YNAB is not like other budgeting methods. Rule Four is "age your money" and it encourages folks to spend last month's earnings on this month's expenses, thereby breaking the paycheck to paycheck cycle in which so many find themselves stuck. Many YNAB'ers work diligently toward getting a month ahead of their expenses, budgeting the dollars they currently have in the bank account for expenses due in the next calendar month. But what about emergency funds?   Many budgeting methods encourage the idea of an emergency fund, a pile of money that is only touched to handle unexpected expenses not accounted for in the budget. A wise (or as Ben would say, prudent) thing to have! In a perfect world, however, YNAB'ers would not need emergency funds -- they would have saved enough money for future expenses via Rule Two to handle anything that could come their way. Alas, the world is not perfect, however, and many YNAB'ers choose to incorporate an emergency fund category in their budget.   Do you have to choose between having an emergency fund or living a month ahead? Of course not! Ben reminds us that even if you choose to setup your budget for month-ahead, you can always undo it and go back to an emergency fund. Or vice versa. The dollars are still there, however you decide to allocate them.   Ernie recommends that you should take your emotions into account too. For many folks, including himself, it just feels better to have a big pile of money that you can see in one category. It offers a greater sense of security than seeing mulitple categories funded in the next month.   So, really, you can't lose. If you've been thinking about going month-ahead, go for it! There's always the undo button.   Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie! budgetnerds@ynab.com   Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuIUGmbCDklkDCDm-cQqv2g

Jesse is taking a break for the summer, so Ben and Ernie (from the Budget Nerds podcast) are stepping in to guest host.  Today, they talk about paying off debt... sustainably! So many personal finance resources urge people to pay off debt as soon as they can, and white knuckle their way toward financial freedom. While this can work for short periods of time, for many people paying off debt is a marathon, not a sprint, and white-knuckling has many pitfalls.   For one, when you're throwing every dollar and focusing all of your energy on paying off debt, it's easy to ignore Rule Two -- embracing your true expenses. If you get hit by an unplanned expense and you've thrown all your extra cash at your debt, then you may find yourself reaching for the credit card... and thereby accruing more debt. So, Ben and Ernie urge you to take things a little slower. Work the Four Rules, budget for true expenses, and have some cash reserves set aside, so that your journey to pay off debt doesn't start going backwards.   And more importantly, taking things at your own pace can help you avoid burnout and stay focused on the long term goal. As long as you are aligning your money with your priorities, you are doing it right!   We want to hear your YNAB stories! Please take a moment to tell us about your biggest budgeting wins here: https://youneedabudget.typeform.com/ynaber-stories     Follow Ben and Ernie on the Budget Nerds Podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/budget-nerds/id1606054345 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0H1u8pqYrvz6zj6noHbkB3?si=fc181a82b8d540a6   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Ben and Ernie share their personal experiences talking to their partners about budgeting and YNAB. Every family is different, and every partnership will handle communicating about money and budgeting differently, but the important thing is that you do it! Frequent, regular money conversations help everyone stay on the same page and focused on the same goals, whether one person manages all the YNAB details or each person shares equally in that task.   Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com   Follow Ben and Ernie on the Budget Nerds Podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/budget-nerds/id1606054345 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0H1u8pqYrvz6zj6noHbkB3?si=fc181a82b8d540a6   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com