The Jesse Mecham Show

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 student loan forgiveness program, how much debt can be forgiven for students or graduates with Pell grants and with traditional Federal student loans, and some of the forthcoming changes to income-based repayment plans.   Ben also reminds us that not all the details of the plan have been worked out yet, and there are still open questions regarding the legality of the program, as well as potential income tax implications at the state level. Consequently, he reminds us, don't count on those forgiveness funds until they actually hit your bank account!   Follow Ben the Dollar Scholar on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedollarscholar?lang=en   Did you YNAB is FREE for college students? Sign up here: https://www.youneedabudget.com/college/   Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com

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 accounts, the multiple credit cards, the three different brokerage accounts. Budgeting is all about helping you make better decisions, after all, and simplifying helps you do that too.   Did you YNAB is FREE for college students? Sign up here: https://www.youneedabudget.com/college/   Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email: askjesse@ynab.com

A listener writes the show to ask: what should he and his family do with a life-changing windfall? The listener has a mortgage, and a HELOC, and some savings goals such as saving for his kids' college education. The windfall amount is enough to payoff all these things, and in addition he has recently earned a large raise. While the windfall is a huge gift, he wants to be calm, reasonable, and disciplined with allocating it towards the family's financial goals. Jesse helps walk through the problem, and identify some emotionally driven questions one should ask in this situation.   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

Jesse shares a few book titles he has been working through lately, and how the lessons from Jocko's Exteme Ownership have been working their way through the Mecham household and YNAB. It's not all business books this time! Topics range from leadership to the history of money to science fiction.   Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink https://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Ownership-U-S-Navy-SEALs-ebook/dp/B0739PYQSS/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=jocko+willink+extreme+ownership&qid=1660506517&s=books&sprefix=jocko+willink+ex%2Cstripbooks%2C69&sr=1-1   Debrief to Win by Robert “Cujo” Teschner https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1732929815/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0   Layered Money: From Gold and Dollars to Bitcoin and Central Bank Digital Currencies by Nik Bhatia https://www.amazon.com/Layered-Money-Dollars-Bitcoin-Currencies-ebook/dp/B08T7T47HC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=ZYVYV927YTEG&keywords=layered+money&qid=1660506593&s=books&sprefix=layered+money%2Cstripbooks%2C60&sr=1-1   Dune by Frank Herbert https://www.amazon.com/Dune-Frank-Herbert-ebook/dp/B00B7NPRY8/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=dune+frank+herbert&qid=1660506937&s=books&sprefix=dune+frank%2Cstripbooks%2C74&sr=1-2   Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals https://www.amazon.com/Four-Thousand-Weeks-Management-Mortals-ebook/dp/B08FGV64B1/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3DVV12Z77CLKP&keywords=four+thousand+weeks&qid=1660507272&s=books&sprefix=four+thousand%2Cstripbooks%2C90&sr=1-1     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

A listener writes Jesse to ask what he should do with his first real job and first real paycheck -- pay off debt, or start investing? This is a popular question with a few answers, and in Jesse's mind, the answers are all valid! What matters most is where you picture your life five years from now, whether you are happy with that picture, and whether your current trajectory is going to get you there.   Some people get a lot of satisfaction from having a big nest egg, even while carrying debt. Others prize the freedom they feel from not having debt more than the size of their investment accounts. And of course, some people prefer to be somewhere in between.   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

There's a moment that happens when you run across something you really want -- it's like an itch that wants you to whip out the credit card and scratch it! In these moments, we're probably not very clear on our priorities and Rule One, so Jesse reminds us that the budget is the thing that helps us answer the question: can I afford this? Am I going to be OK after I buy this? And the budget answers those questions for you by bringing clarity to your priorities and the jobs you have assigned to your dollars.   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

Hillary writes into the show to ask: when you started giving an allowance to your kids, what things did they buy that made you cringe? Hillary is starting the YNAB allowance strategy for her kids, aged 16, 15, and 12, and is wondering how to teach them to spend the money responsibly. Jesse offers his experiences with his own kids, and some of the money lessons he has watched them learn in their own life.   Want to ask Jesse a question? Send him an email at: askjesse@ynab.com   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse chats with a number of YNAB employees who are living, or working towards living, a "nomadic" life -- living and working across the US in a variety of places throughout the year. While this type of lifestyle can create some amazing freedoms (Megan, for instance, arranges her work schedule so that she can spend her mornings skiing during the winter), it also requires a lot of careful planning! That's where YNAB comes in.   Maintaining a trailer, motorhome, or RV and handling the costs of living in new places involves lots of planning around true expenses and rolling with the punches. The nomadic ladies of YNAB share their experiences shifting to an unconventional lifestyle, and how the budgeting lessons they learned from the Four Rules have helped them make it happen.   Bringing budgeting into the workplace -- Financial Wellness by YNAB. https://www.youneedabudget.com/wellness/   Email Jesse your stories about YNAB in the workplace: askjesse@ynab.com

A listener writes into the show to ask about whole life insurance and whether it's worth it for a young couple in their 30's. As always, it depends!  Whole life policies typically come with big fees, which of course insurance companies and salesmen like. Jesse points out that the policies can work for some people in high marginal tax brackets, however the tax savings must be carefully weighed against the earnings you could have made by simply investing in low-cost, diversified index funds and sidestepping the high fees of whole life policies.   Send Jesse an email at: askjesse@ynab.com   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Happy Fourth of July to the American YNAB'ers out there!   Following Apple's recent announcement of their "Apple Pay Later" plan, in which customers can split the cost of purchases over multiple installments using Apple Pay, Jesse rants about the state of financing among successful companies. As he has noted before, nearly all successful companies eventually become finance companies, and Apple is no exception.   Buy now, pay later (BNPL) plans may be good for Apple's bottom line, but they are bad news for consumers. Research has discovered that people tend to buy 40% more with BNPL plans than they would have with cash. Then of course there is the interest and penalties that come with missed payments. Jesse has a bone to pick with this...   Send Jesse an email at: askjesse@ynab.com   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com