The Jesse Mecham Show

Latest Episodes:

Why FIRE is a Form of Procrastination Dec 16, 2024

Show notes

The FIRE movement, which stands for "Financial Independence, Retire Early," has a long-lived and strong fan base on the internet. The idea behind FIRE is simple: figure out how much money you need to live on each year, then calculate how much money you would need to save up in order to live on the returns from your portfolio indefinitely. Once you hit your number, BAM! You're retired, and live happily after ever. Right?

Jesse sees this idea as, ultimately, just another form of procrastination about money. When you put all your focus on the number you need to retire, you forget about the most important thing about money -- how you will spend it! After all, money has to be spent to be useful, whether you spend it now or save it to spend later. Saving until you hit a magic number doesn't help you get closer to figuring out what you want your money to do for you, and therefore how you should spend it.

Tickets to YNAB Fan Fest 2025 are on sale now! Coming to San Diego, Minneapolis, and NYC:

YNAB.com/events

Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:

askjesse@ynab.com

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To Those Who Feel A Bit Behind Dec 09, 2024

Show notes

It's not too late! The first rule of YNAB's Four Rules is "give every dollar a job," and you can implement it right now. Take a look at your bank account balance, and think to yourself: what does this money need to do for me right now? What does it need to do for me in the future? Now you have started thinking about your future self, and being proactive. This simple step can change your life!

Tickets to YNAB Fan Fest 2025 are on sale now! Coming to San Diego, Minneapolis, and NYC:

YNAB.com/events

Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:

askjesse@ynab.com

Follow YNAB on social media:

Facebook: @ynabofficial

Instagram: @ynab.official

Twitter/X: @ynab

Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

I Am Not Even a Little Bit Frugal. Here's Why Dec 02, 2024

Show notes

Jesse grew up in a frugal family -- frugality for frugality's sake, as he describes it. As he has grown, discovered the YNAB method, and worked the four rules, he has come to a conclusion -- he is not even a little frugal! Frugality implies thrift, spending little money so as to conserve the resource. The idea is that spending money frugally is an effort to not waste money.

YNAB's four rules help you identify the things that matter in your life, however, the things you do want to spend money on. And once you have identified those things, Jesse challenges you to double down and spend more on the things that matter to you. As he has mentioned in other episodes, money is just an extension of you, and if money is you, then why would you want less of you in the world?

So Jesse is not frugal. Not even a little bit!

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

YNAB.com/events

Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:

askjesse@ynab.com

Follow YNAB on social media:

Facebook: @ynabofficial

Instagram: @ynab.official

Twitter/X: @ynab

Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

What If Being Good At Money Is Just Skill Acquisition? Nov 25, 2024

Show notes

It's common parlance to say someone is "good with money," but it's often said in a way that suggests some people are innately gifted with money management skills. Jesse punches back at this supposition. He argues that becoming good with money is a skill, and skills are acquired through habit -- stringing together a lot of days with good money decisions until the good decisions become second nature.

You don't have to be perfect either! Jesse cites his favorite definition of intelligence, which is error correction, i.e. someone who makes an error, realizes the error, and then fixes it, demonstrates intelligence. It turns out, error correction is built into YNAB's four habits: rolling with the punches is the process of reacting to new circumstances by reallocating money as needed. Then, in the future you can plan for those new circumstances by embracing them as part of your true expenses (habit #2).

Next time you catch yourself thinking "I'm not good with money," focus on making one good decision, then another the next day, then correcting your errors... until it becomes another skill you have acquired!

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

YNAB.com/events

Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:

askjesse@ynab.com

Follow YNAB on social media:

Facebook: @ynabofficial

Instagram: @ynab.official

Twitter/X: @ynab

Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

Infinitely Finite Nov 18, 2024

Show notes

Most folks do a lot of mental math with their money. They see something they want to buy, they check their bank balance, and start doing some mental math on what other things that balance needs to be able to pay for before they buy the thing. The problem is, mental math gets very sloppy very quickly! Life is often just too complex, with too many variables to be able to hold all your future spending needs in your head at all times. It's too easy to spend the same dollar many times over when you rely on mental math.

YNAB helps you do money differently. YNAB gives you a simple four step method for identifying all the things your money needs to do for you now, the major things it needs to do for you in the future, and, over time, getting you to start paying next month's bills with today's money so you can finally get ahead.

Get your tickets to YNAB Fan Fest 2025! Coming to San Diego, Minneapolis, and NYC. Tickets will go on sale on 11/18/2024 here:

YNAB.com/events

Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:

askjesse@ynab.com

Follow YNAB on social media:

Facebook: @ynabofficial

Instagram: @ynab.official

Twitter/X: @ynab

Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

Know Thyself Nov 11, 2024

Show notes

Sometimes YNAB'ers talk about money being "boring." That is, working the Four Rules patientily, consistently, until managing your money becomes another daily habit. As Jesse sees it, however, there's nothing boring about working the method. Each time you work the method, and follow the four rules, you learn more about yourself and what you want your money to do for you. And there's nothing boring about you!

Get your tickets to YNAB Fan Fest 2025! Coming to San Diego, Minneapolis, and NYC. Tickets will go on sale on 11/18/2024 here:

YNAB.com/events

Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:

askjesse@ynab.com

Follow YNAB on social media:

Facebook: @ynabofficial

Instagram: @ynab.official

Twitter/X: @ynab

Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

YNAB: The Long Con Nov 04, 2024

Show notes

It is generally accepted that the market is driven by demand. What if YNAB was really just a long con to generate demand for quality goods and services... like toasters?

Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:

askjesse@ynab.com

Follow YNAB on social media:

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Twitter/X: @ynab

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Ask Jesse: Reading Habits, Debit Card Update, and More! Oct 28, 2024

Show notes

Jesse's back with another round of Ask Jesse, where he answers questions in his inbox. In today's episode, Jesse discusses his recent engagement with Marx's Das Kapital (he gave up on it), gives an update on his debit and credit card usage, and explains how too much awareness around your investments can end up be a negative.

Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:

askjesse@ynab.com

Follow YNAB on social media:

Facebook: @ynabofficial

Instagram: @ynab.official

Twitter/X: @ynab

Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

Error Correction Oct 21, 2024

Show notes

One of Jesse's takeaway from the recent YNAB Fan Fest in Salt Lake City is that YNAB'ers are good at iterating. They make a plan for their money, spend the money, and reflect on whether the spending was on things they were really looking for. Then, they adjust the plan. In the process, they're not just learning how to manage money, they're learning more about themselves.

Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:

askjesse@ynab.com

Follow YNAB on social media:

Facebook: @ynabofficial

Instagram: @ynab.official

Twitter/X: @ynab

Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

Wielding Money Against Yourself Oct 14, 2024

Show notes

We've all done it before, saying something to the effect of: "I'd love to do X, if only I could afford it." We have all cited money as the reason we haven't done something, or bought something we say we wanted. The next time you catch yourself saying this, Jesse urges you to stop and examine why it is you are blaming money for the reason you can't do (or buy) the thing. Is it because you really want to do/buy it, or because you're seeking escape from some other uncomfortable part of your life? If you really DO want the thing, but you're blaming lack of money for it, perhaps you are feeling frustration that you have allowed less important priorities to get in the way of saving for the thing.

Whatever it is, money is not a good excuse for not doing something you really want to do. But, we blame money because there is some real friction we are experiencing, so it's worth honoring the feeling and digging deeper to figure out what's driving it. In that way, we can stop wielding money against ourselves and allow money to work with ourselves.

Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:

askjesse@ynab.com

Follow YNAB on social media:

Facebook: @ynabofficial

Instagram: @ynab.official

Twitter/X: @ynab

Tik Tok: @ynabofficial