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Direct download: 663_A_Sample_of_New_Years_Resolutions.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am MST |
Mon, 15 January 2024
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!
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Mon, 8 January 2024
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.
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Direct download: 661_A_Clarification_on_Goal_Failures.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am MST |
Mon, 1 January 2024
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!
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Mon, 25 December 2023
Jesse wishes everyone a Merry Christmas, full of meaning and joy. Hopefully this is a day you can enjoy without worrying about money, because you've dutifully saved up for it all year, but if not -- you can always start working on next year. After your Christmas celebrations are over, create a Christmas target for 2024 and start putting a little money away now. And as Jesse says, the Christmas bill is a joyous one!
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Mon, 18 December 2023
Jesse ran across a quote from one of his favorite authors, Nassim Taleb. In his book Antifragile, Taleb advises "invest in preparedness, not prediction," which also neatly describes the goal of YNAB. We cannot predict the future with any certainty, so it's folly to behave as if we can with our spending habits. What we can do, however, is prepare for the future by embracing our future expenses, and even though we don't know exactly when (or how much) those future expenses will occur, we can save up a pile of cash to handle them.
Jesse gives the example of an old car. As his early 2000's Toyota Camry aged, he started dutifully socking away $150/mo to cover inevitable repairs as well as a replacement vehicle. Years later, he had enough for a replacement, but the car was still humming along. So in this case he did not successfully predict the future. He could have held off on saving that money and directed it toward something else. At the end of the day, however, by preparing for the day he needed a new car, Jesse had a pile of cash in his bank account. When that day didn't come, he still had lots of options, because he had the cash. If he hadn't prepared, and the car died earlier than expected... then he likely would have ended up having to borrow money for the car.
This gets back to the idea of being "antifragile." Owing money is a state of fragility, because someone else has a claim on your future cash flows until you pay off the debt. It prevents you from using your cash to prepare for the future.
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Direct download: 658_Invest_In_Preparedness_Not_Prediction.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am MST |
Mon, 11 December 2023
Jesse ran across a quote from author F.W. Boreham the other day that resonated strongly: "We make our decisions, and then our decisions turn around and make us." Mr. Boreham described the goal of the Four Rules in one simple and effective sentence! Working the Four Rules to create a spending plan involves making decisons -- decisions about what you value and where you want to spend your money. Those decisions stack on each other and in turn lead you to financial freedom, peace, and, ultimately, more joy with your money.
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Mon, 4 December 2023
Jesse is back with another round of questions from his inbox, including whether or not a listener should sell her rental property, whether it's worth buying a new car to relieve the stress of sticking with an old car with problems, and if pausing retirement savings to get a month ahead on expenses is worth consideration.
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Direct download: 656_Ask_Jesse_Selling_a_Rental_Buying_a_Car_Stop_Retirement_Saving.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am MST |
Mon, 27 November 2023
Jesse has been focusing on the joy of spending money lately, and one way to achieve joy is to simply give it away. In a sense, giving away money is the ultimate way to give money the bird, so to speak. It's an act of defiance, that you don't need it, and you aren't consumed by it. But mostly, it's an act of joy, to give it away freely because your spending plan is working and your needs and wants are met.
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Mon, 20 November 2023
"You need to spend less money." "Money's not everything." But what if you don't need to spend less money. And what if money is everything? In today's episode Jesse offers up the idea that money is you -- the sum product of your energies and desires -- and if that's true, then you don't need to spend less money. You need to spend more of you on you! The more you can engage with the question of "what do I want my money to do" the more joy spending can bring you, because ultimately that question is "what do I want to do?"
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Direct download: 654_It_Has_Nothing_and_Everything_To_Do_With_Spending.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am MST |
Mon, 13 November 2023
Once again, the holidays are nearly upon us. If your spending plan hasn't gone to, well, plan then that is OK. Seasons are everywhere in life. We see them every year and we see them over periods of many years. Some seasons you're really engaged with your spending and some seasons you're not. But you didn't quit. Whether you need a fresh start, or you're trucking along and spending with joy, this is a season.
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Mon, 6 November 2023
At YNAB they're called the Four Rules, but as Jesse argues, maybe they are best described as habits! The four habits of budgeting...
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Fri, 3 November 2023
Breaking news! On November 2, 2023 Intuit announced that it would be shutting down Mint, a popular personal finance app it acquired back in 2009. In January 2024, millions of users will be left looking for a replacement budgeting app. Intuit is directing users to its Credit Karma service, but it's unclear yet whether it will offer the budgeting and expense tracking features Mint was known for.
YNAB, however, still remains! Jesse points out that YNAB may not be the right solution for every Mint user -- after all, YNAB aims to help you change your behavior and thinking around spending, not just track your expenses and produce pretty graphs. As Jesse puts it, YNAB is like the movie Minority Report, where robots can predict the future and prevent crime before it happens. Mint, on the other hand, is like an episode of CSI, where there's a dead body, and everyone is trying to figure out why it happened. Mint is good at tracking expenses and telling you what happened in the past, but it leaves it up to you to determine why those things happened and how to prevent problems in the future. YNAB encourages you to create a plan for your dollars and anticipate future expenses, so that you can solve financial problems before they happen. And, because life is complex and ever-evolving, YNAB helps you roll with the punches and adjust your plan as you go. Oh, and YNAB won't try to sell you on credit cards, pay as you go plans, or other debt either.
So if you have left Mint and are looking for a new, more powerful approach to your personal finance goals, consider YNAB!
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Direct download: BONUS_Nov_2023_Goodbye_Mint_Hello_YNAB.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am MST |
Mon, 30 October 2023
Jesse invites you to play a game. Look at your last ten transactions and rate them 1 to 3:
There's one catch! You can only rate two of those transactions as neutral. Why? Because Jesse said so. Then share your most interesting 1's and 3's with Jesse! Email him at:
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Mon, 23 October 2023
A dollar represents you. It is the product of your energies. Your labor and your brainpower creates products and services that you exchange for money, whether you work a job or run a business. Therefore, a spending plan is really a representation of YOU! It's you all the way down from your labors and thoughts to your dollars and how you choose to spend them. So spending wisely is not just about choosing the right things to buy, or saving for the future, it's about direct your energies -- yourself -- out into the world in the manner you want.
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Mon, 16 October 2023
In today's episode, Jesse answers questions from YNAB'ers including how to build the habit of checking YNAB before spending and how to slow down Jesse's speech patterns for UK listeners (there's an app for that!). A listener also sends in an interesting article about how airlines have essentially turned into banks via their elaborate reward points systems.
Ron Lieber on the YNAB Podcast (Episode #480) Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/you-need-a-budget-ynab/id477248343?i=1000515131147 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2qh75uqa9uzQGggz7wwYiS?si=088cd75db8be4f01
Pocket Casts podcast player: https://pocketcasts.com
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Direct download: 649_Ask_Jesse_Airlines_are_Banks_Money_Habits_and_Fast_Talking.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am MST |
Mon, 9 October 2023
Jesse answers your questions on today's show, including how big an emergency fund does a teacher need? A YNAB'er shares a recent talk from the chairman of the Electronic Payments Coalition which reveals the (surprise!) unscrupulous motivations of credit card companies. Another YNAB'er from India asks how to setup the budget when you have income and expenses in two different currencies.
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Direct download: 648_Ask_Jesse_Rebels_Banks_and_Emergency_Funds.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am MST |
Mon, 2 October 2023
Spending money doesn't have to make you feel guilty! Jesse offers a pep talk to end the guilt trip, one budget at a time.
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Mon, 25 September 2023
If you think about it, there's only one thing that money can do -- be spent! The use of money is, ultimately, the spending of money. Even if you give money away, it's given to others so that they may spend it. Or if you save money, that money is being saved (and perhaps invested in hopes of getting more money in the future) so that it can be spent in the future. But it's all spending at the end of the day. In today's episode, Jesse paints a picture of spending with a budget a mind, spending with clarity (because you are in tune with what you want your money to do), and perhaps most importantly, spending guilt-free.
Budgeting is really about spending money, and spending it without remorse or guilt... maybe even spending with joy?
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Direct download: 646_Shifting_Spending_Into_High_Gear.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am MST |
Mon, 18 September 2023
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.
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Mon, 11 September 2023
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 https://www.amazon.com/Four-Thousand-Weeks-Management-Mortals/dp/0374159122
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Direct download: 644_Ask_Jesse_Were_Getting_There_People.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am MST |
Mon, 4 September 2023
Jesse is catching up on his inbox after a summer break, and answering your questions!
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Mon, 28 August 2023
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!
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Mon, 21 August 2023
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.
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Mon, 14 August 2023
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 with punches and put plans on hold.
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Mon, 7 August 2023
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 and started over after a series of home renovation projects and medical bills started taxing his existing category balances. Money stress started building -- even veteran YNAB'ers are not immune to it! -- and he realized the budget was no longer serving his needs. That's the takeaway: don't be too precious with the budget you've created, even if it has served you well for a long time. And understand that money stress happens to everyone, and that's OK!
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Mon, 31 July 2023
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 https://open.spotify.com/episode/3AdIeFpt0ZfuM0kKEF8Yr0?si=d235636937564f38
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Mon, 24 July 2023
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.
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Mon, 17 July 2023
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.
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Mon, 10 July 2023
Reconcile your budget, that is! Ben and Ernie discuss their budget reconciliation habits, and make a case for why you should reconcile every day, especially if you are new to YNAB.
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Follow Ben and Ernie on the Budget Nerds Podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/budget-nerds/id1606054345 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0H1u8pqYrvz6zj6noHbkB3?si=fc181a82b8d540a6
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Mon, 3 July 2023
Ben and Ernie share a tip for making the budget feels a little less constricting -- leave a little margin in your categories! This is not an emergency fund, Ben says, but a way to give yourself some flexibility and fun.
Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:
Follow Ben and Ernie on the Budget Nerds Podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/budget-nerds/id1606054345 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0H1u8pqYrvz6zj6noHbkB3?si=fc181a82b8d540a6
Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com |
Mon, 26 June 2023
We all know we need to save for retirement, but it can feel a long ways away. Savings can always wait while you deal with something more urgent, it seems, until all of a sudden retirement starts staring you in the face!
The most important factors in saving for retirement are starting early, and consistency, Ernie reminds us. How do you create consistency? There's an easy trick. If you're not yet, start contributing something -- anything! -- to your retirement accounts now. That amount will be some percentage of your income. Each quarter, increase that percentage of your income you are contributing by 1%. It doesn't seem like much, but it adds up fast! And most importantly, it's a slow enough change that it gives you time to adjust. As one YNAB listener writes in, it doesn't even feel like you're missing the extra money, while at the same time it's encouraging to see your retirement accounts going up.
We want to hear your YNAB stories! Please take a moment to tell us about your biggest budgeting wins here: https://youneedabudget.typeform.com/ynaber-stories
Follow Ben and Ernie on the Budget Nerds Podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/budget-nerds/id1606054345 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0H1u8pqYrvz6zj6noHbkB3?si=fc181a82b8d540a6
Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com |
Mon, 19 June 2023
Ben and Ernie ask a question that strikes fear into those who don't budget (and sometimes to those who do): can I afford this? At least for YNAB'ers, this question isn't about whether you have the dollars and cents in your bank account to make the purchase, it's about your emotion, how you feel about buying the thing in question versus something else. As Ben explains, it's about opportunity cost, and luckily YNAB is very good at helping you understand opportunity costs with your money.
We want to hear your YNAB stories! Please take a moment to tell us about your biggest budgeting wins here: https://youneedabudget.typeform.com/ynaber-stories
Follow Ben and Ernie on the Budget Nerds Podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/budget-nerds/id1606054345 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0H1u8pqYrvz6zj6noHbkB3?si=fc181a82b8d540a6
Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com |
Mon, 12 June 2023
Ben and Ernie tackle the big credit card question (should you use them?) that Jesse has been wrestling with this year, with a slightly different take. Ben, of course, does not use credit cards as he shared with Jesse in episode #621. Ernie, on the other hand, has done it both ways, cutting up the credit card during times of his life where he was busy paying down debt, and now using it judiciously to accrue travel points that he can use on family vacations.
We want to hear your YNAB stories! Please take a moment to tell us about your biggest budgeting wins here: https://youneedabudget.typeform.com/ynaber-stories
Follow Ben and Ernie on the Budget Nerds Podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/budget-nerds/id1606054345 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0H1u8pqYrvz6zj6noHbkB3?si=fc181a82b8d540a6
Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com
Direct download: 631_Ben_Ernie_Credit_Cards_a_Different_Take.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am MST |
Mon, 5 June 2023
Jesse is taking a break for the summer, so Ben and Ernie (from the Budget Nerds podcast) are stepping in to guest host. Today, they talk about paying off debt... sustainably! So many personal finance resources urge people to pay off debt as soon as they can, and white knuckle their way toward financial freedom. While this can work for short periods of time, for many people paying off debt is a marathon, not a sprint, and white-knuckling has many pitfalls.
For one, when you're throwing every dollar and focusing all of your energy on paying off debt, it's easy to ignore Rule Two -- embracing your true expenses. If you get hit by an unplanned expense and you've thrown all your extra cash at your debt, then you may find yourself reaching for the credit card... and thereby accruing more debt. So, Ben and Ernie urge you to take things a little slower. Work the Four Rules, budget for true expenses, and have some cash reserves set aside, so that your journey to pay off debt doesn't start going backwards.
And more importantly, taking things at your own pace can help you avoid burnout and stay focused on the long term goal. As long as you are aligning your money with your priorities, you are doing it right!
We want to hear your YNAB stories! Please take a moment to tell us about your biggest budgeting wins here: https://youneedabudget.typeform.com/ynaber-stories
Follow Ben and Ernie on the Budget Nerds Podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/budget-nerds/id1606054345 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0H1u8pqYrvz6zj6noHbkB3?si=fc181a82b8d540a6
Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com |
Mon, 29 May 2023
Beef is pretty good aged, but you know what's even better? Aging your money! That's Rule Four -- aging your money. Basically, increase the amount of time between when you earn the money and when you spend it. By following Rule One through Three, you can accumulate cash in your categories and pre-fund future expenses, thereby increasing your options.
When you have a lot of cash available, you have options for handling unexpected expenses, taking advantages of opportunities (which require money/investment), or simply changing your strategy. It's easy to re-assign dollars that are already in categories, but you have to have the dollars there in the first place. That's the essence of aging your money.
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Mon, 22 May 2023
Be like the reed... blowing in the wind. It's not a haiku, Jesse is talking about Rule Three -- rolling with the punches. Life happens, and unexpected things are going to pop up that could break the budget. When you roll with the punches however, you check the budget, find the money for the unexpected expense in another category, and fund the expense by moving money from that category.
The key here is that you check the budget and find the money first! You don't simply spend the money and try to figure it out later.
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Mon, 15 May 2023
It's back to basics time! Rule Two in the YNAB method is "embrace your future expenses." In short, think about the things you will have to buy or pay for in the future, and act on them NOW. Car going to need new tires in six months? Don't wait till they need replacing to budget for them, start budgeting now! Save a portion of the replacement cost each month until you've reached the replacement cost for those tires.
Really Rule Two is Rule One again, give every dollar a job. You're giving your dollars jobs today, to pay for expenses tomorrow.
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Mon, 8 May 2023
Jesse is going back to basics and reviewing the Four Rules, which are the foundation of YNAB. The first rule: give every dollar a job. What does that mean exactly? YNAB wants you to live and spend according to your values and priorities -- the things that are most important to you. In order to do that, you first have to start giving your dollars jobs that are in line with your priorities. That's the heart of Rule One.
Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:
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Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @iYNAB Instagram: @youneedabudget Twitter: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial |
Mon, 1 May 2023
At a recent YNAB all-hands meeting, Sarah gave a personal presentation about her "Mama's Method," rules her mother gave her for living well. Sarah told them in YNAB Four Rules style:
In honor of Sarah's presentation, and upcoming Mother's Day, YNAB wants to hear from you! YNAB is running a contest between now and May 11th. The contest is simple: share your mother's method to living well, in the style of the YNAB Four Rules if you can. One person will be chosen at random, and the winner will receive a $100 VISA gift card!
To enter the contest, write a post with your mother's rules to live by, told in YNAB "four rules" style, on any of YNAB's social media channels -- Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Tik Tok. Make sure to tag YNAB, and include the hashtag #fourrulestoliveby in your post. Winner will be announced on May 11th, 2023!
Facebook: @iYNAB Instagram: @youneedabudget Twitter: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial
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Mon, 24 April 2023
Jesse shares a story about growing sweet potatoes and shoveling dirt... lots and lots of dirt. There's a metaphor here about budgeting too. It's work, and sometimes takes a long time to pay off. But steady, sustainable work day after day yields big results!
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Mon, 17 April 2023
Jesse 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.
Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:
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Mon, 10 April 2023
Jesse continues his
Does the distinction matter though? Jesse ponders the question, and gives an update on his own experiment of only using a debit card for expenses in 2023.
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Mon, 3 April 2023
Jesse talks with a man who has never used a credit card -- YNAB's own Ben Barlowe, who you may also recognize from the Budget Nerds podcast. Ben is 34 years old, has four children, a house (purchase with a mortgage), and a busy life! Believe it or not, he has been able to navigate life without ever having used a credit card.
Ben discusses the reasoning behind his personal decision to not use credit cards, how he obtained a mortgage with no credit score, and how he manages day to day expenses such as renting cars without a credit card.
Credit cards are ubiquitous these days, but that doesn't mean you HAVE to use one. Ben demonstrates that it's possible to have a robust, well-planned financial life without credit!
Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:
Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com
Direct download: 621_Jesse_Chats_with_a_Guy_Who_Doesnt_Use_Credit_Cards.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am MST |
Mon, 27 March 2023
It's time for another round of Ask Jesse! Jesse fields questions from podcast listeners about how to manage multiple bank accounts, negative budgeting, and whether he can slow down his speech pattern (sorry Leslie!)
Find a YNAB Certified Coach: https://www.ynab.com/coaching-directory/
Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:
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Direct download: 620_Ask_Jesse_Talk_Slower_Pay_Down_Faster.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am MST |
Mon, 20 March 2023
Jesse challenges the idea of constantly pursuing something financially. For many of us in the modern world, our default is to always be chasing something -- more things, more experiences, more retirement funds, more debt paid down. Some of these things are a net good, some... maybe not. Jesse reminds us that our financial life doesn't always have to be in pursuit of something. It's ok to just let your money support your life, and nothing more. Can you do that, just for a little while?
Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:
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Direct download: 619_Rule_One_and_the_Pursuit_of_Nothing.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am MST |
Mon, 13 March 2023
When people say "that's too expensive," what do they mean really? That they can't afford it, that it costs too much for a certain group of people, that it costs too much on principle? Jesse relates Rule One to the word "expensive" and concludes that its meaning is too slippery to be a useful term for people following the Four Rules.
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Mon, 6 March 2023
In this installment of Ask Jesse, Jesse answers questions from podcast listeners about travel hacking and credit card and debit card fraud protection. He also reads an experience from one YNAB'er who switched from using credit cards to debit cards.
Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:
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Mon, 27 February 2023
Jesse analyzes a recent situation in which he was planning to build something in his wood shop, when a friend remarked that he could buy the same thing a lot cheaper. While we talk about money all the time in YNAB, and frequently equate money with time, and discuss the tradeoffs of buying this thing versus that thing -- Jesse reminds us that we don't have to think of everything in terms of economic decisions. Sometimes you give dollars a job (Rule One) which is for sheer enjoyment.
Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:
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Mon, 20 February 2023
In response to episode #603 "You Spend More Money with Credit Cards," many listeners wrote Jesse to pick a bone with his claim that the debit card was a superior way to pay for things. The arguments usually boil down to the assertion that credit cards have better purchase protection and fraud prevention compared to debit cards. Jesse addresses these concerns, and more, on today's episode.
Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:
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Mon, 13 February 2023
Jesse answers questions from the YNAB mailbag, including whether a couple should save for new cars to replace aging vehicles, or pay down the mortgage faster, whether debt consolidation is a good idea, and how exactly do you know when it's ok to spend money?
Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:
Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com
Direct download: 614_Ask_Jesse_Save_for_Cars_or_Pay_Down_Mortgage.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am MST |
Mon, 6 February 2023
Jesse shares one key indicator that you are budgeting and doing your money right.
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Direct download: 612_One_Thing_That_Tells_You_Youre_Doing_Money_Right.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am MST |
Mon, 30 January 2023
Not having money stress is a GREAT feeling to have. But a YNAB employee, Katie, pointed out a downside to it -- people assume you make more money than you really do. Because who else would have no money stress except people who are rolling it in?
Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:
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Direct download: 611_A_Major_Downside_to_No_Money_Stress.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am MST |
Mon, 23 January 2023
Jesse fields more listener questions today, including what you should do when you double your income (teaser: there's really not a wrong answer as long as it's saving!), how to budget for real estate investments, and whether debit cards have sufficient fraud protection to use over credit cards.
Please keep your questions coming! Send them to:
Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com
Direct download: 610_Ask_Jesse_Doubled_Income_Real_Estate_Debit_Fraud.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am MST |
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