Budget Nerds

Ben and Ernie discuss the importance of setting meaningful financial goals beyond saving and paying down debt. They emphasize the need to have a clear 'why' behind goals, sharing inspiring stories of unique goals like building a college endowment and traveling in a custom bus. Listeners are encouraged to align their financial decisions with their values and priorities to find fulfillment.

Ben and Ernie discuss managing cash in YNAB, comparing cash categories and accounts. They explore fungibility for simplified money management. Debate over using pennies, cash vs. credit cards, and reconciling cash transactions. Listener shares success with appliance repair/replacement category.

Explore the importance of giving every dollar a job in budgeting to avoid self-delusion and make clear financial decisions. Understand why leaving money unassigned can obscure goals and create false security. Learn how YNAB's Four Rules help prioritize spending and uncover personal values. Discover the psychology behind setting financial goals and join live discussions for more insights. Celebrate financial wins and the security of budgeting every dollar with the hosts.

The podcast discusses embracing true expenses, including unexpected costs as opportunities for growth. It highlights prioritizing family safety and health expenses, managing unexpected costs without incurring new debt, and exploring the importance of having a will for peace of mind.

Ben and Ernie invite Kath Younger, Registered Dietitian and popular nutrition and wellness blogger, onto the show to discuss how her health journey led her to seek financial health and wellness. Kath started her blog katheats.com in 2007 to record her experiences exploring healthy foods and healthier eating habits, and has now expanded to cover natural beauty products as well as lifestyle topics like fitness and motherhood. In 2016, Kath began using YNAB and started improving her financial health. Today she is a bona fide budget nerd!   In today's episode Kath breaks down her financial plan in detail, including her groups and categories (the structure of which was inspired by Ramit Sethi), how she manages checking and savings accounts, how she and her husband share spending and planning responsibilities, and much more!   You can follow Kath at the links below: Blog: https://www.katheats.com/ Kath's YNAB categories: https://www.katheats.com/budget Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katheats/   Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie! budgetnerds@ynab.com   Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuIUGmbCDklkDCDm-cQqv2g

The podcast explores the habits behind YNAB's Four Rules, focusing on giving every dollar a job, adjusting budgeting amounts after life changes, embracing true expenses, developing good financial habits, aging money, and reframing budget rules as positive habits.

Through 80 episodes (and counting!), passionate YNAB'ers have been sharing their personal finance wins, big and small, with Ben and Ernie. Whether it's paying off debt, handling an emergency expense, or simply feeling more relaxed and at peace about money, we cherish each win and love to put a spotlight on them all. In today's episode, Ben and Ernie catch up on their backlog of YNAB wins with a mega episode of stories from YNAB'ers across the globe and from all walks of life.   Ben and Ernie classified today's wins into five categories, including: Clarity Giving Priorities Peace of mind Options   Here's to many more YNAB wins in 2024. Happy New Year!   Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie! budgetnerds@ynab.com   Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuIUGmbCDklkDCDm-cQqv2g

What if... saving money wasn't actually a thing? Crazy, right?! Well, if you subscribe to YNAB's philosophy -- the Four Rules -- then money is properly understand as a spending tool. The whole point of money, and your budget, is to plan how to spend your money. Savings is really just money that you plan to spend later, whether it's three days later at the grocery, three months later for an oil change you know you need to get, or thirty years later when you retire from the workforce!   Ben and Ernie explore this idea, prompted by a blog post Ben wrote back in September. Saving money is a bummer for a lot of people, and perhaps the reason is because they were thinking about it all wrong!   There's No Such Thing as Saving Money (Blog Post) by Ben Barlowe: https://www.ynab.com/blog/no-such-thing-as-savings     Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie! budgetnerds@ynab.com   Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuIUGmbCDklkDCDm-cQqv2g

The hosts answer viewer questions, share budget tips, debate the benefits of starting fresh with a new budget, discuss personal spending in couples, explore loan payoff methods and demonstrate a loan planner, cover mortgages and investment tracking, talk about funny category names, and provide tips for overcoming budgeting momentum.

Join the hosts in a live Q&A session on YouTube regarding finances and budgeting. Submit your questions and watch the replay if you miss it