In today's episode, Ben and Ernie are joined by Dave from YNAB, a YNAB teacher and contributor to many YNAB articles and blogs and a master of money analogies! Dave discovered YNAB while deeply in debt and making a move across the Atlantic. He saw the wisdom and value of the YNAB method quickly, however, and steadily worked himself out of debt over an eight year period. Along the way, he learend many lessons about sustainability and resilience -- learning to balance his priorities of enjoying life now and becoming debt free, while creating a buffer for unexpected expenses so they didn't put him further in debt. Two steps forward, three steps back, as Dave says.

When the YNAB team landed on the word "spendfulness" to describe this state of alignment with your money, it instantly struck a chord for Dave. The YNAB method, which for many years was represented by four rules, always really boiled down to one rule, the first one: give every dollar a job. There was always something special about Rule One, he points out. The problem was, the rules didn't fully explain the method in and of themselves. When Dave would run workshops, "embrace your true expenses" (Rule Two) was typically followed by the quesiton: what's a true expense? After spending so much time explaining and clarifying the rules, it became clear that YNAB needed a different way to explain what made it different from traditional budgeting advice.

Dave explains why spendfulness is such an important concept, and how the Four Rules have been transformed into 5 Questions which clarify the only rule that ever mattered: giving every dollar a job.

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Starting YNAB is like starting anything else -- a new workout routine, new eating habits, learning a new skill -- you just have to jump in! Many people struggle to take the first step, however. In today's episode, Ben and Ernie discuss some of the reasons why people drag their feet starting YNAB, and how you can reframe the way you think about money to get started right now (today!) with small, easy goals.

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Happy New Year! On January 1, 2025, Ben and Ernie went live on YouTube to talk about some big changes at YNAB, and the unveiling of an important new word: spendfulness. Ben and Ernie review some of the history of YNAB and it's four rules, and how spendfulness is a whole new way of thinking about your spending.

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Some BIG changes are afoot at YNAB, and Ben and Ernie the Budget Nerds are going live on YouTube today at 1:00pm Eastern time to talk about them! Link below.

If you missed the livestream, we will post the full replay in the podcast feed shortly after it airs.

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In September 2024, YNAB invited over 150 fans to Salt Lake City to celebrate the 20th annivesary of YNAB and enjoy the camaraderie of people with a passion for the YNAB method. Ben and Ernie were there, and hosted a live episode of Budget Nerds. In this bonus episode, they chat with Teisha and Katie, two budget nerds who have some excellent YNAB wins that demonstrate their resilience and the YNAB method in action.

Teisha went from living paycheck to paycheck to finally getting ahead and paying off her student loans after years of chipping away at them with little to show for it. Katie used the spending habits she learned using YNAB to support her acting career in Los Angeles (a notoriously expensive city) with a highly variable income. She also managed to get through the stressful process of having her car stolen with the help of her YNAB memos, where she stored vital information like VIN numbers and insurance information.

If you're interested in attending a future YNAB Fan Fest, there are more events coming in 2025! Check the link below to sign up for dates in San Diego, Minneapolis, and New York City.

Get your tickets to YNAB Fan Fest 2025! Coming to San Diego, Minneapolis, and NYC. Tickets are ON SALE NOW:

YNAB.com/events

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Setbacks are a fact of life. Fortunately YNAB gives you the tools to be flexible with your spending plan. While we plan our spending based on normal months, life often has other ideas and our months often don't align perfectly to the "normal" or ideal. Some months, or even years, really don't align with our plans, and the unexpected expenses just keep piling up. In today's episode, Ben and Ernie talk about some of their financial setbacks in 2024, including tax withholding issues, major medical expenses, and a seemingly ever-increasing pet category.

Even veteran YNAB'ers have setbacks, but luckily YNAB doesn't just help you prepare for the unexpected, it teaches you to be resilient and brings calm in the storm when life decides to throw you curveballs.

Get your tickets to YNAB Fan Fest 2025! Coming to San Diego, Minneapolis, and NYC. Tickets are ON SALE NOW:

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YNAB'ers are great people -- as evidenced by the camaraderie and stories heard at the recent YNAB Fan Fest in Salt Lake City -- but let's be honest... YNAB'ers can also do some weird things with their money! It's a testament to how powerful the YNAB method is, that many people make big, lasting habit changes around their money, but it comes with some funny side effects. In today's episode, Ben and Ernie take a look at some of the sillier things that YNAB'ers do, whether it's swiping their card three times at the grocery store to avoid splitting their transactions in the YNAB app, rationing toilet paper until the first of the month, or pumping gas until the meter reads a perfect aught-aught after the decimal.

Get your tickets to YNAB Fan Fest 2025! Coming to San Diego, Minneapolis, and NYC. Tickets are ON SALE NOW:

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Today Ben and Ernie try something different: they are looking at a messy budget -- a VERY messy budget -- sight unseen and attempting to clean it up. This one is a doozy, with dozens of uncleared transactions, multiple accounts including credit cards, transfers between accounts, and even a cash account. As Ben points out early on, whenever you're dealing with a neglected budget like this, you have to start by reconciling first before you start assigning dollars and moving money between categories. So Ben and Ernie wade through each account, clearing transactions and reconciling, making sure that YNAB and the bank account balances agree. Once that is done, they can get to the fun part -- building a spending plan!

Of course, this is just a fun exercise for Ben and Ernie, and an opportunity for them to share their problem solving process in YNAB, but if your budget looks like this and you are overwhelmed, there is a MUCH easier solution! You can always make a fresh start, and work with a clean slate starting today. So don't think you have to untangle the Gordian knot to get your spending plans back in shape!

This episode leans heavily on screen sharing, so if you want to see Ernie navigate through the budget as he talks through the problems with Ben, be sure to watch the YouTube video at the link below:

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Ben and Ernie hosted a Live Q&A on the YNAB YouTube channel on Oct. 30th, 2024. If you missed it, here's the full replay! They fielded questions from YNAB'ers and discussed some brand new YNAB features.

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Ben and Ernie are going LIVE on YouTube at 1:00pm Eastern on October 30th, 2024. Come and join us! If you're tuning in after the Live show, the full replay will be posted to the podcast feed soon.

Budget Nerds on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuIUGmbCDklkDCDm-cQqv2g