The Jesse Mecham Show

International student of mystery Mackenzie is financially wise beyond her years... all thanks to YNAB and embracing the four rules while a young college student. Since discovering YNAB Mackenzie has traveled throughout Europe, and has come up with some unique strategies for managing her budget in a variety of currencies: the British pound, the euro, and US dollars. She's also learned some lessons...

Long-time YNAB team member Erin returns to the podcast to discuss strategies for managing your grocery budget. With prices on the rise, many people are tightening their budgets, and groceries are a common line item of concern. Erin offers tips for making grocery shopping simpler, avoiding unnecessary purchases, and making strategic "fun" food purchases (like frozen pizzas) for those days when you...

In honor of 2/22/2022, which is quickly approaching, YNAB is giving you the chance to gain a little extra momentum in your budget this year. YNAB is giving away $2,222 to a lucky podcast listener! But you have to follow a few rules to have a chance to win: On 2/22/2022, make a public post on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok or Twitter and tell us what you would do with $2,222. Tag YNAB on your social...

Ben and Ernie return to the podcast to announce... their own podcast! Budget Nerds, the popular YouTube show for nerdy YNAB'ers, is launching a podcast on Wednesday, Feb 9th. Now you can take Ben, Ernie, and their nerdy budget adventures with you in the car, on the bus, maybe even in the kitchen!   As a bonus, Ben and Ernie share some "budget confessions" from Budget Nerds listeners.   Budget Nerd...

YNAB Podcast listener Jenna emailed Jesse to share a recent win. Jenna's husband is about to finish law school, and thanks to YNAB and a lot of work and sacrifice he will graduate with NO student loan debt. First of all, BIG congratulations to you and your husband! Jesse shares some thoughts on this achievement as well as how to manage windfalls with a long-term mindset.   Join the More Money Chal...

Jesse answers a listener question about budgeting after retirement, in particular when you are living off your retirement savings and not yet drawing on Social Security.   Join the More Money Challenge: https://www.youneedabudget.com/moremoneychallenge/   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse chats with Scott Trench, CEO of BiggerPockets and a real estate investor, about how people can get started with real estate investing and build more wealth. Scott started his working career like many business college graduates, working at a large company as a financial analyst. Early on he stumbled across the Mr. Money Mustache blog, which advocates frugality and saving a large percentage of...

Jesse chats with Ashley, of TikTok fame (The Organized Wallet), about her journey finding the budgeting software through a chance blogpost to finally gaining control of her money after years of struggle. One of Ashley's keys to success is mindfulness, and she has some great exercises for improving your mindfulness around money.   A few years into her marriage, Ashley had a reckoning with money. He...

Happy New Year! It's that time again -- time for planning, goal setting, and resolutions. If you're listening to this podcast, one of your New Year's resolutions might be to save more money. YNAB can help you with that!   YNAB team member Veronica is leading the way with the More Money Challenge, a 30-day challenge to help you kick start your savings in 2022. The rules are simple, but the challeng...

It's that time of year again... time to burn it all down! The budget, that is. Every year Jesse "burns down" his budget, deleting all the categories and questioning whether the family could live without them. It's a fun thought experiment, especially with the typical must-have things.   Do you really need groceries every month? Of course you do, but what if you didn't do it? How would you survive?...

Millions of people struggle with ADHD, and it has financial ramifications -- decision fatigue, difficulty planning future purchases, and impulsive spending habits. Jak is a coach for "ADHD'ers," as she calls them, helping people form strategies for coping with emotional highs and lows and gain control over their money. An ADHD'er herself, she found the visual aspect of YNAB highly effective in kee...

We're nearly to the end of 2021, so Jesse took a moment to celebrate all of your biggest budgeting wins this year. To all the YNAB users who accomplished your goals and improved your financial standing -- no matter how big or how small -- congratulations! Here's to another year of budgeting wins, breaking the paycheck to paycheck cycle, and reduced stress.   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB...

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...