The Jesse Mecham Show

It's no surprise, but employees carry their money stress into work with them. And that stress not only affects their performance at work, it affects their happiness and, by extension, increases turnover.    Jesse shares results from a survey of over 3,000 YNAB'ers in the US who work full-time jobs in a variety of age ranges and income levels. YNAB found that only 24% of YNAB users experienced financial distress over the past two years of pandemic-fueled chaos -- pretty amazing compared to a broader survey of American workers by PWC which reported 63% experiencing financial distress. Another interesting stat: 93% of YNAB'ers reported being able to cover a $1,000 emergency expense, compared to just 13% of the PWC survey respondents. YNAB is clearly a powerful tool for financial stability!   Now, YNAB is helping to bring budgeting into the workplace with Financial Wellness by YNAB. https://www.youneedabudget.com/wellness/   Email Jesse your stories about YNAB in the workplace: askjesse@ynab.com  

Britney writes into the show to ask, as a long time fan and follower of various personal finance resources, what should she do now that her family's budget is pretty much dialed in? How can she avoid constantly looking at the app to check that the budget is still working?   Jesse reminds us that budgeting should, eventually, become boring for everyone. It may not be the goal, but it's at least a hallmark of a succesful budgeting practice! After that, maybe it's time to find a new hobby...   Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder by Nassim Taleb https://www.amazon.com/Antifragile-Things-That-Disorder-Incerto/dp/0812979680   Send Jesse an email at: askjesse@ynab.com   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

It's right about the mid-point of the year... how's your budget doing? Are you still clear on your priorities, and what jobs your dollars should be doing for you? If you've found yourself Rule Three'ing everything and rolling with the punches month after month, perhaps it is time to revisit your goals, reevaluate your priorities, and revise your budget accordingly.   Send Jesse an email at: askjesse@ynab.com   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

A listener writes into the show -- what should she do with her investments in this market? Each week she is seeing the value of her portfolio go down, and she is losing as much value as what she puts in each month. Ouch! Jesse reminds us not to panic, and to go back to your written investment plan (you have one of those, right?).   Why are you investing in the first place? What is your time horizon? Do you think the economy will grow in the (long-term) future? If yes -- and this has been historically true over a long time horizon -- then a broad market index will also grow over the long run, and sticking to your investment plan is the thing to do.   Jesse has another recommendation: look at the number of shares you own, not the value of those shares on paper. If your number of shares is going up, then your portfolio is still growing by an important metric!   Investing books mentioned in the show: The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by Jack Bogle A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel The Bogleheads Guide to Investing The Four Pillars of Investing by Bernstein   Send Jesse an email at: askjesse@ynab.com   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

On a recent Budget Nerds episode, Jesse threw out a hot take that index investing isn't all it's cracked up to be. Jocelyn wrote into the show to ask... why exactly? Jesse explains himself in today's episode.   Investing Books mentioned in the show: The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by Jack Bogle A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel The Bogleheads Guide to Investing The Four Pillars of Investing by Bernstein  

As inflation continues to rear it's ugly head in 2022, prices are going up and up, meaning budgets are getting stretched thin. Inflation is essentially another form of scarcity, Jesse points out, albeit involuntary scarcity. Jesse reminds us that scarcity is what drives us to be creative with the budget, and get more clear about our values.   Budgeting is also an active process, so this time of inflation is a good time to dig deeper into every category, find the things that are auto-pilot and re-evaluate whether they shoud continue to be so. By exercising your Four Rules muscles, you can stay positive and confident about your financial strategy even when economic prospects are alarming.   Send Jesse an email at: askjesse@ynab.com   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

A listener writes into the show to ask: how should you track vacation spending? Vacation is a time to relax and let loose a little, but the listener wants to make sure he is pacing the family's expenses during the trip so he doesn't go overbudget.   Jesse offers a few different options, including sophisticated use of categories to track the vacation spend without creating too much complexity.   Have a question for Jesse? Send him an email at: askjesse@ynab.com   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Kelly Frawley and Emily Pollock are attorneys specializing in matrimonial and family law, and regularly contribute to Forbes on issues related to divorce and business. In today's episode, they discuss the important questions you should be asking before marriage about money, finances, and expectations about the future. And, in the event of divorce, some of the important things you should be doing and asking during the process.   Both Kelly and Emily agree that the most important thing couples can do before and during their marriage is communicate. Whether it's about debt and how you intend to pay it off, expectations about lifestyle and living expenses, plans for retirement -- if you keep communication frequent and open, then you will feel more certainty and security about your money.   Kelly and Emily on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/frawleypollock/?sh=1c25b3d6eb04   Kelly Frawley: https://www.kasowitz.com/people/kelly-a-frawley Emily Pollock: https://www.kasowitz.com/people/all/emily-s-pollock/   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Struggling with YNAB? That's OK, you're not alone, and Jesse has a few things to look at and make sure you are truly following the Four Rules. And along the way, Jesse has a bone to pick about banks and their data export practices!   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

A first-time house shopper wrote into the show for advice on how to approach the crazy, red hot housing market we are currently in. The writer wants to buy her first home, but is unsure whether she will have enough money to put down as house prices rise at a rapid pace. Jesse reminds us that, most importantly, cash equals options, and it's never a bad thing to have more cash on hand. He advises her to become an expert on her local real estate market, and really think about why she wants to buy, and what exactly she needs from a home before taking the plunge into home ownership.   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com