The Jesse Mecham Show

Jesse continues to work through his backlog of Ask Jesse questions, including his thoughts on credit karma, the magic of 1% retirement contributions, and whether he would save cash in case of recession or pay down debt. Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman https://www.amazon.com/Four-Thousand-Weeks-Management-Mortals/dp/0374159122 Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @iYNAB Instagram: @youneedabudget Twitter: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

Jesse is catching up on his inbox after a summer break, and answering your questions! Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @iYNAB Instagram: @youneedabudget Twitter: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

Since Jesse has been away, the emails have been piling up! Jesse works through his backlog of Ask Jesse questions today, including a woman who has a newfound distaste for credit cards... and wrote to Jesse to tell about it! Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @iYNAB Instagram: @youneedabudget Twitter: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

Jesse is back from his summer break and ready to answer your questions and talk money! Long-time listeners of the podcast know that each year Jesse experiments with something in his financial life, whether its reconciliation intervals or category structures. This year Jesse decided to wean himself off credit cards entirely, and he provides an update on that project. So far it's looking good, and he expects that this will be a permanent change. Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @iYNAB Instagram: @youneedabudget Twitter: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

What do you do when the biggest line item in your budget increases, like, a lot? You engage your Rule Two super powers and roll with the punches of course. Emotionally, however, it's not easy when you have to reallocate dollars away from categories to handle the increased expenses in another category. It's not just a math problem -- each of those dollars symbolizes intentions and plans, which now must be put on hold, or changed altogether. In Ben's case, it's renovating a bathroom badly in need of a refresh. In this episode, Ben shares how he keeps his spirits up when he has to roll with punches and put plans on hold. Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Follow Ben and Ernie on the Budget Nerds Podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/budget-nerds/id1606054345 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0H1u8pqYrvz6zj6noHbkB3?si=fc181a82b8d540a6

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 prioritize your spending in accordance with your values. Life is dynamic, and sometimes those needs change! That means the budget needs to change with your life. Ernie shares how he blew up his budget and started over after a series of home renovation projects and medical bills started taxing his existing category balances. Money stress started building -- even veteran YNAB'ers are not immune to it! -- and he realized the budget was no longer serving his needs. That's the takeaway: don't be too precious with the budget you've created, even if it has served you well for a long time. And understand that money stress happens to everyone, and that's OK! Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Follow Ben and Ernie on the Budget Nerds Podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/budget-nerds/id1606054345 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0H1u8pqYrvz6zj6noHbkB3?si=fc181a82b8d540a6 Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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 YNAB website in 2004. Budget Nerds Episode #50: A Brief History of the YNAB Rules Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/50-a-brief-history-of-the-ynab-rules/id1606054345?i=1000581636493 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/3AdIeFpt0ZfuM0kKEF8Yr0?si=d235636937564f38 Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Follow Ben and Ernie on the Budget Nerds Podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/budget-nerds/id1606054345 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0H1u8pqYrvz6zj6noHbkB3?si=fc181a82b8d540a6 Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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 details or each person shares equally in that task. Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Follow Ben and Ernie on the Budget Nerds Podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/budget-nerds/id1606054345 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0H1u8pqYrvz6zj6noHbkB3?si=fc181a82b8d540a6 Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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 managing the transaction log without going crazy or burying your face in your phone the whole trip. Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Follow Ben and Ernie on the Budget Nerds Podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/budget-nerds/id1606054345 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0H1u8pqYrvz6zj6noHbkB3?si=fc181a82b8d540a6 Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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: [email protected] Follow Ben and Ernie on the Budget Nerds Podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/budget-nerds/id1606054345 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0H1u8pqYrvz6zj6noHbkB3?si=fc181a82b8d540a6 Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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: [email protected] Follow Ben and Ernie on the Budget Nerds Podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/budget-nerds/id1606054345 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0H1u8pqYrvz6zj6noHbkB3?si=fc181a82b8d540a6 Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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, start contributing something -- anything! -- to your retirement accounts now. That amount will be some percentage of your income. Each quarter, increase that percentage of your income you are contributing by 1%. It doesn't seem like much, but it adds up fast! And most importantly, it's a slow enough change that it gives you time to adjust. As one YNAB listener writes in, it doesn't even feel like you're missing the extra money, while at the same time it's encouraging to see your retirement accounts going up. We want to hear your YNAB stories! Please take a moment to tell us about your biggest budgeting wins here: https://youneedabudget.typeform.com/ynaber-stories Follow Ben and Ernie on the Budget Nerds Podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/budget-nerds/id1606054345 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0H1u8pqYrvz6zj6noHbkB3?si=fc181a82b8d540a6 Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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, and luckily YNAB is very good at helping you understand opportunity costs with your money. We want to hear your YNAB stories! Please take a moment to tell us about your biggest budgeting wins here: https://youneedabudget.typeform.com/ynaber-stories Follow Ben and Ernie on the Budget Nerds Podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/budget-nerds/id1606054345 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0H1u8pqYrvz6zj6noHbkB3?si=fc181a82b8d540a6 Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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 to accrue travel points that he can use on family vacations. We want to hear your YNAB stories! Please take a moment to tell us about your biggest budgeting wins here: https://youneedabudget.typeform.com/ynaber-stories Follow Ben and Ernie on the Budget Nerds Podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/budget-nerds/id1606054345 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0H1u8pqYrvz6zj6noHbkB3?si=fc181a82b8d540a6 Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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 marathon, not a sprint, and white-knuckling has many pitfalls. For one, when you're throwing every dollar and focusing all of your energy on paying off debt, it's easy to ignore Rule Two -- embracing your true expenses. If you get hit by an unplanned expense and you've thrown all your extra cash at your debt, then you may find yourself reaching for the credit card... and thereby accruing more debt. So, Ben and Ernie urge you to take things a little slower. Work the Four Rules, budget for true expenses, and have some cash reserves set aside, so that your journey to pay off debt doesn't start going backwards. And more importantly, taking things at your own pace can help you avoid burnout and stay focused on the long term goal. As long as you are aligning your money with your priorities, you are doing it right! We want to hear your YNAB stories! Please take a moment to tell us about your biggest budgeting wins here: https://youneedabudget.typeform.com/ynaber-stories Follow Ben and Ernie on the Budget Nerds Podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/budget-nerds/id1606054345 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0H1u8pqYrvz6zj6noHbkB3?si=fc181a82b8d540a6 Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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 have options for handling unexpected expenses, taking advantages of opportunities (which require money/investment), or simply changing your strategy. It's easy to re-assign dollars that are already in categories, but you have to have the dollars there in the first place. That's the essence of aging your money. Facebook: @iYNAB Instagram: @youneedabudget Twitter: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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 here is that you check the budget and find the money first! You don't simply spend the money and try to figure it out later. Facebook: @iYNAB Instagram: @youneedabudget Twitter: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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 cost for those tires. Really Rule Two is Rule One again, give every dollar a job. You're giving your dollars jobs today, to pay for expenses tomorrow. Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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 the heart of Rule One. Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @iYNAB Instagram: @youneedabudget Twitter: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

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 between now and May 11th. The contest is simple: share your mother's method to living well, in the style of the YNAB Four Rules if you can. One person will be chosen at random, and the winner will receive a $100 VISA gift card! To enter the contest, write a post with your mother's rules to live by, told in YNAB "four rules" style, on any of YNAB's social media channels -- Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Tik Tok. Make sure to tag YNAB, and include the hashtag #fourrulestoliveby in your post. Winner will be announced on May 11th, 2023! Facebook: @iYNAB Instagram: @youneedabudget Twitter: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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: [email protected] 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 the payee. This exercise is the first place to look when planning for future unexpected expenses. Did you get in a fender bender and end up with a $1,000 bill from the body shop? Did you hire a plumber to fix some leaking pipes in your basement? These are possible future expenses you can use Rule Two to plan for. Now, hopefully you won't be getting into fender benders on a regular basis! But that auto shop expense might trigger you to think about upcoming regular car maintenance that you haven't yet budgeted for. Likewise, owning a house means regular maintenance, so at some point you're probably going to call a plumber out again. Time to assign money in your budget and plan for that! This is a good, easy strategy for improving your Rule Two thinking, and put future you in a better financial position. Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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 never incur interest, they are in debt until the moment they pay off the balance. And of course, after they have paid off the balance, they are again in debt as soon as they charge the next expense on their credit card. Does the distinction matter though? Jesse ponders the question, and gives an update on his own experiment of only using a debit card for expenses in 2023. Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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 credit cards, how he obtained a mortgage with no credit score, and how he manages day to day expenses such as renting cars without a credit card. Credit cards are ubiquitous these days, but that doesn't mean you HAVE to use one. Ben demonstrates that it's possible to have a robust, well-planned financial life without credit! Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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 your money support your life, and nothing more. Can you do that, just for a little while? Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.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: [email protected] 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 economic decisions. Sometimes you give dollars a job (Rule One) which is for sheer enjoyment. Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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 question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse shares one key indicator that you are budgeting and doing your money right. Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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 lived in an RV for awhile? Do we need two cars? What if we sold one? Etc, etc. The point of this exercise is to question everything, and in the process, better understand what your non-negotiables are. In most cases, you'll likely put most of the categories you had back into your plan. But perhaps the burn down process helps you identify a couple areas that don't really serve you anymore, or dollars that could be more useful doing a different job. So, get ready to burn it down! Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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 little bit better than last year. Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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 about what went well this Christmas, and what you want to do differently next time. Then set a reminder for that note to open back up in October 2023. You'll have forgotten by then, and you'll have plenty of time to prepare to make the next Christmas even better than the last. Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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 Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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 your priorities. Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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 spend so much of our time in the weeds of categories and transactions, that a little time looking at the big picture and being grateful can help us get back in touch with our priorities. Is what you have enough, is it sufficient? As Jesse says, you really can't be too grateful! Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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: [email protected] 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 Rules well, then you will create more opportunties to save and invest money and pay off debt, all of which will increase your net worth. Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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 gains are made. Like David Bach's "latte factor," the small optional expenses we accumulate without budgeting properly can add up to big savings over a surprisingly short amount of time. Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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 women find shelter and safety from domestic abuse, and identify the red flags that signal abusive relationships. Without access to money, women have few resources to leave an abusive relationship, find shelter and food, and obtain legal help. There are many agencies, charities, and non-profit organizations across the country that can provide resources, but finding them can be a challenge. So, Kerry helped create the Safe House app, which compiles all the local resources available to people in a single place. You can find the app, and other resources, at https://yoursaferplace.org Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email at: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

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 had been subjected to Rule One, and was sitting in categories to be spent sooner or later. So... is all money just savings in that case? Jesse offers a saying from one of the YNAB teachers, that all savings is really just... spending! Money exists to be spent -- sometimes now, sometimes tomorrow, and sometimes years in the future. But money that is not spent eventually is useless, so in that sense all "savings" is really just money waiting to be spent. Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected] Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com