Hm, I was a big fan of the YNAB podcast, but I feel that the direction has shifted a bit (especially with these tangents on credit cards). It’s feels more “angry” or that I’m being lectured to. I love learning, which is why I began listening. But it’s shifting a bit into a talk radio space.

Easily one of the best, simplest podcasts and best, simplest budgeting apps. It might take a little getting used to but in the last 4 months alone I’ve halved my total debt and expect to be debt free by the end of the year. Let that sink in. This podcast is a nice regular listen that keeps you engaged with your budget. They also offer tons of free videos on YouTube and they don’t even push their own product. Thank you to the team behind YNAB for making me feel awesome about budgeting and for helping me knock out my debt! It’s given me a major confidence boost!

I am so grateful for this podcast and the YNAB teams delivery on content. I am in the military, I am about to go through a huge transition in leaving the military. This tool has helped my overall financial health and improving my thoughts on how to deal with finances. I am not prefect by any means but I feel empowered to make better choices. Thank you!!

After a decade of student loan debt that drowned us, children joining our lives, budgeting has been hard. We had listened to all of the budgeting gurus………at least that’s what we thought. We did the other apps, we tried the envelope system, and we failed each time. Nothing was adaptable until now. After being asked if I’d listen to the book, I begrudgingly agreed and got about 10 minutes in just thinking what more could this guy tell me that the ‘other guys’ haven’t told me already …… This guy. If he could help shift my paradigm and focus, I’m certain these rules could help anyone who wants to make better budgeting decisions in life! Thank you Jesse and YNAB team. We look forward to really going full force!

Jesse asked for someone who has deliberately chosen to invest instead of pay off their mortgage. 🙋🏻‍♀️To preface, I had been saving for a house, staying away from debt, auto investing, & listening to all episodes of this podcast in preparation to prepare myself mentally for a mortgage. Our brokerage had grown significantly & we had enough money to pay for our house in cash, but we chose to use our investment to put 50% on down payment and kept 50% in the market. By knowing our numbers and by using ynab, we knew that the mortgage payment would be something we could afford without impacting our lifestyle. Now, 2-years later we have more than recouped the down payment with the investments we left in the market, we refinanced to get a lower interest rate, we continue to pay the old mortgage number to pay our mortgage faster (treating our 30-year as a 15-year), and we are writing off the interest of our mortgage for a tax break.

November 2021 UPDATE. I wrote the review below about a year ago and gave 3 stars. Maybe someone read it or maybe it was just serendipity, but the past year, YNAB has really stepped up the podcast, like 1000% improved it. I stand corrected!!! November 2020: Love the YNAB software, have been using various versions of it since 2013. Discovered this podcast early 2019 and binged the old episodes and listened to the new ones each week in real time. The last 6 months have been hit or miss, some episodes are short and pointless. I really feel like it could be so much more, maybe if there were listener submitted topics or questions? Still love YNAB, their blog on their website is awesome and the free classes are great

My daughter, attending BYU many years ago, suggested I begin using YNAB. Being the financial guy that I was, I loveD my spreadsheet budget and thought it was the best. Finally, for a number of reasons, decided I would give YNAB a try. I am just kicking myself for not starting this many many years ago as it is such a great tool. The full visibility of our budgeting process to my wife and I it’s been fantastic and actually a game changer in our financial relationship. As I am approaching retirement, not the most of your users are in that phase of life, but it might be nice to have some videos/pods on retirement budgeting. Thanks loads. Wayne

I am not an Apple user, but since this seems to be the only way to review podcasts, and I was here reviewing another... I figure I may as well stop by and drop notes on a few others. I love Jesse's YNAB podcast. Short, digestible nuggets on managing finances, and life in general.

Love this podcast! It’s a great addition to the YNAB software and really gets you into the budgeting mindset. There is enough variety in this show to keep it interesting since they regularly have guests, experiments, and discuss small things you may not have thought about before. Plus listening to the show makes me motivated to keep up with the budget!

Always informative.

YNAB is already an amazing tool, but Jesse’s podcast takes it a step further into the mentality of budgeting. Always happy to listen in whether it’s to apply something to my personal situation or just for fun.

I’ll admit that I haven’t read the book but I don’t think I need to having been a regular listener to the YNAB podcast. I feel like you can pick up anywhere and learn the four rules quickly and practically. Definitely worth your time to listen.

Yes, I am one of the crazy people who has actually gone back to the beginning and listen to every single podcast episode. In my mid-50s, I finally figured out how to manage money in a way that works for me. The podcast, along with all the online trainings, as well as the excellent customer service, have all join together to support me in going from deeply in debt to just about debt-free in less than three years. I highly recommend both the podcast and the app.

I began listening to this when I started using YNAB a few months ago, and immediately added it to my regular set of podcast subscriptions. Jesse and guests help keep me in the budgeting and personal finance mindset. Definitely recommend—most are relatively short, so easy to try out!

But starting with 499, and it’s definitely more than I thought it would be. I’ve used YNAB for years, but never read/listened to the rules or philosophy before. I appreciate the topics (both in the book and the podcasts) and am shaking my head at how long it took me to really understand YNAB. Or at least begin to understand :D

YNAB has made a huge difference in our family finances and the ongoing education is much appreciated!

This is my favorite podcast. I’m very selective of my podcasts, and I always listen to the latest episodes of this podcast even if I have a backlog of other podcasts I want to listen to. What sets this out for me, is that when I was trying to get my financiers in order, listening to Jesse was like listening to a friend who “gets it”. He isn’t condescending, but at the same time he will give you the tough love that you might need to hear from time to time. I can’t thank Jesse enough for his software, and also for the podcast so I didn’t feel so alone when going through my financial journey when none of my family/friends understood why I was doing what I was doing.

YNAB is such a helpful system. My wife and I have found that listening to the podcast and watching their videos continues to sharpen our ability to maximize the benefits of it. Jesse and his guests consistently have great insights in finances and life skills.

Positive, wholesome, inspiring. Great balance of many ideas and stories about how to improve your whole life by saving money, without telling you what to do.

I listen to a number of podcasts, especially ones related to money, and the You Need a Budget podcast with Jesse Mecham is one of my favorites. I consistently come back to this one and listen to as many episodes as possible. Most of the episodes are short with actionable content, and he also has excellent guests on. I highly recommend it!

YNAB has been the best random discovery I’ve made. I struggled with budgeting for the longest time and then I found this. It really has changed my life and get a hold of how I manage my money. This was exactly what I was looking for and I’m glad that I was able to find it on my journey to financial independence.

The podcast is fantastic and has tips and money advice. I seriously love YNAB! You will to. Listen and give the app a try too.

We have been using the app for many years now. It has changed our mindset about money and has helped us eliminate almost all of our debt. The podcast was amazing to help answer questions, shift our thinking and satisfy that thirst for knowledge as we go through the process. Highly recommend both the podcast and the app!

YNAB is one of a few purchases I’m excited to make every year.

I really enjoy YNAB and I really enjoy all the content they put out for their users, including Jesse’s podcast. He is straightforward and serious. I always learn something new. I appreciate that they aren’t too long either. Check out Budget Nerds and Fun with Money on YouTube too!

The YNAB way of thinking has taken me years of mastering. Most of my early to late 20s, I was pretty unorganized when it came to my finances. The YBAB podcast and software has helped me develop a method has helped me get to the point where I can stop living paycheck to paycheck and make my money work for me

This podcast is pretty awesome Dash and has encouraged me toTake my finances seriously and practical steps.

If You Need A Budget (spoiler alert: you do), you need to listen to this podcast! Jesse makes budgeting entertaining and accessible to everyone. This actually works.

You don’t need to be broke or bad with money to reap the befits of YNAB. Listening to this podcast will make you think differently about your money….in a good way. I highly recommend the podcast and the software (which has a 32 day free trial).

I've been using YNAB for a few years and it's really changed how I use money. I wasn't bad at managing my money before, but it seemed like I didn't really have future plans. So I spent without thinking about how I could use it for the future for financial stability. My biggest problem was that I would forget about long term goals and succumb to short term wants. YNAB helped bring clarity to all the noise and allowed me to save for the future and gave me a framework for making decisions in my life. The app, the podcast, and the YouTube channel all are great resources to learn from andI'm always excited for next episode and the new business podcast!

I started YNAB just under a month ago. I was looking for a budget application to help me better understand my finances. YNAB was a game changer for me. Their four simple rules made complete sense to me and help me have a better understanding of the jobs my money had. I feel so much more in control of my finances and the awareness of what my money is doing has been priceless. And YNAB goes above and beyond in being helpful and providing amazing advice. Thank you Jesse, Hanna, and the two Bens!! You changed my life!!

If you are trying to gain control of your finances and/or get out of debt YNAB is a great service and application and this podcast is a great addition to it. Lots of great and practical advice and always presented in a fun and easy to digest way. Gaining financial independence doesn’t have to be that hard, and YNAB does a great job of proving that.

A quick review to tell everyone how much I love YNAB! YNAB has saved my finances. Since starting using YNAB, I have saved money, payed off debt and am at least a month ahead on my finances. It is so nice not living paycheck to paycheck. Thanks again!!

I’ve been on YNAB for just over a year and it has completely changed my finances. I was always lying my bills and my credit card on time but I was ending each month with less than $100 in my bank account. The tips from this podcast and the YNAB software have allowed me to build an emergency fun and be intentional with my money. I recommend it to anyone interested in personal finance!

Cult may be a bit much but I am all in on YNAB. There was a noticeable change to our money with YNAB and the podcast just helps solidify the 4 rules. Great stuff!

I can’t say enough for this program. YNAB has successfully put together a program that completely aligns with the way that I have always thought of budgeting but could never really stay on top of for a myriad of reasons 😳🤷‍♀️. That being said, although I am certainly a work in progress, now that I have a platform that works for my brain, I can see success in budgeting in my future for sure!!! Thank you to you, Jesse, and your lovely wife for creating this and for your team for perfecting it every day!

Longtime YNAB user (2012) and yes, still using that old software. Does that mean I’m super tight with my budget, a Luddite, or just a good steward of my devices...who can say? This podcast is a nice check-in, digestible short episodes and stories from others on their financial successes and setbacks.

Thanks to YNAB, I was able to cut my hours at work and still meet my financial goals. It’s helped me realize what was actually important in my life. I don’t use it perfectly so whenever I fall behind, listening to the podcast helps inspire me to get back on track (which is pretty easy to do once I set aside a little time to reconcile my transactions). The podcast is a like a friendly reminder that YNAB is always there to help me meet my goals.

I have really been enjoying listening to this podcast. As a long time budgeter it’s great to hear someone speak so simply about financial issues. I mostly appreciate how Jesse always brings it back to the most basic principles of not spending what you don’t have. Thanks for continuing to remind of how to really feel free with my money!

I love the YNAB podcast because it gives great information in a short amount of time + real life members stories on how they use the platform! Great that they are making more episodes.

I’ve been a YNAB user for years, but only discovered the podcast in 2019. It’s been a source of inspiration and more importantly, a source of information I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. It’s taught me new ways to think about money and my spending priorities, and is helping me correct some missteps I took a few years back and didn’t know how to fix. Jesse doesn’t judge; he’s more like a personal finance mentor. Listen to him and this wonderful podcast—he knows what he’s talking about!

i have been a ynab user from the first time it was available on steam but recently discovered the youtube channel and podcasts. It is a hidden gem. not only we get real budgeting tips it also helps in changing your attitude towards your personal finances. With the help of community and strong focus i was able to buy a house within 4 years.

Okay, I travel a lot and I love diving right in to everything YNAB has and does. I learn so much and I think Jesse and I think a lot about the same things. I have loved the different perspectives he’s had on the show recently too.

My husband and I use the word YNAB at least twice a day. We have been YNABers for years. Allowed us to pay off our mortgage with money that was there the whole time! We talk to our kids constantly about being intentional with money. Slowly we are recruiting our family to get YNAB.

YNAB creates really digestible episodes that are easy listening. I find Jesse’s voice very relaxing! They don’t put shame on making money mistakes but instead look for ways to move forward. They also look beyond the scope of traditional budgeting to create their podcast.

I’ve used YNAB for years, and the podcast is such a great addition to using the software. Jesse’s short episodes are always full of valuable insights and perspectives I might let slide when I’m not being as diligent with my money as I’d like. Always kind and with a sense of humor. I like the longer episodes and conversations, too, and I’m really looking forward to the new small business podcast as well. To the lovely YNAB team: thanks for helping me keep my financial health top of mind with a great podcast!

I’ve been a fan of YNAB for a while, but I think this podcast is also great for anyone who wants to get introduced to the basic concepts behind YNAB and zero-based budgeting. The episode lengths make them so easy to listen to; they truly pack a punch of wisdom. I love the non-judgmental approach to personal finance, always focusing on finding our true values and use budgeting to get to our goals.

I seriously don’t know how I didn’t starve before YNAB. I was so bad with money.

I found YNAB back in 2016 through a food blog (Daily Garnish) of all things. I read the Four Rules and instantly knew YNAB was different. I’m a financial analyst, love Excel, and have always known that budgets were a good idea. I paid off 5 figure credit card debt from 2010-2012, but a couple years, somehow, I was yet again facing many thousands in credit card debt. How?! Turns out, I wasn’t budgeting for true expenses! I would get hit with an “unexpected” (although, really, car insurance premiums are pretty regular and I should have seen it coming...) expense and charge it on the card. In 2016, I married a wonderful man, who unfortunately also had thousands in credit card debt. We welcomed our first child a short while later and that was the turning (breaking?) point. Thanks to YNAB, in a little less than 4 years we were able to pay off $56k in credit cards, start an emergency fund, take an amazing and overdue honeymoon (paid for in cash!), have our second kiddo, and save for a house down payment. But the absolute best change has been how my husband and I communicate about and think about money. Thank you, Jesse, for refusing to take a student loan and instead find another way to pay for college. You’ve changed so many lives and we are forever in your debt (no pun intended 😉).

I just finished grad school and am about to get married, and this podcast has made it so easy for my fiancé and I to have all the important money talks! We always have such a good time chatting about the latest episode (no, seriously, we do enjoy those talks…and yes, we are very fun people, I promise), and it’s sparked some really excellent conversations for us. I’m looking forward to putting YNAB’s principles into practice as newlyweds.