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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 t…

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 …

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 YNA…

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…

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 thes…

Jesse answers questions from the YNAB mailbag, including whether a couple should save for new cars to replace aging vehicles, or pay down the mortgage faster, whether debt consolidation is a good idea, and how exactly do you know when it's ok to spend money? Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day tr…

Jesse shares one key indicator that you are budgeting and doing your money right. 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.comبقلم Jesse Mecham

Not having money stress is a GREAT feeling to have. But a YNAB employee, Katie, pointed out a downside to it -- people assume you make more money than you really do. Because who else would have no money stress except people who are rolling it in? Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB …

Jesse fields more listener questions today, including what you should do when you double your income (teaser: there's really not a wrong answer as long as it's saving!), how to budget for real estate investments, and whether debit cards have sufficient fraud protection to use over credit cards. Please keep your questions coming! Send them to: askje…

Jesse answers listener questions about tracking 401k deposits in YNAB and how to strategize paying off student loans. Jesse shares his evolving thoughts about credit cards, and why the Mecham household will only use a single debit card for expenses in 2023. Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day tri…

Last week Jesse urged YNAB'ers not to make any sudden or drastic moves to their budget. But you know it's the beginning of the year, and that can only mean one thing! It's time for a budget burndown. Every year Jesse burns down his budget... er, plan, and examines every single assumption built into it. Do we really need to own a house? What if we l…

Happy New Year! We hope 2023 is a fruitful and productive year, financially and otherwise, for everyone. It's that time of year again, the time for resolutions, big goals, and new plans. Jesse urges you to pump the brakes, however, and DO NOT make big changes to your budget. Not right now. Just iterate on what you've been doing, and try to do a lit…

We hope you had a Merry Christmas and very happy holiday! If you didn't use YNAB to plan for this year's Christmas bill, that's OK, you can start now for next year! In January start saving for Christmas 2023 by putting aside one twelfth of the Christmas budget each month. Jesse also has another exercise for you. Write a little note to yourself abou…

Jesse shares some of the gifts he's given his wife, Julie, over the years, and why every year from now on the gifts will be made, not bought. 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.comبقلم Jesse Mecham

Jesse answers a grab-bag of questions from listeners, including whether it's a good idea to track 401k investments in YNAB (it's not), how to budget for early retirement, good books for learning how to to invest, and more. 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.co…

It's a fact, you do. We know this because banks LOVE credit cards, and they're incentives for using credit cards rely on the fact that many people spend more money on credit than they would otherwise. Jesse meditates on the nature of credit card fees, incentives, and the game that banks play to get people to spend on credit. Got a question for Jess…

Jesse riffs on the idea that money has different "tenses," that is, money's purpose is to be spent, and spending can happen in the past, present, or future. Debt is past spending, savings is future spending, and so on. It's an interesting idea, one that might help you better visualize the purpose of money in your own life, and how it aligns with yo…

For everyone listening in the United States, Happy Thanksgiving! Jesse encourages us this week to step back and make a list of everything we are thankful for. Taking a moment to express your gratitude for the things you have and the things that are going well in your life is not only good for your soul, it's good for your budget too! We tend to spe…

Jesse shares results from a recent survey of YNABers asking: "what's the biggest thing you've saved for with YNAB?" Vacations, cars, houses, college... there are some big line items indeed! 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…

YNAB'er Allison asks: of all the metrics in the YNAB software, which is the most important one to track? To which Jesse answers... none of them! Jesse prefers to track net worth over time, which is not captured in YNAB since it's a calculation of the value of what you own minus what you owe. As Jesse explains, though, if you are working the Four Ru…

Once you've started working the Four Rules, you start to realize that most of your money is kind of... spoken for. You need to pay the rent, the utlities, insurance, and so on. When you get through the list of non-negotiables, there's often just a few hundred dollars each month to play around with in the budget, and those dollars are where the real…

Killian, a YNAB 4 user, asks about Rule Four and the "age of money" metric. How long should you age your money before you can relax a bit and not budget so stringently? 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.comبقلم Jesse Mecham

Jesse drops a reminder that Rule Three, when properly implemented, happens before you spend the money on that unexpected expense -- not after! 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.comبقلم Jesse Mecham

Jesse talks with domestic abuse survivor and now advocate, Dr. Kerry Roarke. Despite a successful career in pharmacy, Kerry found herself stuck in an increasingly abusive marriage, with very little say or power over how she spent or saved money. Since leaving that relationship and righting her financial ship, Kerry has volunteered to help other wom…

A listener, Tom, writes into the show to express some confusion over what constitutes "savings" in a budget following the YNAB method. During a call with his bank to discuss refinancing, Tom was asked how much savings he had on hand, a question which dumbfounded him. Technically, everything in the budget is savings, he reasoned, since every dollar …