The Jesse Mecham Show

Latest Episodes:

What YNAB REALLY Does For You Oct 07, 2024

Show notes

Bigger bank account balances, paying off debt, saving marriages... these are all things thousands of YNAB'ers have praised YNAB for helping them accomplish. But it's not what YNAB is about. Jesse explains: YNAB is really about getting to know yourself better, and making better spending decisions as a result. It's about reducing the second guessing in your life, and spending your money in perfect alignment with you.

Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:

askjesse@ynab.com

Follow YNAB on social media:

Facebook: @ynabofficial

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The Paradox of Money Sep 30, 2024

Show notes

Using YNAB reveals a paradox about money -- the more you engage with it, and spend time and energy on it, the more it gets out of the way and just let's you live your life. Money is you, so learning how to manage it really means learning more about yourself and becoming more in tune with your desires, your values, and your priorities.

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

Money Gets Out of the Way Sep 23, 2024

Show notes

When you practice the four habits of YNAB, money just gets out of the way. In today's episode, Jesse reflects on his thought process about paying for kids' college. Where he used to be against it, now that he has kids in college, he is helping them pay for it. As he has talked about on the podcast many times, his thoughts and opinions change over the time; the podcast is a sort of audio journal documenting these changes. But the real win here is that because Jesse and his wife put money aside for their kids, they were able to make this decision without worrying about money. The money was not a deciding factor, leaving them free to decide whether helping their kids with college was the best decision for them. And that is freeing!

Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:

askjesse@ynab.com

Follow YNAB on social media:

Facebook: @iYNAB

Instagram: @youneedabudget

Twitter: @ynab

Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

20 Years! Sep 16, 2024

Show notes

Twenty years ago, in a galaxy far, far away... Jesse Mecham launched youneedabudget.com with a budgeting spreadsheet and a modest goal: cover the $350 a month in rent he owed for the next couple years until he and his wife graduated from college. Since then, YNAB has grown leaps and bounds beyond Jesse's original idea. In today's episode, Jesse reflects on the last two decades, thanks the people who have made it happen (most importantly YOU, YNAB users!), and wonders what the next two decades have in store.

Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:

askjesse@ynab.com

Follow YNAB on social media:

Facebook: @iYNAB

Instagram: @youneedabudget

Twitter: @ynab

Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

Money Ready, Spend With Joy Sep 09, 2024

Show notes

Jesse shares a YNAB win from his strength coach, Andrew, who is an avid YNAB'er. Andrew was shopping at REI when he ran across a pair of returned ski boots that were marked way down. They fit perfectly. Normally he would hem and haw over a purchase like this, but because he had been slowly funding a category for new ski boots the money was there. No stress, all joy!

Barbell Logic -- Personalized Online Strength Coaching

https://barbell-logic.com

Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:

askjesse@ynab.com

Follow YNAB on social media:

Facebook: @iYNAB

Instagram: @youneedabudget

Twitter: @ynab

Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

More Isn't More Sep 02, 2024

Show notes

Many people bemoan the fact that they don't earn more money. But what baffles many who eventually do earn more money, is that it doesn't fix any of their financial problems! There is no income that cannot be outspent. Put another way, broken spending habits lead to broken spending, and when you have more money, that just leads to more broken spending.

Now, there are people who have a legitimate income problem, but those folks are fewer in number than you might think. The solution for most isn't more, it's spending with purpose!

Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:

askjesse@ynab.com

Follow YNAB on social media:

Facebook: @iYNAB

Instagram: @youneedabudget

Twitter: @ynab

Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

Earning With Purpose Aug 26, 2024

Show notes

The first habit of YNAB is to give every dollar a job. We tend to think of it purely as a spending exercise, as in, what do these dollars need to do for me? Buy clothes, groceries, pay the rent, etc. But Jesse points out how this process of giving your dollars jobs can help you find more meaning in your earning, not just your spending. When you know what your dollars are doing for you, the way you earn those dollars takes on more meaning, even if the work is not intrinsically meaningful.

Beginning Balance Podcast

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beginning-balance/id1569423517

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7APubdzXN2eeeMdNpCLkiy?si=757aff0c35ad4178

Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:

askjesse@ynab.com

Follow YNAB on social media:

Facebook: @iYNAB

Instagram: @youneedabudget

Twitter: @ynab

Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

Tentacles and Rainbows Aug 19, 2024

Show notes

Money sinks its tentacles into nearly everything, and those tentacles can feel like, well, tentacles, or they can feel like rainbows. Jesse wants you to look at money and see rainbows, blessing all the facets of life that money touches.

Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:

askjesse@ynab.com

Follow YNAB on social media:

Facebook: @iYNAB

Instagram: @youneedabudget

Twitter: @ynab

Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

You Need Frugality? Aug 12, 2024

Show notes

Frugality is a virtue. At least, that's what many people in the financial space would claim. Being frugal is commonly seen as a good thing, presumably because it enables you to save more money. The environmentally conscious might see value in frugality as a means to reducing overall consumption. YNAB, one could argue, aims to make you more frugal. But YNAB is more interested in a deeper question: why be more frugal?

The first habit in the YNAB method is to give every dollar a job. To do so, you have to know what it is you want your money to do for you, where you are aiming at. Saving money is a great thing, but YNAB encourages you to ask the question: for what?

Being frugal is not an answer. It is merely the means by which you get to the answer!

Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:

askjesse@ynab.com

Follow YNAB on social media:

Facebook: @iYNAB

Instagram: @youneedabudget

Twitter: @ynab

Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

Give Up, or Downshift? Aug 05, 2024

Show notes

Jesse shares a story about taking a group of kids hiking, and coming down with altitude sickness on the first day. He could have quit, but he figured out a way to re-route the hike where he could safely get through. It's not so different when working with personal finances. It's tempting to just quit when things get hard, or road blocks come up, but sometimes all you need to do is slow down your plans.

Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:

askjesse@ynab.com

Follow YNAB on social media:

Facebook: @iYNAB

Instagram: @youneedabudget

Twitter: @ynab

Tik Tok: @ynabofficial