The Jesse Mecham Show

The miscellaneous category, sundries, other stuff... the blackhole where you categorize all those transactions that don't fit neatly into your other categories -- this is where you and your relationship with money goes to die. Today Jesse talks about what the miscellenous categories we all have mean about our relationship with money, and how they reveal the lie we all tell ourselves: that we just know what our money is for, and the force of habit can keep us on the right track. Surprise, we don't! It's only through regular practice and engagement with our money, organized through a system, that we can answer the essential question: what is this money for?

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This week Jesse is talking about the times when money gets loud -- big changes in life that trigger you to look at your money in a new way. Transitions, new relationships, family changes, job changes... there are times in life that force you back to the drawing board, to reconsider the essential question: what does this money need to do for me now?

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When your health is good -- no aches and pains, no sniffles, no weariness -- you're just humming along. You don't think about it, but you feel great. Money can be like too. Just quietly humming along, feeling great no matter what comes along.

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Perhaps the highest form of what money can do for you is for change, that is, to facillitate growth, explore new opportunities, and help transition through different phases of life. Whether it's leaving the workforce to focus on family, moving on from a job you didn't like to pursue a new role, or taking a sabbatical to pursue a big project or journey or goal, money can help you make big changes in life, and we think that is just amazing!

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Believe it or not, money can also be... for you. To spend on you and your wants. Many people carry around the idea that their money only exists for others, and that they are somehow unworthy of spending on themselves. But part of freeing yourself from money worry is freeing yourself to spend on yourself, to show yourself that you are worthy of having something for yourself.

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Money can be for now, it can be for later, but it can also be for ease. What do you mean, ease? Simply put, when you get one month ahead on your spending -- you start living on last month's income instead of yesterday's income -- your life gets simpler. No more timing games trying to figure out when to pay which bill so that you have enough to last until the next paycheck, no more late fees when you forget to pay on time, no more overdrafts. Your bills go on autopay, you know they are covered because you've already set money aside for them last month, and now you can rest at ease and think about longer term plans for your spending and your life.

Order Jesse's new book, Never Worry About Money Again: www.neverworryaboutmoneyagain.com

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What does your money need to do? Last week, Jesse talked about the first answer to this question -- the money "for now," those non-negotiable expenses or goods that need to be paid for or bought in the immediate future. He urged you to consider what exactly what non-negotiable, and that the term encompasses fewer expenses that we think. Today, Jesse covers the second possible answer to the question -- money "for later," including bills and things that may not be non-negotiable but are nevertheless highly important, but also things which have some flexibility.

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Jesse continues discussing the new central question of the YNAB method -- what does your money need to do? -- which replaced the old commandment to give every dollar a job. There are only five ways to answer this question, but it is deceptively deep. One of those answers is "for now," that is, the money needs to be used now, for expenses that are imminent and non-negotiable. The mortgage, water and electricity, groceries (maybe)... but not necessarily all bills. Jesse warns that the "for now" category of answers is easy to get lazy with, and that simply deciding all your bills and commitments need to be paid now doesn't give you true clarity into what your money needs to do.

For instance, let's take groceries. You need food now, sure, but do you need to buy groceries right now? Maybe you have a store of food that has built up in the pantry, that you have forgotten about or are avoiding. You don't absolutely have to buy groceries if that's the case, and eating your stores offers some options with your money that you may not have identified otherwise.

Order Jesse's new book, Never Worry About Money Again: www.neverworryaboutmoneyagain.com

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Jesse ponders the question -- what is enough? What if you set the bar at physical subsistance, enough food, shelter, and clothing to be secure? If that is enough, then everything you have beyond it is extra. When you set the bar there, then everything you spend on extra takes on more meaning -- it's not stuff you have to buy, it's stuff you get to buy, and therefore is more expressive of yourself.

What does your money need to do... once you have enough?

Order Jesse's new book, Never Worry About Money Again: www.neverworryaboutmoneyagain.com

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In keeping with the theme of last week's episode and reducing your information intake, today Jesse encourages reducing your to-do lists as well. Referencing Oliver Burkeman's Four Thousand Weeks, he points out that waiting to relax and engage in leisure until after the to-do list is finished is a futile exercise -- the to-do list will never be finished, the sense of urgency to add more and do more will never relent... until you give yourself the grace to have a "human-sized" to-do list. Then relax, and slow down. In doing so, things will become clear to you in a way they never would in the ceaseless hustle and bustle.

Order Jesse's new book, Never Worry About Money Again: www.neverworryaboutmoneyagain.com

Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:

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