The Jesse Mecham Show

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 prioritiz...

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...

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...

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 manag...

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.   Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com   Follow Ben and Ernie on the Budget Nerds Podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/budget-nerds/id1606054345 Spotify: https://open.spotify.co...

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: askjesse@ynab.com   Follow Ben and Ernie on the Budget Nerds Podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/budget-nerds/id1606...

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...

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,...

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...

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 ma...

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 ha...

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 h...

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 cos...

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 t...

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: Give every moment a job Embrace yourself and others Roll with it Age is just a number (play a lot!)   In honor of Sarah's presentation, and upcoming Mother's Day, YNAB wants to hear from you! YNAB is running a contest...

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!   Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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 t...

Jesse continues his rant about exploration of credit card use, observing that "paid in full" users are, technically, always in debt. Paid in full users are people who have the cash at any moment to pay off their credit card balance in full, but choose to pay off the balance before the next billing cycle. While they do pay off the balance regularly (monthly, or weekly, maybe even daily), and thus n...

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 cre...

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: askjesse@ynab.com   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at ww...

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...

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.   Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com...

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

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 economi...

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...