Synopsis
A weekly dose of just the right medicine to help you get out of debt, save more money, and break the paycheck to paycheck cycle.
Episodes
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Budgeting for 8 Weeks Abroad with Chrissy Sebald
26/09/2022 Duration: 37minJesse invites YNAB Senior Support Manager Chrissy Sebald to the podcast to talk about her budgeting super skill -- saving for frequent travel with her family of six! And not just travel in and around the States. Chrissy has used YNAB to help her budget for two months of travel abroad with her family, on a middle class income. 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
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EP 17 Money Stories: Living Debt Free in Manhattan, Budgeting Wisdom from Mom, and More with Christopher J. Campbell
19/09/2022 Duration: 24minIn today's installment of Money Stories, Jesse talks with YNAB Ambassador Christopher Campbell, a 33-year old marketing director living in Portland, ME. Christopher learned the value of budgeting from an early age, when his mother taught him and his siblings how to put aside money for things they wanted. She led by example, too, always setting aside money for Christmas and birthdays, for emergencies or unexpected expenses, on a middle class income. Looking to build on the budgeting habits instilled by his mom, Christopher began using YNAB 4 in 2014, and fell in love with both the simplicity of the method and the precision of the software. Using YNAB, Christopher has been able to achieve many notable financial goals -- paying off his student loans and becoming debt-free while living in notoriously expensive Manhattan, purchasing a motorcycle he had wanted since he was a kid, and helping others improve their financial wellbeing through personal coaching and social media. Christopher also enjoys travel, and ha
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Simple Investing with Jeremy Schneider of Personal Finance Club
12/09/2022 Duration: 41minJesse invites entrepreneur and avid YNAB'er Jeremy Schneider on to the show to help de-mystify investing for YNAB'ers looking to get started. Jeremy built the successful internet startup RentLinx, sold the company in 2015, and retired a couple years after at the age of 36. Jeremy then spent two years playing video games, traveling, coaching beach volleyball, and learning about what to do with all of his money. When the pandemic hit, he needed something to fill his time, so he decided to build a resource for other people to learn the fundamentals of investing and how to build their own nest egg. Jeremy's pretty clear that there's no magic to good investment strategy. To build wealth you need to spend less, save more, and then invest using a simple, reliable strategy, such as investing in broad market index funds. He recommends using YNAB to help with the spending less money part, then teaches the rest in his Personal Finance Club. Jeremy has a FREE 60-minute investing basics course as well as some fun and
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Breaking Down Student Loan Forgiveness with Ben the Dollar Scholar
05/09/2022 Duration: 48minJesse chats with Ben, a YNAB employee and "The Dollar Scholar" on TikTok, where he educates college students and grads on the intricacies of student loans. Ben walks through the recently announced student loan forgiveness program, how much debt can be forgiven for students or graduates with Pell grants and with traditional Federal student loans, and some of the forthcoming changes to income-based repayment plans. Ben also reminds us that not all the details of the plan have been worked out yet, and there are still open questions regarding the legality of the program, as well as potential income tax implications at the state level. Consequently, he reminds us, don't count on those forgiveness funds until they actually hit your bank account! Follow Ben the Dollar Scholar on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedollarscholar?lang=en Did you YNAB is FREE for college students? Sign up here: https://www.youneedabudget.com/college/ Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com
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Nail Back to School with the Four Rules
29/08/2022 Duration: 13minSchool is back in session, and it's a good time to tune up the budget. Want to really nail it this year? Go back to the Four Rules, Jesse says, and simplify. Now is the time to close those extra bank accounts, the multiple credit cards, the three different brokerage accounts. Budgeting is all about helping you make better decisions, after all, and simplifying helps you do that too. Did you YNAB is FREE for college students? Sign up here: https://www.youneedabudget.com/college/ Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com
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Ask Jesse: What Should You Do with a Life-changing Windfall?
22/08/2022 Duration: 10minA listener writes the show to ask: what should he and his family do with a life-changing windfall? The listener has a mortgage, and a HELOC, and some savings goals such as saving for his kids' college education. The windfall amount is enough to payoff all these things, and in addition he has recently earned a large raise. While the windfall is a huge gift, he wants to be calm, reasonable, and disciplined with allocating it towards the family's financial goals. Jesse helps walk through the problem, and identify some emotionally driven questions one should ask in this situation. 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
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Lessons from the Bookshelf: What Jesse Has Been Reading Lately
15/08/2022 Duration: 05minJesse shares a few book titles he has been working through lately, and how the lessons from Jocko's Exteme Ownership have been working their way through the Mecham household and YNAB. It's not all business books this time! Topics range from leadership to the history of money to science fiction. Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink https://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Ownership-U-S-Navy-SEALs-ebook/dp/B0739PYQSS/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=jocko+willink+extreme+ownership&qid=1660506517&s=books&sprefix=jocko+willink+ex%2Cstripbooks%2C69&sr=1-1 Debrief to Win by Robert “Cujo” Teschner https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1732929815/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0 Layered Money: From Gold and Dollars to Bitcoin and Central Bank Digital Currencies by Nik Bhatia https://www.amazon.com/Layered-Money-Dollars-Bitcoin-Currencies-ebook/dp/B08T7T47HC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=ZYVYV927YTEG&keywords=layered+money&qid=1660506593&s=books&sprefix=layered+money%2Cstripbooks%2C60&sr=1-1 Dune by Frank Herbert h
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Ask Jesse: So You Just Started Your First Real Job...
08/08/2022 Duration: 04minA listener writes Jesse to ask what he should do with his first real job and first real paycheck -- pay off debt, or start investing? This is a popular question with a few answers, and in Jesse's mind, the answers are all valid! What matters most is where you picture your life five years from now, whether you are happy with that picture, and whether your current trajectory is going to get you there. Some people get a lot of satisfaction from having a big nest egg, even while carrying debt. Others prize the freedom they feel from not having debt more than the size of their investment accounts. And of course, some people prefer to be somewhere in between. 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
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That Magical Moment (When You Really Want Something)
01/08/2022 Duration: 05minThere's a moment that happens when you run across something you really want -- it's like an itch that wants you to whip out the credit card and scratch it! In these moments, we're probably not very clear on our priorities and Rule One, so Jesse reminds us that the budget is the thing that helps us answer the question: can I afford this? Am I going to be OK after I buy this? And the budget answers those questions for you by bringing clarity to your priorities and the jobs you have assigned to your dollars. 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
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Ask Jesse: Kids, Allowances, and Cringey Purchases
25/07/2022 Duration: 08minHillary writes into the show to ask: when you started giving an allowance to your kids, what things did they buy that made you cringe? Hillary is starting the YNAB allowance strategy for her kids, aged 16, 15, and 12, and is wondering how to teach them to spend the money responsibly. Jesse offers his experiences with his own kids, and some of the money lessons he has watched them learn in their own life. Want to ask Jesse a question? Send him an email at: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com
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Budgeting for the Nomadic Life
18/07/2022 Duration: 53minJesse chats with a number of YNAB employees who are living, or working towards living, a "nomadic" life -- living and working across the US in a variety of places throughout the year. While this type of lifestyle can create some amazing freedoms (Megan, for instance, arranges her work schedule so that she can spend her mornings skiing during the winter), it also requires a lot of careful planning! That's where YNAB comes in. Maintaining a trailer, motorhome, or RV and handling the costs of living in new places involves lots of planning around true expenses and rolling with the punches. The nomadic ladies of YNAB share their experiences shifting to an unconventional lifestyle, and how the budgeting lessons they learned from the Four Rules have helped them make it happen. Bringing budgeting into the workplace -- Financial Wellness by YNAB. https://www.youneedabudget.com/wellness/ Email Jesse your stories about YNAB in the workplace: askjesse@ynab.com
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Ask Jesse: What's the Deal with Whole Life Insurance?
11/07/2022 Duration: 07minA listener writes into the show to ask about whole life insurance and whether it's worth it for a young couple in their 30's. As always, it depends! Whole life policies typically come with big fees, which of course insurance companies and salesmen like. Jesse points out that the policies can work for some people in high marginal tax brackets, however the tax savings must be carefully weighed against the earnings you could have made by simply investing in low-cost, diversified index funds and sidestepping the high fees of whole life policies. Send Jesse an email at: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com
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Debt and Pay Later Plans: An Independence Day Rant
04/07/2022 Duration: 14minHappy Fourth of July to the American YNAB'ers out there! Following Apple's recent announcement of their "Apple Pay Later" plan, in which customers can split the cost of purchases over multiple installments using Apple Pay, Jesse rants about the state of financing among successful companies. As he has noted before, nearly all successful companies eventually become finance companies, and Apple is no exception. Buy now, pay later (BNPL) plans may be good for Apple's bottom line, but they are bad news for consumers. Research has discovered that people tend to buy 40% more with BNPL plans than they would have with cash. Then of course there is the interest and penalties that come with missed payments. Jesse has a bone to pick with this... Send Jesse an email at: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com
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What If Your Coworkers Weren't Stressed About Money?
27/06/2022 Duration: 12minIt's no surprise, but employees carry their money stress into work with them. And that stress not only affects their performance at work, it affects their happiness and, by extension, increases turnover. Jesse shares results from a survey of over 3,000 YNAB'ers in the US who work full-time jobs in a variety of age ranges and income levels. YNAB found that only 24% of YNAB users experienced financial distress over the past two years of pandemic-fueled chaos -- pretty amazing compared to a broader survey of American workers by PWC which reported 63% experiencing financial distress. Another interesting stat: 93% of YNAB'ers reported being able to cover a $1,000 emergency expense, compared to just 13% of the PWC survey respondents. YNAB is clearly a powerful tool for financial stability! Now, YNAB is helping to bring budgeting into the workplace with Financial Wellness by YNAB. https://www.youneedabudget.com/wellness/ Email Jesse your stories about YNAB in the workplace: askjesse@ynab.com
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Ask Jesse: How Do You Move On... From Budgeting?
20/06/2022 Duration: 04minBritney writes into the show to ask, as a long time fan and follower of various personal finance resources, what should she do now that her family's budget is pretty much dialed in? How can she avoid constantly looking at the app to check that the budget is still working? Jesse reminds us that budgeting should, eventually, become boring for everyone. It may not be the goal, but it's at least a hallmark of a succesful budgeting practice! After that, maybe it's time to find a new hobby... Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder by Nassim Taleb https://www.amazon.com/Antifragile-Things-That-Disorder-Incerto/dp/0812979680 Send Jesse an email at: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com
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Mid-Year Check In: Are You Still Clear On Things?
13/06/2022 Duration: 04minIt's right about the mid-point of the year... how's your budget doing? Are you still clear on your priorities, and what jobs your dollars should be doing for you? If you've found yourself Rule Three'ing everything and rolling with the punches month after month, perhaps it is time to revisit your goals, reevaluate your priorities, and revise your budget accordingly. Send Jesse an email at: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com
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Ask Jesse: What Do I Do With My Investments Now?
06/06/2022 Duration: 09minA listener writes into the show -- what should she do with her investments in this market? Each week she is seeing the value of her portfolio go down, and she is losing as much value as what she puts in each month. Ouch! Jesse reminds us not to panic, and to go back to your written investment plan (you have one of those, right?). Why are you investing in the first place? What is your time horizon? Do you think the economy will grow in the (long-term) future? If yes -- and this has been historically true over a long time horizon -- then a broad market index will also grow over the long run, and sticking to your investment plan is the thing to do. Jesse has another recommendation: look at the number of shares you own, not the value of those shares on paper. If your number of shares is going up, then your portfolio is still growing by an important metric! Investing books mentioned in the show: The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by Jack Bogle A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel The B
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Revisiting a Hot Take on Index Investing
30/05/2022 Duration: 04minOn a recent Budget Nerds episode, Jesse threw out a hot take that index investing isn't all it's cracked up to be. Jocelyn wrote into the show to ask... why exactly? Jesse explains himself in today's episode. Investing Books mentioned in the show: The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by Jack Bogle A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel The Bogleheads Guide to Investing The Four Pillars of Investing by Bernstein
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How to Budget When Everything Is Expensive
23/05/2022 Duration: 09minAs inflation continues to rear it's ugly head in 2022, prices are going up and up, meaning budgets are getting stretched thin. Inflation is essentially another form of scarcity, Jesse points out, albeit involuntary scarcity. Jesse reminds us that scarcity is what drives us to be creative with the budget, and get more clear about our values. Budgeting is also an active process, so this time of inflation is a good time to dig deeper into every category, find the things that are auto-pilot and re-evaluate whether they shoud continue to be so. By exercising your Four Rules muscles, you can stay positive and confident about your financial strategy even when economic prospects are alarming. Send Jesse an email at: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com
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Ask Jesse: How Should You Track Vacation Spending?
16/05/2022 Duration: 06minA listener writes into the show to ask: how should you track vacation spending? Vacation is a time to relax and let loose a little, but the listener wants to make sure he is pacing the family's expenses during the trip so he doesn't go overbudget. Jesse offers a few different options, including sophisticated use of categories to track the vacation spend without creating too much complexity. Have a question for Jesse? Send him an email at: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com