Budget Nerds

Latest Episodes:

#115 - How Heidi Overcame ADHD and Money Mistakes with YNAB May 07, 2025

Show notes

Today Ben and Ernie are joined by long-time YNAB'er Heidi to discuss her challenges of managing money with ADHD, and how she has used the YNAB method to reclaim control over her money. As Heidi explains, ADHD is characterized by impulsiveness and inattentiveness, both of which took a heavy toll on her finances, especially during phases of her career where her income was variable. Heidi was an early adopter of YNAB -- starting with YNAB3! -- and quickly fell in love with the software and the concreteness of the YNAB method.

Heidi explains how the other approaches to personal finance she had discovered were focused on philosophy and abstraction, whereas YNAB was concrete from the start. The software is opinionated, and wants you to follow the "rules," which today have been boiled down to just one rule: give every dollar a job. The act of entering transactions, assigning money to categories, and moving money from category to category proved therapeutic for Heidi, and her daily habit of checking YNAB made her more in tune with her money and her long term plans for the money. Over time she noticed that her inattentiveness to money, which once lead to frequent overdrafts and bank fees, improved dramatically. She was also able to create a reserves category for the "ADHD tax," as she calls it, essentially giving herself a safety net in her budget to be impulsive with money without disrupting her future plans.

After many years with YNAB and a lifetime living with ADHD, Heidi has accumulated a lot of wisdom about managing money and learning to live spendfully. As she puts it, YNAB has allowed her to be a more interesting, dynamic person, by giving her the freedom to do the things she wants without being hamstrung by money problems.

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#114 - How to Handle a Windfall Apr 23, 2025

Show notes

Many of us approach YNAB from a position of scarcity, at least at first. We don't have enough money to do all the things we want to do, and we're living paycheck to paycheck. Giving every dollar a job and working through the 5 Questions helps us gain clarity about what our money needs to do for us, and finally get our financial life on track. But what if you have a surplus of money fall into your lap unexpectedly?

Windfalls are wonderful, sometimes life changing, but they can be stressful too. Especially if you haven't done the work of getting clear about your priorities and giving your dollars a job, suddenly receiving a large sum can be overwhelming and intoxicating. Ben likens windfalls to a poker concept called "winner's tilt." Players who are winning and watching the action through a tall stack of chips often end up playing more loosely and taking more risks. In theory, they should be playing with the same strategy as what won in the first place, but overconfidence and the security of playing with a large bankroll leads to riskier play.

Luckily the YNAB method works for windfalls too! When you know your priorities, and you have a plan for your money, it's much easier to handle a windfall without frittering it away or stressing about doing something special with it. In today's episode, Ben and Ernie discuss windfalls they have received in their life and lessons they have learned from the experience.

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Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie!

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#113 - How to Pay Off Debt The YNAB Way Apr 09, 2025

Show notes

It has been a while since Ben and Ernie have done an old fashioned debt payoff episode, but it's still one of the hottest topics when it comes to personal finance. And in their veiw, at least, paying off debt is where most of the personal finance world gets it wrong. YNAB has a unique method for paying off debt with an emphasis on sustainability and maintaining motivation. The key is to learn how to plan for future large and less frequent expenses so that you don't continue to get into more debt.

Another key is to remember that we are humans, not numbers. So while the personal finance sphere may dive into the deep end of working out the math on interest rates and pay down schedules, at the end of the day it doesn't matter if you can't sustain your pay off plan. To that end, Ben and Ernie offer YNAB's four step process for paying off your debt without going crazy and without living like a monk. There's even room for fun money!

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Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie!

budgetnerds@ynab.com

Get your tickets to YNAB Fan Fest 2025! Coming to San Diego, Minneapolis, and NYC. Tickets are ON SALE NOW:

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#112 - Ben and Ernie Fix a Messy Budget! (YouTube Livestream Replay) Mar 29, 2025

Show notes

Ben and Ernie are back again to fix a very messy budget, and this time they are doing it live! This is a replay from their YouTube livestream on Mar 26th, 2025. There is a strong visual component to this episode, so we recommend you watch the replay on YouTube (link below), but we are posting the audio on the podcast feed as well.

Messy Budget Livestream Replay:

https://www.youtube.com/live/tjK_lxpdVm0?si=EGTA5iMo6oyJ3jrL

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

Get your tickets to YNAB Fan Fest 2025! Coming to San Diego, Minneapolis, and NYC. Tickets are ON SALE NOW:

YNAB.com/events

Budget Nerds LIVE on YouTube: Fixing a Messy Budget Mar 26, 2025

Show notes

Together they sail or sink! Today, March 26th at 3:00pm Eastern, Ben and Ernie will be livestreaming on YouTube and will attempt to fix a messy YNAB budget. This episode will have a heavy visual component, so you will want to watch it on YouTube at the link below.

If you miss it, you can still watch the replay on YouTube, and the audio will be posted to the podcast feed in a couple days. In the meantime, happy YNAB'ing!

http://www.youtube.com/@YNABofficial

#111 - What's Your YNAB Routine? Mar 12, 2025

Show notes

Like the cycles of the earth, Sun, and moon, YNAB'ers have cycles too! Daily, monthly, quarterly, even yearly, there are things to do to manage your spending plan. In today's episode Ben and Ernie share what they do in YNAB at every stop in the calendar, including how they run budget meetings and how they include the family in the planning process.

Try YNAB FREE for 34 days!

https://www.ynab.com/nerds

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

Get your tickets to YNAB Fan Fest 2025! Coming to San Diego, Minneapolis, and NYC. Tickets are ON SALE NOW:

YNAB.com/events

#110 - Is YNAB Worth It? Feb 26, 2025

Show notes

It's a common question for those not already committed to YNAB: is it really worth it? I mean, paying for a budgeting software? It's a legitimate question, and you can probably guess where Ben and Ernie land on answering it (of course!). Today Ben and Ernie don't want to offer their opinions on why YNAB is worth it, they want to share some cold hard facts from a recent study the YNAB marketing team conducted on YNAB user behavior.

What they found was a clear quantitative reason to sign up for YNAB: the average user saves $600 in their first month of using the YNAB. That's nearly six times the annual cost of YNAB, saved in just the first month. The numerical arguments for using YNAB are some of the least convincing, however. The qualitative benefits of using YNAB are positively inspiring! Ben and Ernie walk through a number of statistics demonstrating how YNAB'ers have improved their quality of life, from feeling less stressed, arguing less with their spouse, and actually feeling good about spending their money.

Try YNAB FREE for 34 days, and start working on that $600 savings:

https://www.ynab.com/nerds

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!

budgetnerds@ynab.com

Get your tickets to YNAB Fan Fest 2025! Coming to San Diego, Minneapolis, and NYC. Tickets are ON SALE NOW:

YNAB.com/events

#109 - Don't Make These Common YNAB Mistakes! Feb 12, 2025

Show notes

YNAB is an incredible tool for learning to love how you spend, but it does come with a learning curve. Ben and Ernie have taught thousands of folks how to use YNAB, and throughout their years working with newcomers a handful of common mistakes occur again and again. In today's episode, Ben and Ernie outline seven mistakes people make in YNAB, and how to avoid them.

Get your tickets to YNAB Fan Fest 2025! Coming to San Diego, Minneapolis, and NYC. Tickets are ON SALE NOW:

YNAB.com/events

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

Get your tickets to YNAB Fan Fest 2025! Coming to San Diego, Minneapolis, and NYC. Tickets are ON SALE NOW:

YNAB.com/events

#108 - Spendfulness: The Word We've Been Looking For All Along with YNAB Dave Jan 29, 2025

Show notes

In today's episode, Ben and Ernie are joined by Dave from YNAB, a YNAB teacher and contributor to many YNAB articles and blogs and a master of money analogies! Dave discovered YNAB while deeply in debt and making a move across the Atlantic. He saw the wisdom and value of the YNAB method quickly, however, and steadily worked himself out of debt over an eight year period. Along the way, he learend many lessons about sustainability and resilience -- learning to balance his priorities of enjoying life now and becoming debt free, while creating a buffer for unexpected expenses so they didn't put him further in debt. Two steps forward, three steps back, as Dave says.

When the YNAB team landed on the word "spendfulness" to describe this state of alignment with your money, it instantly struck a chord for Dave. The YNAB method, which for many years was represented by four rules, always really boiled down to one rule, the first one: give every dollar a job. There was always something special about Rule One, he points out. The problem was, the rules didn't fully explain the method in and of themselves. When Dave would run workshops, "embrace your true expenses" (Rule Two) was typically followed by the quesiton: what's a true expense? After spending so much time explaining and clarifying the rules, it became clear that YNAB needed a different way to explain what made it different from traditional budgeting advice.

Dave explains why spendfulness is such an important concept, and how the Four Rules have been transformed into 5 Questions which clarify the only rule that ever mattered: giving every dollar a job.

Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube

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Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie!

budgetnerds@ynab.com

Get your tickets to YNAB Fan Fest 2025! Coming to San Diego, Minneapolis, and NYC. Tickets are ON SALE NOW:

YNAB.com/events

#107 - You Can Start YNAB Whenever You Want Jan 15, 2025

Show notes

Starting YNAB is like starting anything else -- a new workout routine, new eating habits, learning a new skill -- you just have to jump in! Many people struggle to take the first step, however. In today's episode, Ben and Ernie discuss some of the reasons why people drag their feet starting YNAB, and how you can reframe the way you think about money to get started right now (today!) with small, easy goals.

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

Get your tickets to YNAB Fan Fest 2025! Coming to San Diego, Minneapolis, and NYC. Tickets are ON SALE NOW:

YNAB.com/events