Getting a month ahead with your money is a milestone for many YNAB'ers. Being a "month ahead" means that when the first of the month hits, all your bills and expenses for that new month are already paid for -- the money for them is sitting in your bank account, and assigned to the respective categories in YNAB, waiting to cover those costs. And boy does it feel good! In today's episode, Ben and Ernie share stories from YNAB'ers who have achieved that milestone of being a month ahead, and how it ...
Jul 10, 2024•44 min•Ep. 94
Today Ben and Ernie are joined by returning guest and YNAB Lead Educator, Erin Lowell, who posed the idea of thinking bigger with your money. Many people come to YNAB seeking a way to escape the paycheck to paycheck cycle, pay down debt, build an emergency fund, and reduce their stress and anxiety around money. These are wonderful goals! However Erin reminds us that there are things you can do with your money beyond paying the bills, and she wants you to experience those things. Paying bills and...
Jun 26, 2024•36 min•Ep. 93
It's a common story: a person finds YNAB and starts using the software, only realize months (sometimes years) down the road that they weren't actually following the YNAB method . They were just tracking expenses using YNAB's software. Tracking expenses is not a bad thing -- tracking brings awareness of your spending habits and where your money and energy is going -- but the magic of YNAB is in the method, encapsulated in the Four Rules: Give every dollar a job Embrace your true expenses Roll wit...
Jun 12, 2024•37 min•Ep. 92
Ben and Ernie chat with Jeremy Schneider, an entrepreneur turned personal finance teacher who aims to demystify the confusing world of investing with simple, unbiased information. In his early 20's, Jeremy founded an internet startup and ran it for 12 years, never taking home more than $36k/year -- while living in San Diego, CA! This experience required him to get surgical with his spending, and during this time he became an avid YNAB'er (using the old YNAB 4 software). At the age of 34, Jeremy ...
May 29, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 91
Ben and Ernie open their inboxes for another mega round of YNAB wins -- stories from YNAB users about positive outcomes, reduced stress, and newfound confidence with their money. In today's mega episode, they have broken up the wins into several themes: Partner wins Gaining control Getting a month ahead Paying down debt Clarity Stress reduction Building confidence Simplifying Priorities Saving Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie! budgetnerds@ynab.com Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube: https://w...
May 15, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 90
YNAB is well known for the Four Rules, or what many YNAB'ers are now calling the Four Habits, which describe the process of gaining control of your money and learning to spend with joy rather than shame or regret. The Four Rules are: Give every dollar a job Embrace your true expenses Roll with the punches Age your money In today's episode, Ben and Ernie discuss a concept that is implicit in the rules, but perhaps should be it's own rule -- find the money first! Findng the money first means that ...
May 01, 2024•36 min•Ep. 89
In today's episode, Ben shares a story about swimming at the YMCA. One of Ben's favorite forms of exercise is swimming laps at his local YMCA, and while it's a great solitary form of exercise, sometimes you can't help but notice how your pace compares to others in the pool. One day Ben started swimming laps only to notice an older lady absolutely hauling in another lane. Which was... discouraging, to say the least. However, as she was exiting the pool Ben noticed she was wearing swim fins, and h...
Apr 17, 2024•36 min•Ep. 88
Ben and Ernie respond to a recent survey reported by Jill Schlesinger on CBS Morning about American's 2024 financial resolutions. The top responses: save more money (41%), pay down debt (38%), and spend less (30%). BORING! Ben rants about why "spending less money" is not a good financial plan, and Ernie highlights the importance of putting a why behind goals like paying down debt. There's nothing wrong with paying down debt, of course, but to be successful, and to to truly practice the YNAB habi...
Apr 03, 2024•45 min•Ep. 87
In today's episode, Ben and Ernie discuss what to do with cold, hard cash money. For many YNAB'ers debit and credit card spending fits nicely into the YNAB paradigm, since YNAB can interface directly with financial institutions and pull online banking data. Cash transactions, on the other hand, can create a stumbling block since they exist outside the easily trackable, traceable online banking system. Some decide to just not track cash at all. Cash is money, however, and it probably should be pa...
Mar 20, 2024•40 min•Ep. 86
The short answer is yes. But why? Ben and Ernie dig into the reasons why giving every dollar a job is essential to creating a stress-free life around money. As Ben explains, the point of YNAB is to ruthlessly root out self-delusion, and be honest about both what you want your money to do for you and what tradeoffs you will have to make to accomplish that. When you leave money in the Ready to Assign category, you are putting off making decsions about tradeoffs, and thus obfuscating the real purpo...
Mar 06, 2024•43 min•Ep. 85
Rule Two of YNAB's Four Rules is "embrace your true expenses." True expenses are expenses that may not be regular, but are a normal part of life: new tires, HVAC repairs, emergency doctor visits. Sometimes they are expected -- every car and house will need repairs eventually -- and sometimes they are unexpected, like a trip to the emergency room. All the same, we usually end up cursing them when we have to pay up! In today's episode, Ben and Ernie invite you to change your thinking about true ex...
Feb 21, 2024•43 min•Ep. 84
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 healt...
Feb 07, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 83
Behind every rule, there's a habit. In today's episode, Ben and Ernie explore YNAB's Four Rules, but in the context of the habits they build. After all, budgeting well is not so much about following (or breaking) hard rules, but rather consistently following certain habits, to help you plan and make better tradeoffs with your money. Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie! budgetnerds@ynab.com Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuIUGmbCDklkDCDm-cQqv2g...
Jan 24, 2024•47 min•Ep. 82
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 class...
Jan 10, 2024•33 min•Ep. 81
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 Erni...
Dec 27, 2023•40 min•Ep. 80
Ben and Ernie went live on YouTube on November 29, 2023 to answer questions, share their budgets, and nerd out about YNAB. This bonus episode is a rebroadcast of the YouTube live, which you can find by following the link to the YouTube channel below. Link to Q&A on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/live/BR8-jcK-9xA?si=Ied1f-fgnHTjF9G8 Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie! budgetnerds@ynab.com Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuIUGmbCDklkDCDm-cQqv2g...
Dec 01, 2023•1 hr 7 min
Set your reminders, Ben are Ernie are going live on the YouTube channel today at 3:00pm EST. They'll be answering your questions and getting nerdy about finances, so join in! If you are tuning in after the Q&A, you can still watch the replay -- just go to the Budget Nerds YouTube channel in the link below. If you want to send them a question to answer during the Q&A, send it via email here! budgetnerds@ynab.com Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuIUGmbCDklk...
Nov 29, 2023•2 min•Ep. 79
Everyone spends on impulse from time to time, even the most staunch adherents to frugality. According to a new study funded by YNAB, 94% of Americans admit to impulse spending. It's common nowadays to "treat yo'self" after a hard day, for instance. But is impulse spending a bad thing? Not necessarily! If your spending is aligned with your values and priorities, then spending should be fun. It should bring you joy. And with a good spending plan, it doesn't have to wreck your finances either! Ben ...
Nov 15, 2023•38 min•Ep. 78
The credit card float, as it has been termed, is the situation in which a person is reliant on the month-long grace period of the credit card to meet their obligations. In other words, they spend money now with a credit card, which they pay off later when their paycheck comes in. A person in this situation may pay off their card in full each month and never pay interest! But the fact remains that, if they are on the float, they are in debt -- they do not have the cash to handle their current exp...
Nov 01, 2023•40 min•Ep. 77
As the principal budget nerds at YNAB, Ben and Ernie have seen their fair share of elegant budgets, but the one featured in today's episode might take the cake for the most refined of all time! Long time YNAB'er and bona fide budget nerd Lee Bond joins the podcast to discuss his history of using YNAB, his category structures, his unique use of "transfers," and his various adventures trying to push the boundaries and break YNAB. Lee has thought through every category and transaction with precisio...
Oct 18, 2023•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 76
Forecasting is kind of a dirty word at YNAB, because the Four Rule are all about budgeting the dollars you have now, and not counting on future dollars that haven't arrived yet. However, it's still useful to plan for future expenses , and understand how the timing of those expenses will affect how much money you need to set aside each month to cover them when they come due. Expense timing can be complex, too -- some things hit weekly, biweekly, monthly, others hit at odd intervals like every 3 w...
Oct 04, 2023•57 min•Ep. 75
Ben and Ernie share insightful comments from a recent conversation in the YNAB Fans Group on Facebook in which one YNAB'er asked: what's one benefit to using YNAB that surprised you? YNAB is of course all about getting your money straight, but the reality is that when you get your money right, other aspects of life tend to follow suit. After all, getting your money right means alinging your spending with your values. Whether it's improved friendships and marriages, reduced stress and worry, disc...
Sep 20, 2023•38 min•Ep. 74
YNAB is all about giving dollars a job, but what about your time? Ben and Ernie poke at the edges of common budgeting practices in YNAB to determine what is really necessary, and what can be thrown out in the name of efficiency and time management. It's a fun exercise -- and often insightful -- to take practices or "rules" that you take for granted and tear them down to see how essential they are to the task of budgeting. Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie! budgetnerds@ynab.com Follow Budge...
Sep 06, 2023•50 min•Ep. 73
Long time YNAB'er and Lead Educator at YNAB, Erin Lowell, shares her experience paying off her mortgage using YNAB principles. Mortgage Professor loan calculator http://www.mtgprofessor.com/ext/home2.aspx Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie! budgetnerds@ynab.com Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuIUGmbCDklkDCDm-cQqv2g...
Aug 23, 2023•43 min•Ep. 72
Ben and Ernie interview fellow budget nerd and YNAB power user Gabi Bradley. Gabi is a busy mom balancing work, family, and changing financial obligations (including daycare!). She shares her unique category structure, which she assembled using various strategies outlined on Heard It from Hannah and Budget Nerds, and how her family uses the budget to handle their ever-changing financial needs. Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie! budgetnerds@ynab.com Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube: https://w...
Aug 09, 2023•53 min•Ep. 71
Ben and Ernie discuss the exciting possibilities of a powerful new feature in YNAB called "Focused Views." Focused Views allow you to see a subset of your categories depending on what you want to learn, analyze, or review. Sometimes you just want to drill down on a particular piece of your budget to understand what's going on with your money -- like consistently underfunded or overfunded categories. Or maybe you want to share the most important parts of the budget with your parnter without boggi...
Jul 26, 2023•36 min•Ep. 70
Ben and Ernie share their different strategies for applying Rule Four -- aging your money -- and specifically budgeting for the month ahead. Ben budgets for the next month in real time, allocating paychecks to categories in the next month on the calendar. Ernie, on the other hand, uses a holding category to park dollars that will be applied to the next month, and waits until the beginning of the month to actually allocate thoses dollars. They debate the pros and cons to each approach, and discus...
Jul 12, 2023•44 min•Ep. 69
Ben and Ernie discuss YNAB's Four Rules, and whether they can be applied to other areas of life outside the budget. As it turns out, yes they can! Whether it's Ernie's favorite pasttime (lawncare) or Ben's devotion to good systems, the Four Rules tap into some universal principles of effective resource management that can be applied to a wide range of things in life. Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie! budgetnerds@ynab.com Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuI...
Jun 28, 2023•43 min•Ep. 68
Ben and Ernie return to their nerdy roots and talk memos today, all about that little field in the transactions next to the category and balance. Turns out, the memo field can be used in many clever and creative ways to add more utility and depth to your budget, whether it's tracking important purchase information such as serial numbers, or tracking how many times you bought gifts or spent time with friends and family. Using memos can help your budget tell a more complete story of how you spend ...
Jun 14, 2023•45 min•Ep. 67
YNAB is not like other budgeting methods. Rule Four is "age your money" and it encourages folks to spend last month's earnings on this month's expenses, thereby breaking the paycheck to paycheck cycle in which so many find themselves stuck. Many YNAB'ers work diligently toward getting a month ahead of their expenses, budgeting the dollars they currently have in the bank account for expenses due in the next calendar month. But what about emergency funds? Many budgeting methods encourage the idea ...
May 31, 2023•38 min•Ep. 66
