The Jesse Mecham Show

A listener asks -- what can I do to get my budget back on track after falling off the wagon?   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse chats with the Chief Hustler of side hustles, Nick Loper. Nick  has made a living out of side hustles, literally! A serial entrepreneur, Nick started a number of small businesses and side hustles before writing books about his experience and teaching others how to start their own side hustles. He is also an author, with a new book out: $1,000 100 Ways.   After helping thousands of people lau...

Jesse answers a reader trying to save for a surprise Christmas present for his significant other, but also trying to be faithful to his YNAB budget. Jesse shares a few tricks and some "creative accounting" within YNAB to help you save up for Christmas gifts without spoiling the surprise or the budget.   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Watch out credit cards, a new game is in town, and it's waiting to trip up your budget during the holiday season. We're talking about payment plans : sort of like a credit card, sort of not, but definitely loaded with high interest, fees, and confusing terms designed to trip up customers. YNAB has a team dedicated to helping budgeters navigate their way through payment plans using the YNAB softwar...

Jesse answers a concerned parent emailing about their son's college experience. After raising a thoughtful and budget minded son who paid for his first semester of college by working a series of jobs during high school, the parent was dismayed by the extravagant lifestyle and expenses of his classmates. Expensive vacations, clothing, electronics -- many undergraduate students aren't living like st...

Of the Four Rules, is one more important than the others? Is there one rule to rule them all? In the past, Jesse has argued that rules 2-4 are essentially derivatives of Rule One. But perhaps there's another contender -- Rule Three: Roll with the Punches. Life is all about rolling with the punches, adapting to ever-changing stresses and forces in our environments. Budgeting, Jesse argues, is no di...

Jesse answers an email from a listener wondering, should he sell his cryptocurrency in order to pay off his debt?   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse chats with life coach and podcaster Krista St. Germain, a widowed mother who had to work through waves of grief after her husband unexpectedly passed away five years ago. Krista discusses her journey moving through grief, learning to rewrite the narratives of her guilt, and finding a path to grow after such a traumatic experience.   Krista helps other widowed mothers navigate their journey,...

Njeri Young is an avid YNAB user, but she didn't start out that way. In fact, it took her years of stops and starts before she finally gained control over her dollars, learned how to budget, and build a healthy relationship with money. Although some people on the internet make it look easy, Njeri's experience is common, and she has learned many valuable lessons along  her journey.   Sign up for a...

Jim and Jamie Sheils make a sobering, but important, observation -- we only have 18 summers to spend with our children before they become adults and move off to start their own lives. Jesse chats with Jim and Jamie about how we can spend more time with our children, be more present in our relationships, and manage the most precious and scarce resource of them all: time.   Jim and Jamie are the par...

Jesse chats with avid YNAB'er Chris Wilson, who turned around a stressful and unfulfilling life by applying YNAB's Four Rules to his budget, and then to his life. Chris explains that the key to his transformation was learning to "simplify his why," and get clear about his values and priorities.   Chris now strives to help others find more security in their finances and more fulfillment in their li...

Tanya Dalton is passionate about helping women take charge of their schedules and get more done. But it's not just about checking things off the list, she says, it's about giving your tasks priorities and allocating your time to the most important things. And just because something is urgent, doesn't necessarily mean it's important! Tanya Dalton shares strategies from her book "On Purpose" for get...

Inspired by the ideas in Morgan Housel's book The Psychology of Money , Jesse discusses the meaning of the word "wealth," and how we define wealth in our own lives. Is it just about money in the bank, or is it about our physical health too? Or family health, or liking our job, or having options in life? It turns out, wealth can mean many different things, and perhaps it's best to look at wealth as...

Did you know Jesse has another podcast all about business? He and veteran YNAB'er and virtual CFO Mark Butler have launched Beginning Balance to talk about the lessons they've learned consulting with other businesses as well as managing their own businesses. In today's episode, we are rebroadcasting an episode of Beginning Balance which looks at how applying Rule One -- Give Every Dollar a Job --...

When did that happen? It seems like the year was just getting started, and all of a sudden it's mid-October. The holidays are coming soon -- have you been creating space in your budget for your holiday spending? If not, it's not too late! There's still time to set some cash aside in your holiday spending category, plan your expenses carefully, and make some choices about your travel plans and gift...

It's normal to want some amount of luxury or finery in your life, but have you considered the true cost of luxuries? There might be more to it than just the sticker price...   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse answers a listener-submitted question. If you've paid off your debt, and you have an emergency fund, should you start investing in the stock market? If your goal is to build wealth -- and there are many good reasons to -- then investing in the stock market is a great way to do that.   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Did you know YNAB is on Tik Tok? Yep, thanks to YNAB team member Sarah Schweisthal, You Need A Budget has been lighting up Tik Tok "stitches" with budgeting advice for the yoots. Sarah talks about her work sharing the Four Rules on Tik Tok, as well as her own budgeting journey going from being deeply in debt to traveling full-time in a travel trailer.   Follow YNAB (and Sarah) on Tik Tok: https://...

It's been hot for years, and has recently become white hot. Cryptocurrencies have the potential to change money and finance in a profound way, but does that make it a good investment, or mere speculation? How would you invest in crypto anyway? Jesse offers his thoughts on this incredible 21st century innovation.   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse speaks with renowned financial journalist William Green about his new book -- Richer, Wiser, Happier: How the World's Greatest Investors Win in Markets and Life -- in which Green interviewed numerous billionaires, fund managers, and legendary investors about their investing wisdom, mindset, and even philosophy. Even if you are just a passive index investor who does not aspire to purchase ind...

School is back in session! And today, Jesse and Matthew Amster-Burton are discussing everything you need to do to get started investing for retirement. They break down the different types of  investment accounts, mutual funds and index funds, bonds, and a few simple, stress-free strategies for investing.   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse chats with Dustin Heiner, a real estate investor who quit his job five years ago after building a passive income stream sufficient enough to live on. Dustin received a wake up call several years ago when he was laid off from what he thought was a stable government job when his department lost funding. Although he was able to find a new position in a different department, he vowed to never be...

School is in session! Jesse teamed up with Matthew Amster-Burton (who you have heard on the Behind the Scenes series), a YNAB team member and former financial advisor, to create a short series demystifying the world of investing. For the first day of class, they cover some of the basic investing terms you will encounter.   YNAB is all about helping you save more money, but eventually some of that...

It's time to play a little game. Jesse and a couple YNAB team members gather to play "you might be a budget nerd if...." See if you can call yourself an official budget nerd!   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Do you pay off debt first, or invest for retirement while paying it off slower? Or do you build an emergency fund first? How much? There are a number of tradeoffs when it comes to paying off debt, saving, and investing, and Jesse reminds us that there is no prescription! Everyone's budget is personal, and will depend on their goals, values, and emotional response to the budgeting process.   Sign u...