The Jesse Mecham Show

Jesse shares a story about how one little donut that he passed by every day on his way to class as a struggling college student inspired him to develop a method for managing money that transformed his life, and millions of others by creating YNAB.

Pre-order Jesse's new book now! www.neverworryaboutmoneyagain.com

Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:

askjesse@ynab.com

Follow YNAB on social media:

Facebook: @ynabofficial

I...

Americans have done it again, setting a record $1.25 trillion in credit card debt as of Q1 2026. There was a time in not too distant history, however, when credit card debt went down, and bankers were afraid, at least for a little bit.

Getting good at money doesn't have to be hard, and money doesn't have to be a constant source of stress and anxiety. You just have to answer one simple question.

Pre-order Jesse's new book now! www...

For those in relationships, getting good at money is not just a gift to yourself, it's a gift to you and your partner. Getting good at money means spending well, and spending well for a couple means putting more of yourselves out into the world via your dollars. Spending well leads to alignment, both of you on the same page regarding what you want your money to do for you and what you want your future to look like.

Getting good at...

Over the last several weeks Jesse has laid out some of the hallmarks of going from being bad at money (which is, frankly, how most of us start out) to good at money, including the benefits of being good at money -- less stress and anxiety, enjoying life more, engaging with life more. All these wins compound over time, and eventually you can become great with money, which means you can start bending the world to your will like ...

That's right, Jesse has a new book out and it's available for pre-order now. After twenty years of running YNAB and a decade plus of podcasts, Fan Fests, speaking engagements, and more, Jesse has distilled his thinking about money into his best work: Never Worry About Money Again.

Getting good at money doesn't have to be hard, and money doesn't have to be a constant source of stress and anxiety. You just have to answer one simple ...

When you're no longer stressed about money, you begin to enjoy the things you like guilt-free. Whether it's a treat or a tool or an experience you've always wanted, getting good at money frees you up to pursue happiness in life and express more of yourself in the world. In short, it's makes you more... you!

How do you get good with money? YNAB is a great place to start! Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at ynab.com/jesse

W...

When you're bad at money, it only brings you worry. Get good at it, however, and it's empowering. Like Thanos' gauntlet.

How do you get good with money? YNAB is a great place to start! Sign up for a free 34-day trial of YNAB at ynab.com/jesse

Watch The Jesse Mecham Show on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@jessemechamshow

Got a question for Jesse? Send him an email:

askjesse@ynab.com

Follow YNAB on social media:

Facebook: @yna...

Reality can be a scary thing. When we're bad with money (and most of us start that way), money feels, well... we'd rather just not look. Maybe if we don't look, that thing we're worrying about -- not having enough for looming bills, going into debt -- well maybe it will just go away. But we don't have to live in fear. Getting good with money means that you can face reality, and not only face it but embrace it. Make decisions with c...

Jesse offers a thought experiment (or a real experiment if you choose to actually do it, which you should!): write a letter to your past self -- you get to decide how long ago -- teaching him or her about money. Tell them about the things you've learned, some of the mistakes you've made, and what kinds of things they have to look forward to as they learn to get good with money. Jesse actually did write a letter to his past self, an...

Jesse recalls his experience as a young missionary in Germany struggling to learn the language. Every day he would take notes of words or phrases he didn't know, and every evening he would study those words. Then one day, he had a conversation with a man in Stuttgart, and he answered completely in German, without thinking or translating. It just clicked.

Money is a skill, like language, and it can just click too. But often that co...

At YNAB we often talk about how getting good with money can help you reduce stress, improve your confidence, improve your relationships, and generally bring you a sense of peace and security -- which is true! There are also some hard mathematical advantages to getting good with money. Jesse points out how getting good with money, learning to set money aside for future expenses can net you great deals. In today's age of ubiquitous c...

For a lot of people, money carries a lot of negative connotations and emotional baggage. But when you ask kids about money, before they have had a chance to develop negative associations with it, you can hear a different story. Jesse asked his kids what they thought about money and shares some of their answers. He also discusses how the Mecham family has introduced the concept of money to their kids and helped guide them to develop...

It's an interesting question, isn't it? Imagine for a second... your credit cards are paid off, you have cash in the bank, your bills are on autopay and you don't even know when they will hit because you already have the money in your account. In fact, you get to the first day of the month and all your bills for that month are already paid for. What would this do to your stress? Your relationships with your friends and family? How ...

Remember those Snickers commercials about people acting out because they were "hangry?" We could say the same thing happens to people who are stressed about money. Maybe you're shorter with your kids, maybe you feel pressure to work more hours, to move faster, maybe you argue with your spouse more -- however your money stress manifests, it still... manifests.

There's another way. You can learn to become good with money, to gain co...

Money is the source of many relationship conflicts. It's the number one reason cited for divorce, for one. Money can, frankly, destroy relationships, but it doesn't have to. You can claim ownership of your money, and rid yourself of money stress -- and by extension, reduce your relationships stress too.

Jesse urges you to embrace curiosity — curiosity about what you can do and create with your money. You can incorporate a vi...

One of the interesting effects of using YNAB is how it shapes your vision of money through multiple viewpoints. There's the spending you are doing now, when you make a transaction, then there's the tradeoff that spending causes in the future, becuase the spending you do now impacts the spening you will do in the future.

Jesse gives the example of a man going out for sushi. The $30 he spends now on the sushi is $30 that he isn't sp...