The Jesse Mecham Show

Flying airplanes is serious business. Mistakes are costly, not just because of the cost of the aircraft; if you're flying people, their lives are on the line. Jesse knows this better than most, having two brothers who are pilots. One day he overheard them talking shop and narrowed in on a common occurence they had teaching student pilots to fly -- these pilots were afriad of "hooking," that is, making a mistake on a flight and having to redo the assignment. Jesse realized that everyone, including people who work high stress, high stakes jobs, learns through making mistakes. He quotes his favorite definition of intelligence, which "error correction." We learn by making mistakes then fixing them. And this must happen even for the most critical jobs like flying airplanes. The same applies to money. Can you afford to make mistakes? Of course! You will mistakes, it's all about how you error correct after the fact. That's what the Five Questions help you do. They help you clarify what you want your money to do for you, and when you make a mistake with money, they help you correct your path and get you back on track. So, ultimately, you can live spendfully, loving the way you spend. Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @ynabofficial Instagram: @ynab.official Twitter/X: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

Jesse has ranted about credit cards and their pernicious way of separating you from your money, both literally and metaphorically -- obfuscating the way you spend and distancing your priorities from the point of sale. Today he warns against the newest form of this pernicious spending: buy now, pay later programs. It's like a credit card you don't have to sign up -- just purchase an item, and via an app like Klarna or Affirm, you can split up the cost of that item over several smaller installments. Of course, buy now pay later programs encourage spending you don't have, rather than finding the money first in YNAB. But even if you have the money, splitting a purchase into multiple installments is just putting off the decision to purchase into the future. YNAB's goal is to help you be spendful, to spend with joy and clarity about what it is you want your money to do for you. Buying something the YNAB way means you've given your dollars a job and you have money set aside in a category meant to cover that purchase. Or, you don't have money in a category for that purchase, but you pull money from other categories to find the money -- making a clear decision to forego something else to buy this thing now. Putting off the payment for an item is ultimately just robbing you of clarity, because the money doesn't flow out of the category when you purchase. It sits there, unused while you have the item but earmarked for a future date when the installment comes due. A buy now pay later purchase adds a layer of complexity to your spending plan, while lacking the conviction to say "do I really want this right now?" Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @ynabofficial Instagram: @ynab.official Twitter/X: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

For some reason when the topic of money comes up, many people immediately want to jump into Excel and start exercising the so-called rational part of their brain. Money seems to demand sober, quantitative analysis, devoid of emotion which obfuscates the mathematical truth of the situation. Yet we rarely make decisions in a purely rational manner; emotion plays a large, if not bigger role, than rational thinking in how we choose to act. And if there's anything you've learned hanging around YNAB, it's that money is really just you -- it's a medium for translating your energy and effort in the world into things and experiences. That's why YNAB came up with five questions, to help you make better decisions with your money while considering your whole self -- both your emotional needs and a rational analysis of your financial situation. In today's episode Jesse shares the example of a conversation with a self-described highly rational friend, talking about whom he was going to marry. The conversation highlights how the biggest decisions often don't come down to rational analysis alone. Working the five questions, however, you end up at a reasonable place, considering your whole self, both rational and emotional. In a word, we call it spendfulness. Resources mentioned in this show: The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @ynabofficial Instagram: @ynab.official Twitter/X: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

We talk about how YNAB is the ultimate weapon against money stressors -- as you gain control over your spending, learn to give every dollar a job, and bring your spending in line with your priorities, the stresses decrease and are replaced by a growing confidence. There are other psychological "costs" of money, such as the anxiety and mental overhead created by second guessing your choices. Should I buy this? Can I even afford it? Should I have bought that? Is this what we should be doing right now? YNAB gives you the freedom to act, to spend your money confidently without second guessing every decision. Like Jesse and his GE upright freezer, it doesn't mean you'll never regret your purchases, but you won't second guess the fact that you spent the money! Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @ynabofficial Instagram: @ynab.official Twitter/X: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

Jesse reflects on his interactions with YNAB'ers at the recent Fan Fest in Minneapolis, and how spendfulness manifested in many different ways. One important takeaway for Jesse was that while practicing spendfulness could mean taking a cool international vacation, or buying something fun and interesting (and those are totally valid things to spend money on!), it could also mean having the freedom and peace of mind to take risks and embark on new ventures. Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @ynabofficial Instagram: @ynab.official Twitter/X: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

In 2017 the Mecham family decided to live in Manhattan for three months to experience the city, soak up the food and culture, and just have fun doing something different. While they were there they chose to maximize their opportunity to eat out -- Jesse went back and counted over 140 different establishments during that 90 day stay! After that experiment, Jesse and the family decided to try the complete opposite. No eating out for 90 days. The result? They didn't really care about it much, and now the family rarely eats out. What the experience in Manhattan taught them was that, for them, eating out is about the experience. They like big, "journal worthy" meals. Day to day eating out at average restaurants just doesn't hold much appeal. They only know this because they have examined their priorities and tested things out. Jesse encourages you to do the same -- question why you do what you do, and try to live differently for a little while. You may find, like many, many YNAB'ers before you, that eating out is not as much of a priority as you were making it! Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @ynabofficial Instagram: @ynab.official Twitter/X: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

It seems obvious that you should save money. It's the right thing to do, after all! But even the words that we use talk about saving money have problems -- should, ought -- loaded with moral baggage. Jesse reminds us that even money earmarked for savings is still spending, just spending that has been deferred to a later date, retirement for example. That money still needs to have a job, however. Saving for what in retirement? Utility bills? Travel? Presents for the grandkids? Money for the future has a job just like money for the present, and when you view money through the lens of giving every dollar a job, you begin to see that money is only meant to be spent. There is no savings, only spending! Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @ynabofficial Instagram: @ynab.official Twitter/X: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

When you really want to buy something, what do you do? Do you wait for 48 hours to cool off a bit and think it over? Or perhaps do you create a category for it in YNAB and fund it with a few dollars, just to see how it feels? Having the urge to buy something is not a bad or shameful thing, but there should be a process for weighing that purchase against your other priorities. That's what YNAB does -- it makes money more real by giving you a framework to evaluate your spending against your priorities. That way when you buy something, you can feel really good about it -- no shame, no guilt, just joy! Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @ynabofficial Instagram: @ynab.official Twitter/X: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial Tickets to YNAB Fan Fest 2025 are on sale now! Coming to Minneapolis and NYC: YNAB.com/events

This week Jesse and the rest of the YNAB team are working hard prepping for the upcoming Fan Fest in Minneapolis, so today we are rebroadcasting an interview that originally appeared on Dr. Will Cole's Art of Being Well podcast. In this interview, Jesse talks about how money stress not only leads to poorer mental health, it has real physical impacts on the body as well. We hope you enjoy this interview. If you'd like to follow Dr. Cole's podcast, check out the links below: https://drwillcole.com/podcast/money-anxiety-is-ruining-your-health-heres-how-to-fix-it-jesse-mecham https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-art-of-being-well/id1539535133 https://open.spotify.com/show/6z1lJ5dfKNHwGGQPOFTc7E?si=22d31749ba9142f7 Need last minute tickets to YNAB Fan Fest in Minneapolis? Get them here! YNAB.com/events Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @ynabofficial Instagram: @ynab.official Twitter/X: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial

It's no secret that money is a major factor in relationship conflicts. Whether it's misaligned values, a feeling that one partner is sabotaging the other's goals through their spending, or a desire to keep up with the Jones'... money has the potential to start or fuel a lot of conflict. But it doesn't have to! Often money arguments belie fundamental communcation problems, and YNAB can help by clarifying for both partners what the goal is for your dollars and whether that is aligned with your shared values. Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @ynabofficial Instagram: @ynab.official Twitter/X: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial Tickets to YNAB Fan Fest 2025 are on sale now! Coming to Minneapolis and NYC: YNAB.com/events

To many, the word "budget" brings to mine restrictions, guilt, punishment, and a general feeling of dread that they don't have control over their money, much less hit their budget goals. But this idea that a budget means setting hard limits on spending in various categories, then looking back every month to see if you were "good" or "bad" in adhering to those limits... it's all backwards! Jesse has another way to look at "budgeting," or planning as he calls it. You give every dollar you have a job -- you look at what future expenses you know you have coming and put those dollars into categories to cover those expenses. Once you have your future expenses covered, then you start thinking about what else you'd like to do with your money: take a trip, buy some new clothes, maybe go out to a nice restaurant. Then, as life happens and your needs change, you can move the money around. It's not a failure that your spending doesn't perfectly adhere to some arbitrary category number, it just means you got new information, circumstances changed, and therefore your spending plan needs to change with it. Once you wrap your head around this way of thinking about money, of planning for the future rather than looking backwards and punishing yourself, then you can start loving the way you spend. Guilt free. Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @ynabofficial Instagram: @ynab.official Twitter/X: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial Tickets to YNAB Fan Fest 2025 are on sale now! Coming to Minneapolis and NYC: YNAB.com/events

Judging from the difficulties many adults have managing their money, we don't do a great job collectively of teaching our kids about money. Jesse doesn't consider himself an expert on this, but he does have seven kids, and thus seven chances to instill good money habits in his own children. In today's episode he shares how he teaches his kids about money using the YNAB method, scaled down in language and concepts that younger children can understand. At the end of the day, the goal for kids is the same as the goal for adults... Jesse wants them to love the way they spend, and imagine what money can do for them. Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @ynabofficial Instagram: @ynab.official Twitter/X: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial Tickets to YNAB Fan Fest 2025 are on sale now! Coming to Minneapolis and NYC: YNAB.com/events

Spendfulness is the new word around YNAB, but the concept goes back to the beginning of the company... and even before the company itself. In today's episode, Jesse recounts the very early days of YNAB, when the budgeting method was just a spreadsheet. Jesse realized that the spreadsheet was enforcing a set of behaviors, or "rules," around money and that those rules were the foundation of what is now referred to as the YNAB method. YNAB is more than a spreadsheet, and more than a software tool, it is a set of principles for managing money and, more importantly, learning about yourself. Knowing thyself is at the heart of spendfulness, and as it turns out, living spendfulness is what YNAB was about the whole time! Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @ynabofficial Instagram: @ynab.official Twitter/X: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial Tickets to YNAB Fan Fest 2025 are on sale now! Coming to Minneapolis and NYC: YNAB.com/events

Jesse has a long history experimenting with money. From rating every meal he and the family ate out, to "hyperbudgeting," to not budgeting at all... he's run an experiment almost every year for the last several years to see how his habits affect his financial planning. In today's episode Jesse recaps the experiments he's done, how they went (good and bad), and reminds us that personal finance is, well, personal. Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @ynabofficial Instagram: @ynab.official Twitter/X: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial Tickets to YNAB Fan Fest 2025 are on sale now! Coming to Minneapolis and NYC: YNAB.com/events

If the world seems like it's on fire right now... it may be true. But then again, the world always seems like it's on fire, at least depending on who you ask. If you ask the news, it certainly is! Fortunately, the YNAB method -- giving every dollar a job and working through the 5 Questions -- can bring peace and calm to your finances. Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @ynabofficial Instagram: @ynab.official Twitter/X: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial Tickets to YNAB Fan Fest 2025 are on sale now! Coming to San Diego, Minneapolis, and NYC: YNAB.com/events

On the surface, emergency funds sound like a very prudent idea. You set aside cash for unknowable, unforseeable events so that you aren't strapped when you really need it. We're not disagreeing with the idea, but an emergency fund is somewhat counter to the core principle of YNAB: giving every dollar a job. In an emergency fund, dollars are given a job, but it's a vague one. Jesse likens it to a football coach yelling at his defense to "just stop the other team from scoring!" The coach is identifying the basic goal of the game, but there's nothing specific to help the players actually accomplish that task. A good coach instead instructs players what to do at an individual level, adjusting their positioning, technique, key reads etc. so that they can more effectively play their role on the team. The net result is the same -- stopping the other team from scoring -- but the results are far more effective. The same is true with your dollars. While yes, we do want to set aside money for larger, less frequent expenses, the truth is many of these expenses are knowable, we just don't plan for them. New roof, new tires, plumbing repair, etc. Including these items into your plan and saving for them accomplishes what the emergency fund accomplishes, but with more clarity. So, consider just deleting your emergency fund. Or at least make it smaller, and give those dollars more specific, effective jobs. Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @ynabofficial Instagram: @ynab.official Twitter/X: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial Tickets to YNAB Fan Fest 2025 are on sale now! Coming to San Diego, Minneapolis, and NYC: YNAB.com/events

All money is meant to be spent, it's just a matter of when. Some people get caught in a cycle of amassing savings with no clear goal of how it is to be spent. Jesse shares an example from his wedding of how the desire to save money can backfire, and demonstrates how having a plan for your money, whether it's in the near future or distant future, is the most important thing. As we say at YNAB, give every dollar job. Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @ynabofficial Instagram: @ynab.official Twitter/X: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial Tickets to YNAB Fan Fest 2025 are on sale now! Coming to San Diego, Minneapolis, and NYC: YNAB.com/events

YNAB only asks that you follow one rule with your money, the golden rule of money, if you will -- give every dollar a job. And within that statement is implied that you must give every dollar you have a job. Many people get in trouble when they start planning for money they expect to come but don't have yet. There be dragons! Looking at the money you have right now, and asking yourself "what does this money need to do between now and when I get paid again?" focused you on reality, and avoids asking too many what-if questions about the future and various contingencies. And it's simple. No forecasting, no elaborate scenarios. Just concrete dollars in your wallet (or bank account) right now and present needs and wants. Simplicity is underrated. Following this simple rule over and over, multiple times a month, maybe multiple times a week, will grow your financial confidence, your decision making skills, and your bank account! Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @ynabofficial Instagram: @ynab.official Twitter/X: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial Tickets to YNAB Fan Fest 2025 are on sale now! Coming to San Diego, Minneapolis, and NYC: YNAB.com/events

Jesse relates a story of a couple looking at a piece of gym equipment posted for sale at their local gym. It was expensive, and Emily's gut reaction was "no, it seems spendy." After some reflection she told her husband they should talk about it more, because maybe it was really a spendful purchase. We are faced with decisions like these all the time. Without a plan, anything can seem spendy, even good things we want to spend our money on. Likewise, we can end up spending on things we don't really care about. Then there's the question "can I afford it?" that plagues us. These swirling, anxiety inducing questions can be answered by giving our dollars a job and working the 5 Questions (see episode #724 for more on the questions). Next time you catch yourself thinking something is too spendy, ask yourself instead, could this be spendful? Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @ynabofficial Instagram: @ynab.official Twitter/X: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial Tickets to YNAB Fan Fest 2025 are on sale now! Coming to San Diego, Minneapolis, and NYC: YNAB.com/events

YNAB only has one "rule" for managing your money, and that's to give every dollar a job. This is easier said than done, however, so to help with this task, Jesse presents 5 questions to clarify what you want to do with your money: Reality:Stability:Resilience:Creation:Flexibility: Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com Follow YNAB on social media: Facebook: @ynabofficial Instagram: @ynab.official Twitter/X: @ynab Tik Tok: @ynabofficial Tickets to YNAB Fan Fest 2025 are on sale now! Coming to San Diego, Minneapolis, and NYC: YNAB.com/events