The Jesse Mecham Show

Latest Episodes:

What's the Most Expensive Thing You've Budgeted For? YNABers Share Nov 14, 2022

Show notes

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:

askjesse@ynab.com

Ask Jesse: What's the Most Important Metric? Nov 07, 2022

Show notes

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:

askjesse@ynab.com

The Last $300 Oct 31, 2022

Show notes

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:

askjesse@ynab.com

When Is Your Age of Money Enough? Oct 24, 2022

Show notes

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:

askjesse@ynab.com

Rule Three Happens BEFORE Spending, Not After Oct 17, 2022

Show notes

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:

askjesse@ynab.com

EP 18 Money Stories: Surviving Financial Abuse with Dr. Kerry Roarke Oct 10, 2022

Show notes

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:

askjesse@ynab.com

Ask Jesse: Is All Money Just Savings? Oct 03, 2022

Show notes

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:

askjesse@ynab.com

Budgeting for 8 Weeks Abroad with Chrissy Sebald Sep 26, 2022

Show notes

Jesse invites YNAB Senior Support Manager Chrissy Sebald to the podcast to talk about her budgeting super skill -- saving for frequent travel with her family of six! And not just travel in and around the States. Chrissy has used YNAB to help her budget for two months of travel abroad with her family, on a middle class income.

Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:

askjesse@ynab.com

EP 17 Money Stories: Living Debt Free in Manhattan, Budgeting Wisdom from Mom, and More with Christopher J. Campbell Sep 19, 2022

Show notes

In today's installment of Money Stories, Jesse talks with YNAB Ambassador Christopher Campbell, a 33-year old marketing director living in Portland, ME. Christopher learned the value of budgeting from an early age, when his mother taught him and his siblings how to put aside money for things they wanted. She led by example, too, always setting aside money for Christmas and birthdays, for emergencies or unexpected expenses, on a middle class income.

Looking to build on the budgeting habits instilled by his mom, Christopher began using YNAB 4 in 2014, and fell in love with both the simplicity of the method and the precision of the software. Using YNAB, Christopher has been able to achieve many notable financial goals -- paying off his student loans and becoming debt-free while living in notoriously expensive Manhattan, purchasing a motorcycle he had wanted since he was a kid, and helping others improve their financial wellbeing through personal coaching and social media. Christopher also enjoys travel, and has learned how to "travel hack" his way through many trips using credit cards rewards. And, because he uses YNAB and reconciles daily, he pays his cards off monthly and never carries a balance!

You can follow Christopher on Instagram: @christopherjcampbell

Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email!

askjesse@ynab.com

Simple Investing with Jeremy Schneider of Personal Finance Club Sep 12, 2022

Show notes

Jesse invites entrepreneur and avid YNAB'er Jeremy Schneider on to the show to help de-mystify investing for YNAB'ers looking to get started. Jeremy built the successful internet startup RentLinx, sold the company in 2015, and retired a couple years after at the age of 36. Jeremy then spent two years playing video games, traveling, coaching beach volleyball, and learning about what to do with all of his money. When the pandemic hit, he needed something to fill his time, so he decided to build a resource for other people to learn the fundamentals of investing and how to build their own nest egg.

Jeremy's pretty clear that there's no magic to good investment strategy. To build wealth you need to spend less, save more, and then invest using a simple, reliable strategy, such as investing in broad market index funds. He recommends using YNAB to help with the spending less money part, then teaches the rest in his Personal Finance Club.

Jeremy has a FREE 60-minute investing basics course as well as some fun and useful web tools to understand how investments can grow over time, the futility of trying to time the market, and more.

https://www.personalfinanceclub.com/

For YNAB listeners, you can save $20 off the full Learn to Invest course using the discount code "YNAB" when you checkout. The code is good through October 2022!

https://www.personalfinanceclub.com/course/

Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:

askjesse@ynab.com

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected