The Jesse Mecham Show

Jesse chats with Laura Vanderkam and Sarah Hart-Unger, two time management experts and the hosts of the Best of Both Worlds Podcast, a show all about balancing busy lives and careers.  Sarah is a pediatric endocrinologist while Laura is a writer (and author of I Know How She Does It), and both of them are also busy mothers. While they approach the challenges of time management with different strategies, they are both experts in making things fit in a busy life without getting burned out.   Sarah and Laura point out that the things you spend your time on -- the things you say yes or no to -- are ultimately a reflection of your values. If something doesn't fit in your priorities, you simply won't do it. Sounds familiar, eh? Money, or rather the things you spend money on, is also a reflection of your values, as Jesse has argued on previous shows. So, the first step in wrangling your time management problem is to take a hard look at the things you value and see if the things you are spending your time on actually align with those values.   Secondly, Laura reminds us that everyone has the same amount of time in a week to get things done, to relax, to pursue hobbies. 168 hours every week, in fact. Unlike money, this resource is equally distributed to all, and we cannot change the amount of time we have. So, being mindful of how you spend your weeks not in days, but in hours, can be a useful exercise. Do you have a hobby that you wished you spent more time on? A stack of books you wish you could finally read? Start tracking your time, and you might be surprised to find a spare hour or two that you were previously wasting on mindless tasks (or social media). Like spare change, these hours can slip between the cushions of the weekdays and weekends.   Best of Both Worlds Podcast https://theshubox.com/best-of-both-worlds   Laura Vanderkam https://lauravanderkam.com   Best Laid Plans Podcast with Sarah Hart-Unger https://theshubox.com/best-laid-plans-podcast     Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Whether it's because of changing careers, preparing for a child, or some other life event, you and your partner may need to downsize from two incomes to one. This has a major impact to your budget! But, with some planning, you can make a smooth transition. The easiest way, Jesse says, is to live on a single income before actually losing the second income. With a little help from YNAB, you can practice this and ensure that when the second income goes away, you know how to make your dollars stretch without stress.   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

New York Times columnist and bestselling author Ron Lieber joins the podcast for a frank discussion about the ever rising cost of college and whether it's even a good idea for young people today. Evaluating the true cost of college, as it turns out, is essentially a budgeting exercise. There's the sticker price for tuition and room and board, but the real analysis lies in examining the hidden costs, as well as the hidden benefits. Ron Lieber helps us break those down and demystify the college problem.   Ron Lieber https://ronlieber.com   The Price You Pay for College https://ronlieber.com/books/the-price-you-pay-for-college/     Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Delving into the challenges of timing a home purchase amidst a competitive market. Discussing the differences between buying as an investment or a home. Emphasizing the importance of aligning purchase decisions with personal goals and budget constraints

What does budgeting have to do with nutrition? A lot, actually, explains Kali Langevin, a nutritionist and Registered Dietitian who has spent 16 years working with athletes in United States Soccer Federation. Kali is also a long time YNAB user, and joins the podcast to explain how the Four Rules can be applied to nutrition. Much like Jesse encourages people to be mindful of their spending habits -- giving dollars jobs that accomplish the things that you value -- Kali encourages people to be mindful of their eating habits, being intentional with meal times and the rituals around food.   Kali on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kalilangevin   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

This week's Money Story comes from the vivacious Diania Merriam, founder of the EconoMe Conference which brings together speakers in the FIRE movement (Financial Independence, Retire Early). After finding herself working for a decent salary in NYC but falling deeper into debt, Diania decided to pull her head out of the financial sand and figure out where her finances stood. Around the same time, a friend introduced her to the Mr. Money Mustache blog and the concept of FIRE.   Armed with these tools, she started cutting her expenses and aggressively paying off debt. Eventually, Diania managed to stash away 60% of her income, and pay off $30k of debt. Ever the life of the party, Diania attributes part of her success to realizing that her happiness lies in connecting with friends and shared experiences, not necessarily in spending money in exclusive clubs. After paying off her debt, she was also able to pursue her dream of hiking the Camino de Santiago in Spain.   Today Diania has reached CoastFI, having already saved enough to retire in the future at the standard age of 65 but still working, albeit at a more relaxed pace. Financial independence has allowed her to pursue more fulfilling work (like the EconoMe Conference) and engage in new adventures. This, she explains, is the real American Dream.   Optimal Finance Daily Podcast: https://oldpodcast.com/optimal-finance-daily-podcast/ EconoMe Conference: https://economeconference.com    

Jesse chats with Geoff Woods, President of ProduKtive, the training company behind the bestselling book The ONE Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. After leaving a high-stress and ultimately unfulfilling job in medical device sales, Geoff set out to surround himself with successful mentors. Eventually Geoff found Gary Keller and Jay Papasan, and immersed himself in their philosophy of the "one thing," that is, the concept of relentlessly pursuing the single most impactful thing you can do in your day, and arranging your schedule to accomplish that thing first.   Geoff describes the one thing as a stack of dominoes. Accomplishing the one thing you can do first -- "can" is the operative word here, this task must be small and easily achievable today -- topples the first domino in the chain, which topples the next, and the next, and so forth. Most people never do the work to identify this one thing, however, and get stuck spending lots of time toppling individual dominoes without ever setting off this chain reaction.   The connection to budgeting is clear. Before you give every dollar a job, you need to know what it is your budget needs to do for you -- what you value, what you are trying to optimize for. Once you've identified this, you can assign your dollars jobs.   The ONE Thing Podcast: https://www.the1thing.com/podcasts/ The ONE Thing book: https://www.amazon.com/ONE-Thing-Surprisingly-Extraordinary-Results-ebook/dp/B00C1BHQXK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3HGDLQ2QU6QJP&dchild=1&keywords=the+one+thing+keller&qid=1615904686&sprefix=the+one+thing+ke%2Caps%2C245&sr=8-1   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com  

Jesse attempts to give some advice on purchasing a car... before admitting that he has no advice to give! Well, maybe a bit of advice. Jesse reminds us that optimizing your budget involves optimizing for YOUR needs and wants. Jesse chooses to lease a Tesla to drive around in, because he wanted to have as little headaches with car maintenance as possible. That's important to him today, but ten years ago his needs and wants were totally different, and thus the things he chose to optimize his budget for were too.   So this episode is not about how to buy the most cost-effective used car, or how to get a good deal on a new car, or anything like that. It's about examining your own needs and shaping your budget around them.   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Bestselling author Ian Morgan Cron introduces the Enneagram, a personality typing system which identifies nine different personality types, their motivations, strengths, and weaknesses. As Ian explains, understanding your enneagram can help you better understand your motivations for why you want to do the things you do, which has direct implications in budgeting. Understanding the motivations and perspectives of others, especially those with polar differences in personality, can help you mitigate conflict and reach compromise in your family relationships and in the workplace.   Ian Morgan Cron is a psychotherapist, Episcopal priest, and an accomplished author. His book The Road Back to You champions the Enneagram for people that seek to better "know thyself."   https://ianmorgancron.com

Jesse reminds us that the ideal budget... is the budget which helps you achieve your goals and values. And those goals and values can, and will, change over time!   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com