Budget Nerds

Latest Episodes:

#135 - 5 Signs You Are Bad with Money Feb 25, 2026

Show notes

It's not hard to see that many people struggle to manage their money. Most people are, well, frankly bad with money. That is not a value judgment, or a comment about their character or willpower, or anything like that! Managing money is a skill, and skills can be improved with practice and a little guidance. In today's episode Ben and Ernie present five signs indicating you are bad with money, and offer some practical advice to how to get better. (Hint: it involves giving every dollar a job).

The five signs:

You worry about everyday spending
Every inconvenience is an emergency
You live paycheck to paycheck
You don't set aside money for yourself
You don't change your plan

If any (or all) of these signs describe you, there is hope! Ben and Ernie used to feel like this too, and through the practice of giving their dollars jobs and thinking through what they needed their money to do for them, step by step, week by week, month by month, they improved and eventually got good with money.

You can too! If you need some help, YNAB is here:

https://www.ynab.com/nerds

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#134 - Ben's Category Breakdown (2026 Edition) Feb 11, 2026

Show notes

Today it's Ben's turn to share the categories in his plan -- all 93 of them! Ernie opens with a challenge: did Ben actually change his plan after examining Ernie's categories in episode #132? You'll have to listen to find out, but Ben does break down his categories cleanly into ten category groups, divided between timely categories (bills, both regular and irregular) and purpose-driven categories such as giving, personal spending, and allowances for the kids. His former librarian shines through as well, the categories are organized in alphabetical order of course!

Ben is always good for a story, and as he explains how each category fits into his plan, he also shares stories of how those categories came to be. In many ways, his current plan is the result of years of resolving compications, frustrations, and clarifying what purpose his money was serving in each area of his life.

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#133 - The 3 Stages of YNAB'er Emergency Funds Jan 28, 2026

Show notes

The emergency fund is sacrosanct in the personal finance world. Nearly everyone considers an emergency fund to be a prudent thing to establish -- a necessity, even -- whether it's three to six months of living expenses or Dave Ramsey's thousand dollar baby step. At YNAB, however, the emergency fund is... complicated. While YNAB doesn't discourage emergency funds, if you are truly YNAB'ing and in particular assigning dollars to your non-monthly expenses, then an emergency fund starts to feel a lot less necessary.

To that end, Ben and Ernie step through the common stages they have observed thousands of YNAB'ers go through with emergency funds. For them, it's not that having cash set aside for unpredictable expenses is a problem, it's the lack of clarity that a big pile of cash simply titled "emergency fund" brings. To Ernie, for a seasoned YNAB'er who has thoroughly explored his or her non-monthly, less frequent expenses, the emergency fund ultimately boils down to a job loss fund.

So, whether you're just starting to build an emergency fund or you've had one for a while and are wondering what to do next, tune in for a discussion that really cuts to the core of what YNAB is all about.

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#132 - Ernie's 2026 Categories Jan 14, 2026

Show notes

Ernie is kicking off the new year with a fresh plan... but not a fresh start! For years, Ernie has made a fresh start at the beginning of every year, but the allure of data history and being able to search for transaction across multiple years was too strong this year. So Ernie is rolling forward his spending plan from 2025 into the New Year, but with some changes.

Ernie has also updated his 2026 plan with fresh emojis (some cute, some inscrutable). In today's episode he breaks down his categories and category groups, with some stories about how they came to be and how they have evolved through the years.

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Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie!

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#131 - Ben and Ernie YouTube LIVE Q&A Jan 09, 2026

Show notes

Happy New Year! Ben and Ernie kick off the 2026 season of Budget Nerds with a YouTube livestream, answering listener questions and engaging with comments. If you missed the livestream, this is your chance to listen to the playback on the podcast feed!

Be sure to subscribe to Budget Nerds on YouTube if you haven't already. As a subscriber you'll get notifications and updates about future livestreams.

Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube

Budget Nerds Livestreams: https://www.youtube.com/@YNABofficial/streams

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Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie!

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#130 - Gen Z Money Trends: How TikTok and Instagram Are Shaping Personal Finance Dec 03, 2025

Show notes

In today's episode resident social media gurus Amber and Sarah, of Instagram and TikTok fame respectively, join the show to talk about the personal finance trends that are going viral among the Gen Z population right now. The economy is difficult to thrive in, especially for young people, and the Zoomers have come up with creative ways to use their native digital environment to execute the common goals of all people trying to improve their finances: pay off debt and get out of the paycheck to paycheck cycle.

In this episode Sarah and Amber share six TikTok and Instagram videos as examples of popular trends, including:

"No Spend" November
"No Swipe" November
Making micro debt payments to stay engaged with the goal of paying off debt
Gamifying likes and social media engagement to pay off debt

Ernie shares his enthusiam for personal finance challenges and trends that bring a social element to finance, while Ben ponders whether using social media to help pay off debt is creative or dystopian. One thing is for sure -- young adults are finding creative ways to improve their relationship with money and bond with others working toward the same goal.

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Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie!

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#129 - YNAB for Singles: Lauren's Categories Nov 19, 2025

Show notes

In today's episode, Ben and Ernie interview Lauren, a single mid-30's physical therapist living in Arizona. Lauren is already a legend in the Budget Nerds community for YNAB'ing for years completely manually, without ever connecting a bank account. A true budget nerd, she logs in daily to enter transactions and reconcile. She's never even done a file import to enter transactions!

Lauren shares her YNAB story which began with graduating from school and working her first job. Her newfound income felt like a financial safety blanket, and she began spending, unbeknowst to her, well beyond her means. She found herself deep into debt from both credit cards and student loans, and had to ask her mother for help making ends meet. Eventually Lauren discovered YNAB, learned how to spend more thoughtfully with cash on hand rather than debt, and slowly began to take control of her situation. In just a few years she paid off well over $100k of debt!

Lauren also shares her challenges planning as a single person, including the hidden costs of being single. Housing, taxes, products and services... many aspects of personal finance today are geared toward couples and families, and may not offer good options for single adults. Single people also face unique emotional challenges. While they may only be accountable to themselves financially, they also solely bear the burden of saving for potential job loss and other unforeseen events that could impact their cash flow. Many couples and families have the peace of mind of two incomes, as well as the emotional stablity of two people working toward a common goal of financial stability.

Finally, Lauren breaks down her YNAB categories as well as her daily habits, including using a checkbook and reconciling her balances by hand in the register!

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Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie!

budgetnerds@ynab.com

#128 - Setup Your Plan Like a Budget Nerd: Advanced YNAB Concepts Nov 05, 2025

Show notes

A few episodes ago, Ben and Ernie walked through how to set up YNAB for the first time, focusing on the basics. Today, by popular request, they are covering the advanced setup, exploring every feature YNAB has to help you setup a spending plan that fits with your life. There's a lot here, so strap in nerds!

As with episode #123 on the basic YNAB setup, this episode relies heavily on screensharing of the YNAB app, so we recommend heading over to YouTube to watch the video version of the podcast.

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Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie!

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#127 - Pay Off Debt vs Get A Month Ahead: Which Should You Do First? Oct 22, 2025

Show notes

Ben and Ernie take up arms in the age old personal finance battle -- pay off your debt first, or get a month ahead on your bills? While they have discussed this topic before, in today's episode they approach the two paths with a balanced view, weighing the pros and cons of each. While they have an obvious bias toward getting a month ahead on your bills, there are certain scenarios where really buckling down on paying off debt might be the best move.

The beautiful thing about this problem is that either way, you are making progress toward a better you. Simply thinking through your approach and evaluating your emotions around debt, financial resilience, and day to day expenses helps align your actions with your priorities -- and at the end of the day, that's what YNAB is all about.

Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube

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Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie!

budgetnerds@ynab.com

#126 - Spending A Life of Adventure with Ashley L. (Live from FF Minneapolis) Oct 08, 2025

Show notes

At Fan Fest Minneapolis in June 2025, Ben and Ernie recorded their first ever live podcast of Budget Nerds! They invited friend, mentor, and fellow YNAB creator Ashley Lapato, who also runs @theorganizedwallet account on TikTok. Ashley tells her story of discovering YNAB after an especially embarassing failure to pay her bills on time while her husband was traveling for work. She resolved to finally learn how to take control of their money and become a positive finanacial contributor to their marriage. Ashley discovered YNAB, and, as you can see now, the rest was history!

Ashley also walks through her categories, including setting aside money for fostering new relationships and leaving room for "side quests," as she calls them -- adventures and experiences that help you grow and learn new things.

Follow Ashley L. on TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@theorganizedwallet?lang=en

Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube

Budget Nerds Livestreams: https://www.youtube.com/@YNABofficial/streams

Budget Nerds Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuIUGmbCDklkDCDm-cQqv2g

Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie!

budgetnerds@ynab.com