You Need A Budget (ynab)

Prepping for a 50-mile hike is a lot like the monthly budget meeting. This topic is oozing metaphors.

Kind of hesitant to share this, because up until now I haven't made it public. But what the heck. The key for me paying my home off before I turned 30 was incessant focus, and long hair.

Will has been using YNAB for about five months and, since he only had nice things to say about it, I thought he made a great success story ;)

More things change, the more they stay the same. Banks want you to borrow money--badly. And there are some interesting developments in the Personal Finance Management (PFM) space to help you do just that. Here's a heads up.

What's the harm in starting over? What are some good reasons to hit the 'reset' button, and when should you keep on truckin'?

What does it mean to fail at budgeting? It, frankly, doesn't mean much of anything.

A rambling discussion of accounts, categories, cash, and just trying to do everything you can to simplify your budget process, while still deriving all of the benefit it provides.

When backpacking, you don't eat all of your food the first day. When you receive a paycheck, you don't spend all of your money the first day either. Also, handling a wildly variable income.

This church out of Idaho has been using YNAB as part of their bible study groups -- for SIX YEARS. I have a long conversation with them about how it's helped them, what they'd like to see improved, and tacos.

When it rains, it pours, right? Sometimes that's our own doing (and demise). Financially speaking, of course.

If you're not operating in reality, you don't know what you want. If you don't knowo what you want, you won't get it.

Can YNAB serve your business just as well? Well, YNAB's serving YNAB well.

Your budget has a boiling point. Dial it back a few notches so you can stick to your budget for the long haul.

I talk with Mason (who created our podcast bump music)  about how his finances are now rockin' with YNAB.

Five minutes trying to convince you that adjusting your budget is not only correct, it's a best practice.

Are you too poor to budget? Absolutely not!

The debt snowball is tried and true, but what's the debt snowflake? It's more effective than it sounds :)

Automation is a two-edged sword. Used wisely, it will revolutionize your finances. Used poorly, it will do nothing for you (it may even hurt you, in a financial way).

Taxes are your life's single biggest expense. Cozy up with the tax code and minimize as if your financial life depended on it!

A YNAB success story interview with Brian from Portland. We wax philosophical about present you, and future you (Rules One & Two), and Brian talks about his transition from Quicken.