The Jesse Mecham Show

Latest Episodes:

YNAB and the Vocabulary of Finance May 05, 2021

Show notes

Assets? Liabilities? Balance sheet? FBI's? What does it all mean? Jesse helps you understand some of the basic financial terms that come up often in YNAB, as well as some YNAB-specific lingo related to the software and the budgeting process.

YNAB Features You Didn't Know Existed May 03, 2021

Show notes

Jesse walks through some hidden features of the YNAB software you probably didn't even know existed!

Budgeting for a Baby with Chelsea Brennan (Smart Money Mamas) Apr 28, 2021

Show notes

While there's no way to prepare for being a parent without actually becoming a parent, you can prepare financially for the experience. Chelsea Brennan shares some tips on how to do this, and what kind of difficult conversations you need to have with your spouse and family as part of the process.

After a successful career as an equity analyst and hedge fund portfolio manager on Wall Street, Chelsea became a mom and followed a new passion in life -- helping other moms be more financially stable and reduce their money stress. Today she runs a website and podcast dedicated to this mission called Smart Money Mamas, with resources for helping moms define their values, have important conversations, and take steps toward securing their financial future.

Smart Money Mamas website: https://smartmoneymamas.com

Smart Money Mamas Podcast: https://smartmoneymamas.com/podcast/

YNAB and Privacy Apr 26, 2021

Show notes

At YNAB your data is exactly that -- YOUR data. Financial data is personal and sensitive, and as Jesse explains, YNAB does not and will not touch that!

Set Boundaries, Get More Done with Jeff Sanders (5AM Miracle Podcast) Apr 21, 2021

Show notes

Jesse chats with productivity master Jeff Sanders, host of the 5AM Miracle podcast. As the title of his podcast suggests, Jeff loves to wake up early, but he doesn't necessarily think you should. Instead, Jeff focuses on setting clear boundaries around your work time, family time, and personal development time (especially physical fitness).

Especially in the remote working arrangements that are increasingly common today, it's important to separate the home office from the kitchen, living room, and bedroom. Too often the proximity of the home office lures remote workers into working all day, with no clear lines between work time and personal time. This leads to lower productivity, more stress, more burnout, and more tension in relationships. In his podcast and his productivity coaching work, Jeff shows how you can set better boundaries around work and personal life and live life with more intention.

You can find Jeff at his website: https://www.jeffsanders.com

5AM Miracle Podcast: https://www.jeffsanders.com/podcast/

EP06 Money Stories: How YNAB Saved Erika from Drowning In Debt Apr 19, 2021

Show notes

In today's money story, Jesse chats with Erika, a 32 year old married woman who found herself struggling in the deep end of credit card debt. Until YNAB, Erika always managed her money with her bank statements -- if there was enough for her current outflows, good! There wasn't much of a plan or cushion for surprises, however.

Shortly after getting married Erika began to feel trapped in her debt payments, which had become burdensome due to the credit card debt she and her husband had racked up for their wedding. After some close calls where she questioned their ability to even pay the rent, Erika discovered YNAB and began to make changes.

While she and her husband are still climbing out of the hole, they've made a big dent in their debt load and have created a solid plan for aging their money, acknowledging their true expenses, and rolling with the punches.

Own the Muddy Parts of Your Story with Mary Marantz Apr 14, 2021

Show notes

Jesse chats with author Mary Marantz about her book Dirt, the story of her life journey growing up in poor, rural West Virginia to eventually attending Yale Law. Mary grew up with a strong, hard working father who instilled in her a vigorous work ethic and a love for her hometown. However, her working class roots cast a shadow of doubt over how high she could climb in the world, and how qualified she could feel amongst those from different, more economically priveleged backgrounds. Dirt is the story of Mary reckoning with the good and bad of her upbringing, and how it shaped her into the woman she is today.

How does this relate to money? Money is all about feelings, and often our upbringing instills deeply seated ideas about how to earn and spend money that are hard to shake as adults. Mary's story is a powerful reminder that doing the work to better understand yourself, your history, and your place in the world prepares you to make lasting changes to your decision making around money.

Dirt by Mary Marantz

https://marymarantz.com/dirt

Mary Marantz on Instagram

@marymarantz

Student Loans Are Frozen, But You Are Not Apr 12, 2021

Show notes

Student loan payments have been frozen for several months due to COVID-19, but that doesn't mean your budget has to be frozen. Jesse strategizes ways for you to address student loans during the grace period.

How Does She Do It? Managing Time in a Busy Life | Laura Vanderkam & Sarah Hart-Unger Apr 07, 2021

Show notes

Jesse chats with Laura Vanderkam and Sarah Hart-Unger, two time management experts and the hosts of the Best of Both Worlds Podcast, a show all about balancing busy lives and careers. Sarah is a pediatric endocrinologist while Laura is a writer (and author of I Know How She Does It), and both of them are also busy mothers. While they approach the challenges of time management with different strategies, they are both experts in making things fit in a busy life without getting burned out.

Sarah and Laura point out that the things you spend your time on -- the things you say yes or no to -- are ultimately a reflection of your values. If something doesn't fit in your priorities, you simply won't do it. Sounds familiar, eh? Money, or rather the things you spend money on, is also a reflection of your values, as Jesse has argued on previous shows. So, the first step in wrangling your time management problem is to take a hard look at the things you value and see if the things you are spending your time on actually align with those values.

Secondly, Laura reminds us that everyone has the same amount of time in a week to get things done, to relax, to pursue hobbies. 168 hours every week, in fact. Unlike money, this resource is equally distributed to all, and we cannot change the amount of time we have. So, being mindful of how you spend your weeks not in days, but in hours, can be a useful exercise. Do you have a hobby that you wished you spent more time on? A stack of books you wish you could finally read? Start tracking your time, and you might be surprised to find a spare hour or two that you were previously wasting on mindless tasks (or social media). Like spare change, these hours can slip between the cushions of the weekdays and weekends.

Best of Both Worlds Podcast

https://theshubox.com/best-of-both-worlds

Laura Vanderkam

https://lauravanderkam.com

Best Laid Plans Podcast with Sarah Hart-Unger

https://theshubox.com/best-laid-plans-podcast

How to Go From Two Incomes to One Apr 05, 2021

Show notes

Whether it's because of changing careers, preparing for a child, or some other life event, you and your partner may need to downsize from two incomes to one. This has a major impact to your budget! But, with some planning, you can make a smooth transition. The easiest way, Jesse says, is to live on a single income before actually losing the second income. With a little help from YNAB, you can practice this and ensure that when the second income goes away, you know how to make your dollars stretch without stress.

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