Give Up, or Downshift?

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: [email protected]   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com   Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @iYNAB Instagram: @youneedabudget Twitter: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

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: [email protected]   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com   Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @iYNAB Instagram: @youneedabudget Twitter: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

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: [email protected]   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com   Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @iYNAB Instagram: @youneedabudget Twitter: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

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: [email protected]   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com   Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @iYNAB Instagram: @youneedabudget Twitter: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

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: [email protected]   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com   Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @iYNAB Instagram: @youneedabudget Twitter: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

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: [email protected]   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com   Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @iYNAB Instagram: @youneedabudget Twitter: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

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: [email protected]   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com   Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @iYNAB Instagram: @youneedabudget Twitter: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

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: [email protected]   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com   Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @iYNAB Instagram: @youneedabudget Twitter: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

Big financial goals are great. It's what we live for at YNAB! But, life happens in between those big goals, and Jesse reminds you that it's ok to spend some money "in the meantime."   Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected]   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com   Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @iYNAB Instagram: @youneedabudget Twitter: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

Jesse shares a fun way to handle "fun money" from long-time YNAB software engineer Kyle. Kyle suggests creating separate bank accounts for fun money with separate budgets as well. His method evolved from the desire to keep the visibility of fun money separate from his spouse, so they could 1.) take any judgment or guilt away from spending fun money, and 2.) spend on fun things for each other without ruining the surprise!   Ordinarily, Jesse advocates for simplifying your bank accounts as much as possible, but Kyle is a veteran YNAB'er and his method may be a fun experiment for you to try in your own family!   Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: [email protected]   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com   Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @iYNAB Instagram: @youneedabudget Twitter: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial