The Jesse Mecham Show
Money shouldn't be this hard - and it isn't! Join YNAB founder Jesse Mecham each week as he dives into spendfulness, a mindset that will help you stop second-guessing, spend more confidently, and live the life you want.
Episodes
For You
Believe it or not, money can also be... for you. To spend on you and your wants. Many people carry around the idea that their money only exists for others, and that they are somehow unworthy of spending on themselves. But part of freeing yourself from money worry is freeing yourself to spend on yourself, to show yourself that you are worthy of having something for yourself. Order Jesse's new boo
For Ease
Money can be for now, it can be for later, but it can also be for ease. What do you mean, ease? Simply put, when you get one month ahead on your spending -- you start living on last month's income instead of yesterday's income -- your life gets simpler. No more timing games trying to figure out when to pay which bill so that you have enough to last until the next paycheck, no more late fees when y
For Later
What does your money need to do? Last week, Jesse talked about the first answer to this question -- the money "for now," those non-negotiable expenses or goods that need to be paid for or bought in the immediate future. He urged you to consider what exactly what non-negotiable, and that the term encompasses fewer expenses that we think. Today, Jesse covers the second possible answer to the questio
For Now
Jesse continues discussing the new central question of the YNAB method -- what does your money need to do? -- which replaced the old commandment to give every dollar a job. There are only five ways to answer this question, but it is deceptively deep. One of those answers is "for now," that is, the money needs to be used now, for expenses that are imminent and non-negotiable. The mortgage, water an
What Is Enough?
Jesse ponders the question -- what is enough? What if you set the bar at physical subsistance, enough food, shelter, and clothing to be secure? If that is enough, then everything you have beyond it is extra. When you set the bar there, then everything you spend on extra takes on more meaning -- it's not stuff you have to buy, it's stuff you get to buy, and therefore is more expressive of yourself.
Slow Down
In keeping with the theme of last week's episode and reducing your information intake, today Jesse encourages reducing your to-do lists as well. Referencing Oliver Burkeman's Four Thousand Weeks, he points out that waiting to relax and engage in leisure until after the to-do list is finished is a futile exercise -- the to-do list will never be finished, the sense of urgency to add more and do mor
Information Overload
YNAB is all about creating clarity with your money, and that central question -- what does it need to do? -- and therefore, clarity in your life. Clarity is very difficut, if not impossible, to achieve when you are overloaded and overwhelmed with inputs. Today Jesse challenges you to unhook yourself from the matrix, turn off the feeds, leave social media, and drastically reduce your diet of inform
The Most Important Thing Is Right In Front of You
Jesse reflects on the technological and cultural sea change underway as AI permeates everyday life. After publishing his new book, Never Worry About Money Again, Jesse scheduled the release of the audiobook version -- which he recorded himself in a studio in Salt Lake City -- only to find that someone had already released an audiobook with an AI generated voice clone. There are many such cases now
Ask Jesse: Ditching Credit Cards, Leasing Teslas, What Jesse Eats for Breakfast
In part 3 of the latest installment of Ask Jesse, Jesse reflects on his 2023 experiment of ditching his credit card and spending only with a debit card -- which he stills does today! He also answers a question about what he eats for breakfast, and shares how his experience leasing a Tesla (which he now owns) led to him to realize that his insistence on driving a 2002 Honda Civic was really just pr
Ask Jesse: Getting Your Partner On Board with YNAB, Kids Savings Accounts, and YNAB'ing with Kids
In part 2 of the latest installment of Ask Jesse, Jesse offers some advice about how to work with a spouse who is reluctant or disinterested in YNAB. He also discusses savings accounts for kids, and how the Mecham family uses YNAB with the kids, at each stage of age and maturity. Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Pre-order Jesse's new book! www.neverworryaboutmoney
Ask Jesse: Pre-Tax vs Roth IRA's, Giving Dollars Jobs in Retirement, Saving for Multiple Goals at Once
Jesse's answering questions from his inbox, including questions about which retirement accounts to contribute to, how to save money in retirement when you don't have an income, and how a young person can save for multiple goals at the same time. Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Pre-order Jesse's new book! www.neverworryaboutmoneyagain.com Follow YNAB on social
Never Worry About Money Again (An Excerpt)
Jesse reads a short excerpt from his new book, Never Worry About Money Again. How does it feel to not worry about money day to day? It's not the end of all worry, but the freedom from money worry gives you the space to think about and work through the rest of your life. As Jesse says, the way you spend isn't just a parallel to the rest of your life, it is your life. Pre-order Jesse's new book! w
Signs You Need to Work on Your Money Skills
Pre-order Jesse's new book! www.neverworryaboutmoneyagain.com Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @ynabofficial Instagram: @ynab.official Twitter/X: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial
I Just Wanted a Donut
Jesse shares a story about how one little donut that he passed by every day on his way to class as a struggling college student inspired him to develop a method for managing money that transformed his life, and millions of others by creating YNAB. Pre-order Jesse's new book now! www.neverworryaboutmoneyagain.com Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Follow YNAB on
Sticking It to the Bankers
Americans have done it again, setting a record $1.25 trillion in credit card debt as of Q1 2026. There was a time in not too distant history, however, when credit card debt went down, and bankers were afraid, at least for a little bit. Getting good at money doesn't have to be hard, and money doesn't have to be a constant source of stress and anxiety. You just have to answer one simple question
Getting Good at Money Is for Both of You
For those in relationships, getting good at money is not just a gift to yourself, it's a gift to you and your partner. Getting good at money means spending well, and spending well for a couple means putting more of yourselves out into the world via your dollars. Spending well leads to alignment, both of you on the same page regarding what you want your money to do for you and what you want your fu
From Good to Great at Money: Becoming a New You
Over the last several weeks Jesse has laid out some of the hallmarks of going from being bad at money (which is, frankly, how most of us start out) to good at money, including the benefits of being good at money -- less stress and anxiety, enjoying life more, engaging with life more. All these wins compound over time, and eventually you can become great with money, which means you can start bendin
Jesse Has a New Book! Never Worry About Money Again
That's right, Jesse has a new book out and it's available for pre-order now. After twenty years of running YNAB and a decade plus of podcasts, Fan Fests, speaking engagements, and more, Jesse has distilled his thinking about money into his best work: Never Worry About Money Again. Getting good at money doesn't have to be hard, and money doesn't have to be a constant source of stress and anxiety.
Bad to Good... It's More You
When you're no longer stressed about money, you begin to enjoy the things you like guilt-free. Whether it's a treat or a tool or an experience you've always wanted, getting good at money frees you up to pursue happiness in life and express more of yourself in the world. In short, it's makes you more... you! How do you get good with money? YNAB is a great place to start! Sign up for a free 34-day
Going From Bad to Good with Bills
How do you get good with money? YNAB is a great place to start! Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at ynab.com/jesse Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @ynabofficial Instagram: @ynab.official Twitter/X: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial
Going from Bad to Good with Money
When you're bad at money, it only brings you worry. Get good at it, however, and it's empowering. Like Thanos' gauntlet. How do you get good with money? YNAB is a great place to start! Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at ynab.com/jesse Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Fol
Face Reality, Get Good with Money
Reality can be a scary thing. When we're bad with money (and most of us start that way), money feels, well... we'd rather just not look. Maybe if we don't look, that thing we're worrying about -- not having enough for looming bills, going into debt -- well maybe it will just go away. But we don't have to live in fear. Getting good with money means that you can face reality, and not only face it bu
Writing A Letter from Your Future Self
Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow 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 Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @ynabofficial Instagram: @ynab.official Twitter/X: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial
Writing a Letter to Your Past Self
Jesse offers a thought experiment (or a real experiment if you choose to actually do it, which you should!): write a letter to your past self -- you get to decide how long ago -- teaching him or her about money. Tell them about the things you've learned, some of the mistakes you've made, and what kinds of things they have to look forward to as they learn to get good with money. Jesse actually did
The Moment You Realize You're Good With Money
Jesse recalls his experience as a young missionary in Germany struggling to learn the language. Every day he would take notes of words or phrases he didn't know, and every evening he would study those words. Then one day, he had a conversation with a man in Stuttgart, and he answered completely in German, without thinking or translating. It just clicked. Money is a skill, like language, and it c
The Unfair Advantage of Being Good with Money
At YNAB we often talk about how getting good with money can help you reduce stress, improve your confidence, improve your relationships, and generally bring you a sense of peace and security -- which is true! There are also some hard mathematical advantages to getting good with money. Jesse points out how getting good with money, learning to set money aside for future expenses can net you great de
What My Kids Think About Money After 21 Years of YNAB
For a lot of people, money carries a lot of negative connotations and emotional baggage. But when you ask kids about money, before they have had a chance to develop negative associations with it, you can hear a different story. Jesse asked his kids what they thought about money and shares some of their answers. He also discusses how the Mecham family has introduced the concept of money to their ki
Who Could You Become If You Weren't Worried About Money?
It's an interesting question, isn't it? Imagine for a second... your credit cards are paid off, you have cash in the bank, your bills are on autopay and you don't even know when they will hit because you already have the money in your account. In fact, you get to the first day of the month and all your bills for that month are already paid for. What would this do to your stress? Your relationships
You're Not You When You Are Worried About Money
Remember those Snickers commercials about people acting out because they were "hangry?" We could say the same thing happens to people who are stressed about money. Maybe you're shorter with your kids, maybe you feel pressure to work more hours, to move faster, maybe you argue with your spouse more -- however your money stress manifests, it still... manifests. There's another way. You can learn t
Money Destroys Relationships... But It Doesn't Have To
Money is the source of many relationship conflicts. It's the number one reason cited for divorce, for one. Money can, frankly, destroy relationships, but it doesn't have to. You can claim ownership of your money, and rid yourself of money stress -- and by extension, reduce your relationships stress too. Jesse urges you to embrace curiosity — curiosity about what you can do and create with your m
Start Where You Are, Not Where You "Should Be"
Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow 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 Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @ynabofficial Instagram: @ynab.official Twitter/X: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial
Seeing the Whole Picture When You Spend
One of the interesting effects of using YNAB is how it shapes your vision of money through multiple viewpoints. There's the spending you are doing now, when you make a transaction, then there's the tradeoff that spending causes in the future, becuase the spending you do now impacts the spening you will do in the future. Jesse gives the example of a man going out for sushi. The $30 he spends now
Waking Up From a Financial Bender? Don't Look Back
If life has pummeled you, and you've woken up from a financial bender -- hundreds of uncategorized transactions in YNAB with no recollection of what happend to all that money -- it's ok. Just get back on the horse and start again. Jesse offers a humorous, and helpful, solution. Categorize all those transactions under a new category called "Bender," and start looking forward. Don't worry about wh
Bad With Money? It's Just a Skill Issue
If you think you're bad with money, you're not alone. Money management is not something that comes natural to most, and it's certainly not something that most of us are taught. But getting good with money is a skill, and that's good news! No matter where you are starting, you can get better at managing your money and learn to live stress-free when it comes to money. Watch The Jesse Mecham Show o
Unpaid Bills Are Parasites
You've probably got an item or two on your to-do list that you never seem to get to. Whenever you think about, you aren't in a position to act on it. There always seems to be something in the way when you have time and attention to complete the task. Yet these open loops, as they are sometimes referred to, are a drain on your attention and mental capacity. Unpaid bills are mental vampires too, c
Want to Stop Impulse Spending? Try Making a List
Almost everyone spends on impulse from time to time -- it's pretty normal human behavior -- but we don't always want to spend impulsively. Jesse recommends a simple strategy for dealing with your impulses: make a list! Write down all the things you want as they come to you. Sometimes the act of writing something scratches the itch enough to satisfy your wanting. If it doesn't, however, that's wh
Should I Build My Savings or Get Rid of Debt?
According to YouGov, one of the top resolutions for 2026 is saving more money. While Jesse has issues with the concept of "saving" money as he has discussed in previous podcasts, the intention is still clear -- people want to get to a more stable financial position, which (for most) means more cash in the bank and less debt. Jesse also points out that consumer debt continues to hit all time highs,
It Matters
One small change can make a huge difference. Jesse shares a recent experience with his strength training. After stagnating and failing to make gains for a long while, he read about a simple post workout drink consisting of protein and dextrose powder. He tried it, felt his recovery jump through the roof after a few workouts, and started making gains again. There's an analog when it comes to your
Do This Now for a Better December
Happy New Year, Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays! We hope you had a wonderful holiday season. Now that it's January once more, it's time to tally up the damage from the holiday season... that is, if you didn't plan for the damage already! Unfortunately, Christmas and New Year's is a season where many folks go into debt. Some are still carrying debt from the prior year. Holiday spending doesn
Buy Or Rent? The Real Question You Should Be Asking...
Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow 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 Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @ynabofficial Instagram: @ynab.official Twitter/X: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial
More Money = Less Stress? Think Again
It's a common trap to think that making more money is the answer to your financial worries. Many people think that if they just had a bigger income, then they'd be able to afford everything they needed and wanted, and they wouldn't have to worry anymore. But a recent experience reminded Jesse that this simply isn't true. Jesse spoke at an event with wealthy business owners, and he posed a simple
How Savers Become Spenders
Everyone is familiar with the "savers and spenders" dichotomy: some people identify as savers and others spenders, the implication being that spenders are irresponsible with money and savers are wise and frugal. As Jesse has argued, it's a false dichotomy. In fact, YNAB's overarching goal is to help everyone become a "spender" -- a wise spender whose spending is in alignment with their priorities.
Want to Stop Worrying About Money? It's All About Timing
Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow 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 Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @ynabofficial Instagram: @ynab.official Twitter/X: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial
You're Bad With Money. Here's How to Fix It
The average person is bad at money. Actually, most people are bad at money! Living paycheck to paycheck, with little to no savings and a lot of debt is the norm. But you don't have to be. Learning to spend well is the key to learning to be good with money, because all things finanical flow from spending. YNAB teaches you just how to do that. Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on YouTube: https://www.yo
Delay... Not Debt
Jesse shares a story about helping his daughter use YNAB to plan her spending and save for an electric bicycle. The bike was $600, quite a big ticket item for a 9 year old, but together they came up with a plan and created a target in YNAB to assign money toward that goal each month. And when the day came a few months later to make the purchase... she didn't want it. The burning desire for the b
Jesse Is Taking a Short Break: Stay Tuned!
Jesse is taking a short break while he's on the road. He'll be back in a couple weeks! Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuIUGmbCDklkDCDm-cQqv2g Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow 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 Fo
Changing The Rules of Money | Dave Crombleholme Live from Fan Fest Minneapolis 2025
In today's episode, Jesse hands over the mic to YNAB team member Dave Crombleholme, who presented at the Minneapolis Fan Fest in June 2025. Dave is perhaps most famous for his idea of the Wish Farm at YNAB, but he's also spent a long time wrestling with the word budget. In Dave's presentation, he outlines various iterations of the YNAB rules over the years, explains why the concept of rules never
Money Is the Medium, Money Is You | Jesse Live from Fan Fest Minneapolis 2025
In June 2025 at YNAB Fan Fest Minneapolis, Jesse gave a talk about how money is a medium -- not just of exchange, but, ultimately, of you. When you really examine what it is that money does in the world, it is a thing which translates your energy and effort (required to earn the money) into tangible goods and services. When you draw a throughline between your work and your spending, money just fal
How to Stop Worrying About Money (If You're Not a Billionaire)
When worry creeps in to your money, the knee jerk response is to think: "I just need to make more money, that will solve my problems." But as Jesse shares in a humorous conversation with his daughter, it's interesting how quickly you can spend more and more money in your mind. Unless you're a billionaire, money has a way of becoming stressful when you're only solution is to need more and more of i
Stop Worrying about Your Kid Getting Into Yale
It's no secret, college is expensive. But if you haven't looked in a few years, college has gotten really expensive, especially certain schools with a lot of name recognition and clout. Jesse has a senior in high school, so as he's been helping with the college application process, he's been pondering: is college worth it? And more importantly, is every college worth it? As Jesse balks at the ey
Money Doesn't Have to Control You
When you don't have a plan for your money, it can feel like money is in control of your life. That can be a terrifying feeling! YNAB can not only help you set a plan for your money, but reclaim control of your money, and control over your life. Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Sig
Ever Thought About Money at 3AM?
Money shouldn't keep you up at night, and it doesn't have to! Giving every dollar a job and asking yourself five questions about what your money needs to do not only grows your bank account, it gives you peace of mind (and better sleep) Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for
How's That "No Buy Year" Going?
Did you make a resolution to have a "no buy year" this year? How's that going? While Jesse loves the idea of a no-buy year, mainly because he loves to experiment with money and behavior, he admits the concept of it is flawed. A "no buy year" typically means you refrain from making any non-essential purchases so that you can save more money. As Jesse explains, though, saving money really means bein
Run Your Money Like a Football Team
Football season is nearly upon us, and Jesse is thinking about the pigskin again. And money, of course. When you look at the great sports movies, they usually revolve around a struggling team -- often a team of stragglers and dubious athletes -- and a great coach who motivates them, helps them find their desire to compete, and puts them in positions to maximize the abilities they do have. You can
Why Is It So Freaking Hard to Save Money? (And How to Make It Easier)
Saving vs spending... there's no question which one is more fun, right? Obviously, spending! By comparison, saving feels like a chore, something you ought to do, the responsible thing to do, but is definitely less fun. After all, you get something when you spend -- an item, an experience, a service. With saving you get, well, just more money in a pile somewhere. As Jesse points out, no one says
It's OK to Move Your Goalposts
You've probably heard the term "moving the goalposts," that is, a deceptive argument strategy in which you change the question, the criteria, or the standard by which you are evaluating something. The metaphor comes from sports, and it's a good metaphor for personal finance. Early in our adult lives we make a lot choices because money is scarce -- you choose to live with roommates instead of your
Change Your Plan, Today!
Personal finance is personal, as the saying goes, and the only constant in life is change, to employ another saying. On that note, Jesse issues a challenge in today's episode: change your plan! Add a category, put some money in it, delete a category, shuffle some dollars around... just make a change. This is a reminder to yourself that the beauty of a plan is it's flexibility. As life changes, you
Can You Afford to Make Mistakes?
Flying airplanes is serious business. Mistakes are costly, not just because of the cost of the aircraft; if you're flying people, their lives are on the line. Jesse knows this better than most, having two brothers who are pilots. One day he overheard them talking shop and narrowed in on a common occurence they had teaching student pilots to fly -- these pilots were afriad of "hooking," that is, ma
Why Buy Now, Pay Later is the WORST Way to Spend
Jesse has ranted about credit cards and their pernicious way of separating you from your money, both literally and metaphorically -- obfuscating the way you spend and distancing your priorities from the point of sale. Today he warns against the newest form of this pernicious spending: buy now, pay later programs. It's like a credit card you don't have to sign up -- just purchase an item, and via a
These 5 Simple Questions Beat Your Spreadsheet
For some reason when the topic of money comes up, many people immediately want to jump into Excel and start exercising the so-called rational part of their brain. Money seems to demand sober, quantitative analysis, devoid of emotion which obfuscates the mathematical truth of the situation. Yet we rarely make decisions in a purely rational manner; emotion plays a large, if not bigger role, than rat
You Can Stop Second Guessing with Money
We talk about how YNAB is the ultimate weapon against money stressors -- as you gain control over your spending, learn to give every dollar a job, and bring your spending in line with your priorities, the stresses decrease and are replaced by a growing confidence. There are other psychological "costs" of money, such as the anxiety and mental overhead created by second guessing your choices. Shou
Fan Fest Reflections: Spendfulness Is About More Than Just Stuff
Jesse reflects on his interactions with YNAB'ers at the recent Fan Fest in Minneapolis, and how spendfulness manifested in many different ways. One important takeaway for Jesse was that while practicing spendfulness could mean taking a cool international vacation, or buying something fun and interesting (and those are totally valid things to spend money on!), it could also mean having the freedom
We Stopped Eating Out for Three Months. The Result Was Interesting...
In 2017 the Mecham family decided to live in Manhattan for three months to experience the city, soak up the food and culture, and just have fun doing something different. While they were there they chose to maximize their opportunity to eat out -- Jesse went back and counted over 140 different establishments during that 90 day stay! After that experiment, Jesse and the family decided to try the
There Is No Such Thing as Savings
It seems obvious that you should save money. It's the right thing to do, after all! But even the words that we use talk about saving money have problems -- should, ought -- loaded with moral baggage. Jesse reminds us that even money earmarked for savings is still spending, just spending that has been deferred to a later date, retirement for example. That money still needs to have a job, however.
What I Do When I Really Want to Buy It
When you really want to buy something, what do you do? Do you wait for 48 hours to cool off a bit and think it over? Or perhaps do you create a category for it in YNAB and fund it with a few dollars, just to see how it feels? Having the urge to buy something is not a bad or shameful thing, but there should be a process for weighing that purchase against your other priorities. That's what YNAB does
Money Stress Wrecking Your Health? Here's How To Fix It! (Rebroadcast from The Art of Being Well with Dr. Will Cole)
This week Jesse and the rest of the YNAB team are working hard prepping for the upcoming Fan Fest in Minneapolis, so today we are rebroadcasting an interview that originally appeared on Dr. Will Cole's Art of Being Well podcast. In this interview, Jesse talks about how money stress not only leads to poorer mental health, it has real physical impacts on the body as well. We hope you enjoy this in
4 Ways to Start a Fight About Money
It's no secret that money is a major factor in relationship conflicts. Whether it's misaligned values, a feeling that one partner is sabotaging the other's goals through their spending, or a desire to keep up with the Jones'... money has the potential to start or fuel a lot of conflict. But it doesn't have to! Often money arguments belie fundamental communcation problems, and YNAB can help by clar
You've Got Budgeting Backwards
To many, the word "budget" brings to mine restrictions, guilt, punishment, and a general feeling of dread that they don't have control over their money, much less hit their budget goals. But this idea that a budget means setting hard limits on spending in various categories, then looking back every month to see if you were "good" or "bad" in adhering to those limits... it's all backwards! Jesse
How and When We Teach Our Kids About Money
Judging from the difficulties many adults have managing their money, we don't do a great job collectively of teaching our kids about money. Jesse doesn't consider himself an expert on this, but he does have seven kids, and thus seven chances to instill good money habits in his own children. In today's episode he shares how he teaches his kids about money using the YNAB method, scaled down in langu
Spendfulness: An Origin Story
Spendfulness is the new word around YNAB, but the concept goes back to the beginning of the company... and even before the company itself. In today's episode, Jesse recounts the very early days of YNAB, when the budgeting method was just a spreadsheet. Jesse realized that the spreadsheet was enforcing a set of behaviors, or "rules," around money and that those rules were the foundation of what is
What I've Learned from Years of Experimenting with Money
Jesse has a long history experimenting with money. From rating every meal he and the family ate out, to "hyperbudgeting," to not budgeting at all... he's run an experiment almost every year for the last several years to see how his habits affect his financial planning. In today's episode Jesse recaps the experiments he's done, how they went (good and bad), and reminds us that personal finance is,
How to Be Spendful When the World Is on Fire
If the world seems like it's on fire right now... it may be true. But then again, the world always seems like it's on fire, at least depending on who you ask. If you ask the news, it certainly is! Fortunately, the YNAB method -- giving every dollar a job and working through the 5 Questions -- can bring peace and calm to your finances. Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on Youtube: https://www.youtube.c
Delete Your Emergency Fund
On the surface, emergency funds sound like a very prudent idea. You set aside cash for unknowable, unforseeable events so that you aren't strapped when you really need it. We're not disagreeing with the idea, but an emergency fund is somewhat counter to the core principle of YNAB: giving every dollar a job. In an emergency fund, dollars are given a job, but it's a vague one. Jesse likens it to a
Are Your Savings Making You Stingy?
All money is meant to be spent, it's just a matter of when. Some people get caught in a cycle of amassing savings with no clear goal of how it is to be spent. Jesse shares an example from his wedding of how the desire to save money can backfire, and demonstrates how having a plan for your money, whether it's in the near future or distant future, is the most important thing. As we say at YNAB, gi
Stop Budgeting Dollars You Don't Have
YNAB only asks that you follow one rule with your money, the golden rule of money, if you will -- give every dollar a job. And within that statement is implied that you must give every dollar you have a job. Many people get in trouble when they start planning for money they expect to come but don't have yet. There be dragons! Looking at the money you have right now, and asking yourself "what doe
Am I Spendy or Spendful?
Jesse relates a story of a couple looking at a piece of gym equipment posted for sale at their local gym. It was expensive, and Emily's gut reaction was "no, it seems spendy." After some reflection she told her husband they should talk about it more, because maybe it was really a spendful purchase. We are faced with decisions like these all the time. Without a plan, anything can seem spendy, eve
These 5 Questions Will Rewrite Your Financial Future
YNAB only has one "rule" for managing your money, and that's to give every dollar a job. This is easier said than done, however, so to help with this task, Jesse presents 5 questions to clarify what you want to do with your money: Reality: What does this money need to do before I'm paid again? Stability: What larger, less frequent spending do I need to prepare for? Resilience: What can I set asid
You're Already Talking to Your Kids About Money
You've heard the term "monkey see, monkey do," and it's true of kids and money too -- and probably not in the ways you expect! Jesse shares a couple lessons about kids and money he's learned from parenting seven children, and how kids often learn as much or more from the things you do with your money rather than what you say about money. What you say matters too, however! The main takeaway is to b
I Regret Paying Off My Mortgage
When Jesse was 25, he wrote down a goal on a notecard: to live in a paid-off house by the time he was 30. He thought that owning his house free and clear would make things feel different, give him a sense of security and freedom. At the end of the day, though, the mortgage really wasn't that big of a deal -- it was just another bill to pay. There was less satisfaction to owning his home outright t
Your Money = You
Welcome to the first episode of The Jesse Mecham Show! To kick off the new show, Jesse asks the question: what is money anyway? You might point to the cash in your wallet, you might say it's the number in your bank account, you might even say it's a medium of exchange, or a store of value. While these answers aren't wrong, they really don't capture the fullness of what money is and what it means t
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