The Jesse Mecham Show

Last week Jesse urged YNAB'ers not to make any sudden or drastic moves to their budget. But you know it's the beginning of the year, and that can only mean one thing! It's time for a budget burndown.

Happy New Year! We hope 2023 is a fruitful and productive year, financially and otherwise, for everyone. It's that time of year again, the time for resolutions, big goals, and new plans. Jesse urges …

We hope you had a Merry Christmas and very happy holiday! If you didn't use YNAB to plan for this year's Christmas bill, that's OK, you can start now for next year! In January start saving for Christ…

Jesse shares some of the gifts he's given his wife, Julie, over the years, and why every year from now on the gifts will be made, not bought.

Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:

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Jesse answers a grab-bag of questions from listeners, including whether it's a good idea to track 401k investments in YNAB (it's not), how to budget for early retirement, good books for learning how …

It's a fact, you do. We know this because banks LOVE credit cards, and they're incentives for using credit cards rely on the fact that many people spend more money on credit than they would otherwise…

Jesse riffs on the idea that money has different "tenses," that is, money's purpose is to be spent, and spending can happen in the past, present, or future. Debt is past spending, savings is future s…

For everyone listening in the United States, Happy Thanksgiving! Jesse encourages us this week to step back and make a list of everything we are thankful for. Taking a moment to express your gratitud…

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 q…

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 n…

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 t…

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? Se…

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:

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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 s…

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 aske…

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…

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 fro…

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, so…

Jesse chats with Ben, a YNAB employee and "The Dollar Scholar" on TikTok, where he educates college students and grads on the intricacies of student loans. Ben walks through the recently announced st…

School is back in session, and it's a good time to tune up the budget. Want to really nail it this year? Go back to the Four Rules, Jesse says, and simplify. Now is the time to close those extra bank…