Budget Nerds

Ben and Ernie respond to a YouTube tag from new and enthusiastic YNABer Niamh, asking them to answer 12 questions about their YNAB journey and daily money habits.      Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube Budget Nerds Livestreams: https://www.youtube.com/@YNABofficial/streams Budget Nerds Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuIUGmbCDklkDCDm-cQqv2g   Share your YNAB win with Ben and Ernie! budgetn...

Ben and Ernie are back with a Q&A episode, answering questions about YNAB from podcast listeners and YouTube viewers. In this episode, they discuss travel tips for funding vacations and keeping vacation expenses organized in the moment. They talk about how the new photo feature and bulk editing features can be used to preserve important memories as well as information about your travels.   The Ner...

Ben and Ernie are live on YouTube again, this time inviting you to YNAB with them! Ben and Ernie went live on May 13, 2026, and walked through their recent transactions -- categorizing, moving money, re-evaluating priorities -- and answered questions from viewers along the way.   This livestream relies heavily on screensharing since Ben and Ernie are using the YNAB app live, so we recommend you ch...

Ben and Ernie are going live again on YouTube today, May 13th, 2026 at 3:30pm Eastern time. They'll be going through their own transactions, categorizing, moving money to handle overspending, and more, so you'll get to YNAB with them in real time!   Set your alarm clocks and follow the livestream at the link below.   Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube Budget Nerds Livestreams: https://www.youtube.com/...

Ben and Ernie round up sixteen of their favorite YNAB features and share them on today's show, including some oft-overlooked tools in the app. Whether you're brand new or a veteran YNAB'er, there's probably at least one feature in this episode you haven't heard about (including some brand new stuff)!   This episode is highly visual, so we recommend you view it on YouTube so you can see how these f...

Ben and Ernie are back with another round of YNAB wins, and they keep getting better and better. In today's episode they share 22 money wins from YNAB'ers around the world who found financial peace, gained confidence in their spending, and navigated difficult life challenges with less money stress through their use of YNAB. Ben and Ernie broke the wins into six categories: Feeling more clear-heade...

Ernie floated a sports reference to Ben in a recent discussion, the concept of an NFL team patching together the holes in their lineup with trades and free agents versus completely rebuilding it from the ground up. Patching of course is the quick fix -- it gets you results now, so you can field a team and compete this season. The results, however, may not be what you want, and often the patched-to...

Nearly five years ago, in a very early episode of Budget Nerds (before the podcast feed!), Ben and Ernie discussed their top three favorite things to do in YNAB. Today they are revisiting that concept to share what still lights them up about using YNAB. Some things include slick new YNAB features such as focused views, others hearken back to the simple beauty of giving every dollar a job and recon...

It's not hard to see that many people struggle to manage their money. Most people are, well, frankly bad with money. That is not a value judgment, or a comment about their character or willpower, or anything like that! Managing money is a skill, and skills can be improved with practice and a little guidance. In today's episode Ben and Ernie present five signs indicating you are bad with money, and...

Today it's Ben's turn to share the categories in his plan -- all 93 of them! Ernie opens with a challenge: did Ben actually change his plan after examining Ernie's categories in episode #132? You'll have to listen to find out, but Ben does break down his categories cleanly into ten category groups, divided between timely categories (bills, both regular and irregular) and purpose-driven categories...

The emergency fund is sacrosanct in the personal finance world. Nearly everyone considers an emergency fund to be a prudent thing to establish -- a necessity, even -- whether it's three to six months of living expenses or Dave Ramsey's thousand dollar baby step. At YNAB, however, the emergency fund is... complicated. While YNAB doesn't discourage emergency funds, if you are truly YNAB'ing and in p...

Ernie is kicking off the new year with a fresh plan... but not a fresh start! For years, Ernie has made a fresh start at the beginning of every year, but the allure of data history and being able to search for transaction across multiple years was too strong this year. So Ernie is rolling forward his spending plan from 2025 into the New Year, but with some changes.   Ernie has also updated his 202...

Happy New Year! Ben and Ernie kick off the 2026 season of Budget Nerds with a YouTube livestream, answering listener questions and engaging with comments. If you missed the livestream, this is your chance to listen to the playback on the podcast feed!   Be sure to subscribe to Budget Nerds on YouTube if you haven't already. As a subscriber you'll get notifications and updates about future livestre...

In today's episode resident social media gurus Amber and Sarah, of Instagram and TikTok fame respectively, join the show to talk about the personal finance trends that are going viral among the Gen Z population right now. The economy is difficult to thrive in, especially for young people, and the Zoomers have come up with creative ways to use their native digital environment to execute the common...

In today's episode, Ben and Ernie interview Lauren, a single mid-30's physical therapist living in Arizona. Lauren is already a legend in the Budget Nerds community for YNAB'ing for years completely manually, without ever connecting a bank account. A true budget nerd, she logs in daily to enter transactions and reconcile. She's never even done a file import to enter transactions!   Lauren shares h...

A few episodes ago, Ben and Ernie walked through how to set up YNAB for the first time, focusing on the basics. Today, by popular request, they are covering the advanced setup, exploring every feature YNAB has to help you setup a spending plan that fits with your life. There's a lot here, so strap in nerds!   As with episode #123 on the basic YNAB setup, this episode relies heavily on screensharin...

Ben and Ernie take up arms in the age old personal finance battle -- pay off your debt first, or get a month ahead on your bills? While they have discussed this topic before, in today's episode they approach the two paths with a balanced view, weighing the pros and cons of each. While they have an obvious bias toward getting a month ahead on your bills, there are certain scenarios where really buc...

At Fan Fest Minneapolis in June 2025, Ben and Ernie recorded their first ever live podcast of Budget Nerds! They invited friend, mentor, and fellow YNAB creator Ashley Lapato, who also runs @theorganizedwallet account on TikTok. Ashley tells her story of discovering YNAB after an especially embarassing failure to pay her bills on time while her husband was traveling for work. She resolved to final...

You may have noticed some recent changes to the YNAB app, starting with no more "add transaction" button in the bottom row of the screen. It was a little jarring for Ben and Ernie at first, but they quickly realized that you can still add transactions easily within YNAB, and in fact, there are many ways to add transactions quickly within the app. In today's episode, Ben and Ernie walk through all...

It's often said that sucess is the result of your daily habits. In today's episode, Ben and Ernie talk about seven habits that completed changed how they think about and act around money, including: Giving every dollar a job (the ultimate YNAB rule!) Only working with the money you have on hand right now Saving for non-monthly expenses Getting a month ahead Finding the money first in your plan, be...

YNAB is a powerful, flexible piece of software, but there is a learning curve. In today's episode, Ben and Ernie teach you how to setup a YNAB spending plan from scratch, and the essential features you need to know. If you've been sitting on the fence, wanting to jump in, this is the perfect time to get started!   And remember, as Ernie says, you don't have to be perfect! The beauty of YNAB is you...

It's been a while since Ben and Ernie have had a good old fashioned YNAB wins show, so here's another one! Ben and Ernie collected wins big and small from YNAB'ers improving their relationship with spending one transcation at a time. They cover wins ranging from paying off debt, to accomplishing big dreams and goals, to getting a month ahead, and simply getting back on track with the YNAB method....

Through all the category breakdown episodes, Ben and Ernie have seen some thought-provoking, inspiring, funny, and downright  weird categories from YNAB'ers. Today's episode is all about celebrating the weird and unusual categories in your plan. Ben and Ernie polled YNAB'ers across Facebook, YouTube, and even some of the YNAB team members and highlight the funniest, most inspiring, and weirdest ca...

Have you felt overwhelmed trying to think of categories for your money when you start a fresh spending plan? Or just wished someone would come up with new categories for you when you need to plan for a major life event? You're in luck, someone has done all that work for you! They are called YNAB templates. In today's episode Ben and Ernie take a look at the new templates feature in YNAB, and share...

In today's episode Ben and Ernie chat with Lauren, a long time YNAB user going back to YNAB4 and a Customer Support Specialist at YNAB. Though she was born in the US, Lauren is of Korean descent and since 2017 has been teaching English in South Korea. Her unique background has required some pro-level YNAB moves, since she is paid in US dollars but spends in both USD and Korean Yuan, which fluctuat...