You Need A Budget (ynab)

It's that time of year again, and April 15th looms! Taxes are due soon, and perhaps no other financial topic generates as much confusion and as many questions. To that end, Jesse answers questions about taxes from YNAB listeners who wrote into the show. As with any tax question, when in doubt it's always best to contact a tax professional!   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse compares the pros and cons of the 15 year vs the 30 year home mortgage. While there are plenty of online calculators out there that will spell out the difference in interest costs and amortization between the two, Jesse argues that perhaps the math isn't the most important factor. It's how you feel about paying off the mortgage earlier.   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com  

International student of mystery Mackenzie is financially wise beyond her years... all thanks to YNAB and embracing the four rules while a young college student. Since discovering YNAB Mackenzie has traveled throughout Europe, and has come up with some unique strategies for managing her budget in a variety of currencies: the British pound, the euro, and US dollars. She's also learned some lessons about careful budgeting living in some of the most expensive cities in the world, like London.   The most important thing for college students, she says, is to just get started with YNAB. Try just tracking your expenses for a month, and get some data about your spending habits. Then you can get a realistic picture of what a college budget should look like. You're always going to spend more on food than you think, she says, so your budget should reflect that. Secondly, be prepared to roll with the punches and go with the flow. Things change a lot from freshman to senior year -- work/study opportunities open up, off-ca

Long-time YNAB team member Erin returns to the podcast to discuss strategies for managing your grocery budget. With prices on the rise, many people are tightening their budgets, and groceries are a common line item of concern. Erin offers tips for making grocery shopping simpler, avoiding unnecessary purchases, and making strategic "fun" food purchases (like frozen pizzas) for those days when you just don't feel like cooking.   As Erin reminds us, your family's grocery bill is personal! It's tempting to want to compare yourself to others, or to an average, but the best strategy is to start with where you are and find ways to adjust from there. Food is a very personal thing, and many factors play into the food choices people make (allergies/restrictions, location, busy lifestyle, food availability, etc), so keep your eyes on your own plate.   A few of Erin's favorite cooking and food-related YouTube channels: Frugal Fit Mom: https://www.youtube.com/c/FrugalFitMom See Mindy Mom: https://www.youtube.com/c/SeeMi

In honor of 2/22/2022, which is quickly approaching, YNAB is giving you the chance to gain a little extra momentum in your budget this year. YNAB is giving away $2,222 to a lucky podcast listener! But you have to follow a few rules to have a chance to win: On 2/22/2022, make a public post on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok or Twitter and tell us what you would do with $2,222. Tag YNAB on your social media platform of choice (tags listed below). Fill out the form on the YNAB website: https://www.youneedabudget.com/22-giveaway/   For those who don't do the social medias, you can email pr@ynab.com and include promotion/contest name in the subject line.   A complete explanation of the rules and terms and conditions can be found at: https://www.youneedabudget.com/22-giveaway/   YNAB social media tags Instagram: @youneedabudget 
 TikTok: @youneedabudget
 Twitter: @ynab Facebook: @iYNAB   Good luck! 

Ben and Ernie return to the podcast to announce... their own podcast! Budget Nerds, the popular YouTube show for nerdy YNAB'ers, is launching a podcast on Wednesday, Feb 9th. Now you can take Ben, Ernie, and their nerdy budget adventures with you in the car, on the bus, maybe even in the kitchen!   As a bonus, Ben and Ernie share some "budget confessions" from Budget Nerds listeners.   Budget Nerds Podcast on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/budget-nerds/id1606054345   Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/0H1u8pqYrvz6zj6noHbkB3?si=34ab3b2a3435486b  

YNAB Podcast listener Jenna emailed Jesse to share a recent win. Jenna's husband is about to finish law school, and thanks to YNAB and a lot of work and sacrifice he will graduate with NO student loan debt. First of all, BIG congratulations to you and your husband! Jesse shares some thoughts on this achievement as well as how to manage windfalls with a long-term mindset.   Join the More Money Challenge: https://www.youneedabudget.com/moremoneychallenge/   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse answers a listener question about budgeting after retirement, in particular when you are living off your retirement savings and not yet drawing on Social Security.   Join the More Money Challenge: https://www.youneedabudget.com/moremoneychallenge/   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse chats with Scott Trench, CEO of BiggerPockets and a real estate investor, about how people can get started with real estate investing and build more wealth. Scott started his working career like many business college graduates, working at a large company as a financial analyst. Early on he stumbled across the Mr. Money Mustache blog, which advocates frugality and saving a large percentage of your income to achieve financial independence. From there, Scott became interested in using real estate to build his personal wealth and reach financial independence earlier in life.   Then, an encounter with the founder of the BiggerPockets website led Scott to a job with the company, and eventually, a chance to steer it as the CEO. Along the way Scott has learned a lot about real estate investing, and purchased and managed several properties. He now uses that knowledge to run the BiggerPockets website, which offers teaching and tools for people new to the real estate market.   Scott also acknowledges the costs and

Jesse chats with Ashley, of TikTok fame (The Organized Wallet), about her journey finding the budgeting software through a chance blogpost to finally gaining control of her money after years of struggle. One of Ashley's keys to success is mindfulness, and she has some great exercises for improving your mindfulness around money.   A few years into her marriage, Ashley had a reckoning with money. Her husband Jeremy had just landed a big job opportunity, but it required him to travel frequently. To keep things running smoothly, Ashley needed to assume management of the budget, which Jeremy had been handling up until that point. Ashley tried hard, but was overwhelmed with the spreadsheets, the sheer number of bills and accounts, and missed a payment on one of the bills. Distraught, she ran across a blog post by A Cup of Jo about a budgeting software called You Need A Budget. She jumped in, and finally found a method to help her gain control of her money.   Ashley now has a lot of wisdom to share about managing yo

Happy New Year! It's that time again -- time for planning, goal setting, and resolutions. If you're listening to this podcast, one of your New Year's resolutions might be to save more money. YNAB can help you with that!   YNAB team member Veronica is leading the way with the More Money Challenge, a 30-day challenge to help you kick start your savings in 2022. The rules are simple, but the challenge is hard. Luckily, there's a whole community of like-minded YNAB'ers that will be running the challenge together.   Join the More Money Challenge: https://www.youneedabudget.com/moremoneychallenge/   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CYFRUQYBdMV/   TikTok: ynab.com/tiktok

It's that time of year again... time to burn it all down! The budget, that is. Every year Jesse "burns down" his budget, deleting all the categories and questioning whether the family could live without them. It's a fun thought experiment, especially with the typical must-have things.   Do you really need groceries every month? Of course you do, but what if you didn't do it? How would you survive? The point is not to figure out how to live without groceries, it's to ask the question and get your brain thinking about the deeply held assumptions you have about your consumption. At the end of the day, most of your categories will probably go back in. But hopefully, you'll rethink at least one thing in your budget, and find an opportunity to bring your spending more in line with your priorities in the New Year.   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Millions of people struggle with ADHD, and it has financial ramifications -- decision fatigue, difficulty planning future purchases, and impulsive spending habits. Jak is a coach for "ADHD'ers," as she calls them, helping people form strategies for coping with emotional highs and lows and gain control over their money. An ADHD'er herself, she found the visual aspect of YNAB highly effective in keeping her engaged with both her current spending and her long-term plans (sinking funds).   Chelsea is an intuitive eating coach, and a fellow ADHD'er who engaged Jak for coaching. Together they discovered YNAB, and joined the podcast to share its helpfulness with others suffering from ADHD.   You can find more about Jak and Chelsea here: Jak IG: @authenticallyadhd Jak email: authenticallyadhd@gmail.com YNAB and ADHD Workshop: www.authenticallyadhd.com/membership   Chelsea IG: @_chelseahester_ Chelsea website: www.chelseahester.com  

We're nearly to the end of 2021, so Jesse took a moment to celebrate all of your biggest budgeting wins this year. To all the YNAB users who accomplished your goals and improved your financial standing -- no matter how big or how small -- congratulations! Here's to another year of budgeting wins, breaking the paycheck to paycheck cycle, and reduced stress.   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

A listener asks -- what can I do to get my budget back on track after falling off the wagon?   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse chats with the Chief Hustler of side hustles, Nick Loper. Nick  has made a living out of side hustles, literally! A serial entrepreneur, Nick started a number of small businesses and side hustles before writing books about his experience and teaching others how to start their own side hustles. He is also an author, with a new book out: $1,000 100 Ways.   After helping thousands of people launch their own hustles, Nick probably has a way (or maybe 100 ways) you can start your own and bring home more money.   Side Hustle Nation Ideas https://www.sidehustlenation.com/ideas   The Side Hustle Show https://www.sidehustlenation.com/side-hustle-show/   $1,000 100 Ways by Nick Loper https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B099TQL3T7/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tpbk_p1_i0  

Jesse answers a reader trying to save for a surprise Christmas present for his significant other, but also trying to be faithful to his YNAB budget. Jesse shares a few tricks and some "creative accounting" within YNAB to help you save up for Christmas gifts without spoiling the surprise or the budget.   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Watch out credit cards, a new game is in town, and it's waiting to trip up your budget during the holiday season. We're talking about payment plans: sort of like a credit card, sort of not, but definitely loaded with high interest, fees, and confusing terms designed to trip up customers. YNAB has a team dedicated to helping budgeters navigate their way through payment plans using the YNAB software, and ultimately get out of them altogether. Sophia Hergenrader, a YNAB expert on payment plans, joins the podcast to talk about the pitfalls of this new breed of financial products.   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse answers a concerned parent emailing about their son's college experience. After raising a thoughtful and budget minded son who paid for his first semester of college by working a series of jobs during high school, the parent was dismayed by the extravagant lifestyle and expenses of his classmates. Expensive vacations, clothing, electronics -- many undergraduate students aren't living like students, and it can be frustrating for people embracing a life of responsible budgeting. Nevertheless, Jesse reminds the listener that the gifts of budgeting, responsibility, and good planning pay off in the long run far more than ephemeral luxuries.   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com