Jesse answers a listener-submitted question. If you've paid off your debt, and you have an emergency fund, should you start investing in the stock market? If your goal is to build wealth -- and there are many good reasons to -- then investing in the stock market is a great way to do that.   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Did you know YNAB is on Tik Tok? Yep, thanks to YNAB team member Sarah Schweisthal, You Need A Budget has been lighting up Tik Tok "stitches" with budgeting advice for the yoots. Sarah talks about her work sharing the Four Rules on Tik Tok, as well as her own budgeting journey going from being deeply in debt to traveling full-time in a travel trailer.   Follow YNAB (and Sarah) on Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@youneedabudget?lang=en   Take the 34-day challenge: https://www.youneedabudget.com/34dayreset/

It's been hot for years, and has recently become white hot. Cryptocurrencies have the potential to change money and finance in a profound way, but does that make it a good investment, or mere speculation? How would you invest in crypto anyway? Jesse offers his thoughts on this incredible 21st century innovation.   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse speaks with renowned financial journalist William Green about his new book -- Richer, Wiser, Happier: How the World's Greatest Investors Win in Markets and Life -- in which Green interviewed numerous billionaires, fund managers, and legendary investors about their investing wisdom, mindset, and even philosophy. Even if you are just a passive index investor who does not aspire to purchase individual securities, the words of these accomplished investors contain much wisdom.   Richer, Wiser, Happier: How the World's Greatest Investors Win in Markets and Life by William Green https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1501164856?ie=UTF8&tag=thewaspos09-20&camp=1789&linkCode=xm2&creativeASIN=1501164856     Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

School is back in session! And today, Jesse and Matthew Amster-Burton are discussing everything you need to do to get started investing for retirement. They break down the different types of  investment accounts, mutual funds and index funds, bonds, and a few simple, stress-free strategies for investing.   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse chats with Dustin Heiner, a real estate investor who quit his job five years ago after building a passive income stream sufficient enough to live on. Dustin received a wake up call several years ago when he was laid off from what he thought was a stable government job when his department lost funding. Although he was able to find a new position in a different department, he vowed to never be in that position again, so he put his energy into building a sustainable business out of real estate.   Dustin argues that most people have real estate investing backwards -- they look for good properties, buy one, then try to figure out how to make a business out of it. He works the opposite way, building systems and an operating model for the business -- how he will find tenants, how he will contract with property managers, how he will finance the property purchase, etc -- before buying a single property. Once the business is worked out, he can buy as many properties as he likes and slot them into his inventory. At the end of the day, the property is not the business, he says, it's inventory for the business!   Dustin has started a website and coaching service to help others learn to invest in real estate and build passive income streams. You can find him at: https://www.masterpassiveincome.com     Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

School is in session! Jesse teamed up with Matthew Amster-Burton (who you have heard on the Behind the Scenes series), a YNAB team member and former financial advisor, to create a short series demystifying the world of investing. For the first day of class, they cover some of the basic investing terms you will encounter.   YNAB is all about helping you save more money, but eventually some of that money has to go to work for you and earn a return. The return that your saved money can earn over time makes a huge difference in how much money you have in retirement. Armed with a little knowledge, you can start investing in your future you!   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

It's time to play a little game. Jesse and a couple YNAB team members gather to play "you might be a budget nerd if...." See if you can call yourself an official budget nerd!   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Do you pay off debt first, or invest for retirement while paying it off slower? Or do you build an emergency fund first? How much? There are a number of tradeoffs when it comes to paying off debt, saving, and investing, and Jesse reminds us that there is no prescription! Everyone's budget is personal, and will depend on their goals, values, and emotional response to the budgeting process.   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

With the Baby Boomer generation rapidly aging into retirement, more and more Generation X and older Millennials face some tough financial questions: how do you financial support parents that need medical care, or long-term assistance, but cannot afford it? Should you support kids after college by allowing them to live at home while they get their financial feet under them? Should you save for your own retirement first, or help your parents/kids first?   Jennifer Owens calls this conundrum the "sandwich generation," people facing financial pressure from supporting both parents and children at the same time. While she does not have any hard and fast answers to these questions -- it's a complex problem, with many factors to consider -- she does believe that talking about the problem and sharing the challenges helps people know they aren't alone.   Jennifer has written extensively about the sandwich generation, and she is also working with a new app called Firstly which helps families manage supporting their children and parents as they navigate different stages of life.   https://firstly.com/about-firstly/ https://firstly.com/articles/how-in-the-world-did-i-end-up-in-the-sandwich-generation/     Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com