You Need A Budget (ynab)

In Part 2 of the Why I Hate Debt miniseries, Jesse explains why debt is a non-negotiable for him, and why is should be for you too.   At 22 years old, trying to finish his Masters degree and expecting his first child, Jesse found himself caught between two non-negotiables: 1.) Living without debt, and 2.) Allowing his wife to quit work to focus on raising their child. The problem? They didn’t have enough money to last until Jesse started working his new job after graduation, even living a very frugal existence.   At this point, it would have been so easy to simply sign for a student loan to cover the shortfall. It was only about $7,000. Other students around him were borrowing far more. The interest rates were low, the payback period would be short… debt was the easy way out.   But choosing to borrow would have blinded Jesse to the possibility of another solution, another way to make up the shortfall. The constraints of his non-negotiables led him to start selling his budgeting spreadsheet, which eventually t

Jesse hates debt, and you should too. Debt service constricts our cash flow, limits out ability to do other things like savings and investing, and generally introduces more stress into our lives. In this first part of a mini-series on debt, Jesse makes a case for living completely debt-free.   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com  

Some of you may be thinking, YNAB sounds great, but what if I don't get a regular paycheck? How am I supposed to budget with that? Well, first off, you definitely need a budget! Planning to fund your expenses in future months becomes more critical the more variable your income is.   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse is thinking about launching a separate podcast to discuss small business, internet marketing, and how you can use YNAB to manage your business cash flow, and he wants to know what you think!   Would you be interested in a business-focused podcast? What kind of topics would you like to hear about?   Email Jesse at podcast@youneedabudget.com and share your thoughts!   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse asks the most important question about your reasons for getting out of debt, saving money, and achieving your financial goals. Why?   Why do you do it? What's the reason behind the goals? If you could write a mission statement for your life, what would it say? Answering the simple question "Why?" might be the most important thing you do after you complete the blocking and tackling of paying off debt and building an emergency fund.   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

"FI" is an acronym that has steadily grown in popularity over the last decade, though the concept is much older than that. It stands for financial independence -- some people call it early retirement (the longer acronym FIRE stands for financial independence, retire early) -- but the idea is simple. Live below your means, drastically increase your savings rate and accumulate enough wealth to "retire" or perhaps better said, until you can do what you want to do.   Time and savings rate are the key components of financial independence. What if you could save half of everything you make? What if you started doing that from the beginning? Jesse shares some lessons he's trying to instill in his kids as they take their first steps toward financial independence.   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

It's common to set milestones for paying down debt. They're usually big, round numbers like $500, $1k, $5k, $10k. At the end of the day though, the goals are arbitrary. It's just a number, a stepping stone, toward the greater goal.   So if the day to day grind of fiscal responsibility is getting to you, change your milestones! Maybe it's $749, or $362.54. It's all arbitrary, right? Have fun with the game, and make it work for you. Set a new milestone -- whatever you like -- and celebrate when you reach that new number.   Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

How do you order your categories? What's on top? What's on bottom? And how did you decide that?   Categories are easy to order once you understand your priorities. Rent, utilities, food -- these are non-negotiable. You can and should, however, drill down into the details of each category and ask yourself whether you could live without some of the expenses in that category. You need utilities to live, clearly, but if pushed, what would you keep and what would you cut? Could you live without internet if you had to?   Once you understand which categories sit above the line (necessities) and which sit below the line, then you can total up how much you spend on "below the line" items. Then ask yourself: do you want any of this money to go to above the line items?   Try this exercise to clarify your budget and see whether your budget is in line with your priorities.     Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Why do we become desensitized to the upticks in price of just about everything?     Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

"We could spend less if we wanted to."     Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

New feature alert: two factor authentication     Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Everyone is getting into the lending money game. Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse discusses payroll advance apps.     Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse discusses payroll advances in relation to age of money.     Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse goes back to basics and breaks down YNAB's Rule Four: Age Your Money     Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse goes back to basics and breaks down YNAB's Rule Three: Roll With The Punches     Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse goes back to basics and breaks down YNAB's Rule Two: Embrace Your True Expenses Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

Jesse goes back to basics and breaks down YNAB's Rule One: Give Every Dollar A Job. Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

How do we curb the immediacy bias with DIY?     Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com

How many dollars are you sending to your retirement fund? Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at www.youneedabudget.com