You Need A Budget (ynab)

This week's Money Story comes from the vivacious Diania Merriam, founder of the EconoMe Conference which brings together speakers in the FIRE movement (Financial Independence, Retire Early). After finding herself working for a decent salary in NYC but falling deeper into debt, Diania decided to pull her head out of the financial sand and figure out where her finances stood. Around the same time, a friend introduced her to the Mr. Money Mustache blog and the concept of FIRE.   Armed with these tools, she started cutting her expenses and aggressively paying off debt. Eventually, Diania managed to stash away 60% of her income, and pay off $30k of debt. Ever the life of the party, Diania attributes part of her success to realizing that her happiness lies in connecting with friends and shared experiences, not necessarily in spending money in exclusive clubs. After paying off her debt, she was also able to pursue her dream of hiking the Camino de Santiago in Spain.   Today Diania has reached CoastFI, having already

Jesse chats with Geoff Woods, President of ProduKtive, the training company behind the bestselling book The ONE Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. After leaving a high-stress and ultimately unfulfilling job in medical device sales, Geoff set out to surround himself with successful mentors. Eventually Geoff found Gary Keller and Jay Papasan, and immersed himself in their philosophy of the "one thing," that is, the concept of relentlessly pursuing the single most impactful thing you can do in your day, and arranging your schedule to accomplish that thing first.   Geoff describes the one thing as a stack of dominoes. Accomplishing the one thing you can do first -- "can" is the operative word here, this task must be small and easily achievable today -- topples the first domino in the chain, which topples the next, and the next, and so forth. Most people never do the work to identify this one thing, however, and get stuck spending lots of time toppling individual dominoes without ever setting off this chain rea

Jesse attempts to give some advice on purchasing a car... before admitting that he has no advice to give! Well, maybe a bit of advice. Jesse reminds us that optimizing your budget involves optimizing for YOUR needs and wants. Jesse chooses to lease a Tesla to drive around in, because he wanted to have as little headaches with car maintenance as possible. That's important to him today, but ten years ago his needs and wants were totally different, and thus the things he chose to optimize his budget for were too.   So this episode is not about how to buy the most cost-effective used car, or how to get a good deal on a new car, or anything like that. It's about examining your own needs and shaping your budget around them.   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Bestselling author Ian Morgan Cron introduces the Enneagram, a personality typing system which identifies nine different personality types, their motivations, strengths, and weaknesses. As Ian explains, understanding your enneagram can help you better understand your motivations for why you want to do the things you do, which has direct implications in budgeting. Understanding the motivations and perspectives of others, especially those with polar differences in personality, can help you mitigate conflict and reach compromise in your family relationships and in the workplace.   Ian Morgan Cron is a psychotherapist, Episcopal priest, and an accomplished author. His book The Road Back to You champions the Enneagram for people that seek to better "know thyself."   https://ianmorgancron.com

Jesse reminds us that the ideal budget... is the budget which helps you achieve your goals and values. And those goals and values can, and will, change over time!   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Robert Leonard has been a uniquely driven person since a young age. Eyeing the professional ranks of motocross at age 14 (the minimum age to turn pro was 16), he competed all over the country. When his father discouraged his going pro, Robert started working various jobs and reading about investing. By the time he graduated college, he had already purchased his first piece of real estate and began "house hacking" -- leasing spare rooms to roommates to generate cash flow to cover the mortgage.   Over the years Robert has continued to house hack, selling properties and rolling the profits into the next investment. He now owns a portfolio of rental properties. On the side, he also invests in individual stocks as a value investor, and enjoys the process of digging through company financials and earnings to find undervalued companies to buy and hold.   Robert is also passionate about teaching other people how to get started with investing in both real estate and the stock market, and he hosts two podcasts on the t

Sita Thomas is a woman of many talents, and many careers, having worked jobs ranging from massage therapy to data analytics. She has been using YNAB for over 8 years to help her reach her goals, including going back to school and making a career change, taking time off work to care for a terminally ill family member, and removing the day to day stresses of money from her life.   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse chats with professional coach and business strategist Kelsey Murphy about how she left a high profile -- yet unsatisfying -- corporate job to travel the world with her husband. During their travels Kelsey realized she had a gift for coaching and helping others put their visions and dreams into practice. Today she runs a successful coaching business doing just that.   Kelsey puts a lot of emphasis on her client's values, examining them through a very practical lens. What would you like to see or do first thing when you wake up in the morning? What kind of space do you imagine yourself working in? These are a couple of the questions Kelsey might ask. Once you understand your values in clear, tangible terms, then you can focus your attention on the important tasks that will bring you closer to your vision.   Learn more about Kelsey: https://www.kelseymurphy.com/careerandlifecoaching   Whisky & Work Podcast: https://www.kelseymurphy.com/podcast   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabu

Jesse answers your questions about small business in Q&A format.  You can send Jesse your questions and comments at: podcast@youneedabudget.com   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse chats with Amir Salihefendic, CEO of Doist, the company behind the popular productivity tool Todoist. Between running a company and being a father, Amir has a very busy life. He explains how he keeps everything moving smoothly, including the importance of managing your energy throughout the day, not just your schedule.   https://todoist.com   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse chats with YNAB's manager of support hiring, Emma Rolls, about what it takes to get hired at YNAB, what type of person fits in with the company culture, and Emma's personal experience learning about YNAB and getting hired.   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse identifies four common traits in people who don't stress about money. They have a cadence for checking their money. These people  regularly check-in with their budget and watch their money. It's not a panicky, reactionary review but a planned part of their week or month. They have regular conversations with themselves and/or significant others about money. These conversations are not highly charged, hostile engagements, but calm, rational discussions about what is going on day-to-day. Often these conversations aren't about money per se, but rather the things that the money is going towards. In that sense, the conversations are more about whether or not spending is happening in accordance with their values and goals. They have clarity about their priorities, values, and goals. They give their money a job, and know why they are spending. They have plenty of cash on hand.    Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Writer and entrepreneur Corbett Barr joins the podcast to discuss digital mindfulness, the pitfalls of social media and endless digital content, and his own quest to find peace as a digital creative. https://corbettbarr.com   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse interviews strength coach, former pro Strongman, and founder of Barbell Logic Online Coaching, Matt Reynolds, about the many analogs between strength training and budgeting.   Matt relates the Four Rules to the basic tenets of effective strength training -- consistency, small increases in weight each workout that add up to big results over time, and focusing on the  things that will give you the greatest bang for your buck. Matt relates strength training to a "physical 401(k)," where the work that you do today to build you fitness and health can be drawn on later in life when the inevitabilities of aging and life events happen. Strong people are more resilient and more useful, especially in old age!   Matt's company, Barbell Logic Online Coaching, offers customized strength, conditioning, and nutrition coaching to individuals,  pairing each trainee with their own highly trained Barbell Logic coach.   If you're interested in trying out Barbell Logic Online Coaching, you can get the first month totally fr

If you've been doing the 34-Day Reset, you're in full sprint mode right now. And it might be tough! But the beauty of the reset is that it's just 34 days, and affords you some space to reflect on whether your money is working for you and helping you achieve your goals and values.   So stick with it, finish strong, and bask in the extra money you will have saved. You're almost there!   Take the challenge: https://www.youneedabudget.com/34dayreset/

Jesse interviews Katie about her journey after college to Hawaii, where she went through a tough breakup and financially tenuous times. She persevered through those hard times, discovered YNAB (actually re-discovered, having first encountered YNAB in college) and began to get her budget back on track in a notoriously expensive state. The hard work paid off; Katie met her husband and was able to have a dream wedding in Hawaii, and the couple now enjoy a rich life... paid in cash!   Katie is quick to point out that she hasn't always made the financially optimal choice, but she is intentional about everything she does. She and her husband decided to hold off paying down their student loans in order to finance their wedding, for example. Katie has set aside money to buy her husband a new computer, and they leave room in their budget for their favorite hobbies and pursuits -- for Katie, her side business coaching women in personal finance and helping them avoid traps like MLM schemes; for her husband, collecting a

Jesse offers three ways to stop spending money and kickstart your savings: Designate a "no spend" day. Pick a day of the week where you will deliberately spend NO money, and dutifully stick to that. Be realistic! If you usually have a date night on Friday, then pick another day. Maybe's it's a Tuesday, maybe it's a Sunday, but it should work with your schedule. Treat your savings as a purchase. In other words, change your mindset about what spending is. Instead of buying a good or service, treat your saving as "buying investments" or "buying back your debt." Some people turn buying small numbers of shares in an index fund into a game, where their investment brings them pleasure just like buying a coffee or a croissant at the local coffee shop. Identify your triggers. Pay attention when you have an impulse to buy something. Does it happen in certain places? Certain websites or forums? Perhaps on your way home from work? Find your spending "triggers," and work on ways to avoid them. Take a different route home

Jesse talks with YNAB'er Liz about her recent conversion to the YNAB software, which she discovered through the social media network Tik Tok. In just six months with YNAB, Liz has already reversed her financial situation, paid off debt, and created financial  security for her family.   Are you ready to take the challenge? https://www.youneedabudget.com/34dayreset/

Just like weight loss, there are some people who manage to pay off their debt through a burst of willpower and concerted effort... only to fall into debt again, usually slowly. Jesse points out that often this is a failure to follow Rule Two (Embracing Your True Expenses), and discusses how you can prevent slipping into old habits in the New Year.   Are you ready for a financial reset? https://www.youneedabudget.com/34dayreset/

YNAB is bringing back the Debt Stories... but this time we're calling it "Money Stories." In this series, Jesse interviews YNAB users about their incredible stories using YNAB to pay off debt, plan for life, build their savings, and more.   In this episode, Jesse interviews 34-year old nurse Trish. Though very hard working and driven to succeed, Trish found herself in $50,000 of debt despite working multiple jobs. Her unusual work arrangement meant that she went long periods of time between paychecks -- sometimes receiving multiple paychecks at once, months apart -- during which time she began relying on credit cards to ensure she had enough money to cover emergencies and unexpected expenses.   The credit card balance continued to climb, however, and, when combined with her car note and student loans, the monthly payments began eating up a large portion of her cashflow. Fed up, Trish decided to make some changes.   Focusing her energy and work ethic on her money, Trish decided to make drastic moves to pay dow