Jesse Mecham
YNAB Founder
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Jesse Mecham is a personal finance expert, speaker, business leader, and the Founder of You Need A Budget (or YNAB if you are very busy and important). Jesse hosts The Jesse Mecham Show, and is the Wall Street Journal best-selling author of book You Need A Budget. (He’s nothing if not consistent!) A self-proclaimed “recovering CPA,” he is deeply passionate about teaching individuals, families, and business owners the YNAB Method so they can gain total control of their money.
Jesse first developed the YNAB method as a broke, newly married college student who really needed a budget. In an attempt to make an additional $300/month to cover rent, he sold his budgeting spreadsheet online and YNAB was born. Since 2004, the software has grown into a leading personal finance platform and has helped hundreds of thousands of people break the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle, get out of debt, and save more money. Now, YNAB has a growing team living and working all around the world, and has built a thriving remote culture that earned recognition as Fortune’s #1 best small company to work for (YNAB was doing remote work before it was cool!). When not teaching people how to budget, Jesse loves gardening, woodworking, marksmanship, and travel. He also spends a good bit of time with his wife and the seven small people that live in their house.
Featured Articles
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Living Within Your Means
It seems like the golden rule of personal finance is to "live within your means." This seems simple enough, so why don't more people do it?

5 Tips for Financial Bliss
Do you struggle to manage finances with your partner? Here's how to set yourself up for harmonious money discussions that are light on tension.

8 Ways Rich People Think Differently
Ever wondered how rich people think differently? See the key factors in how they built their wealth and start putting them into practice.
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All articles by
Jesse
The Power of Finite Resources. Why Rule One is 'Rule One'
My dear mother-in-law bought my oldest son (6 1/2), a bank that has three sections: Tithing (10%) Savings (45%) Fun Money (45%) It’s a budget :) My 4 1/2-year-old doesn’t have a bank yet (anyone have any recommendations on a good one that’s sturdy? And preferably makes only Fun Money and Tithing accessi
The Six Levels of Awareness
What do weight loss and money management have in common? Awareness. How powerful is awareness, coupled with nothing else? Very powerful.
Trust your Budget and Close Some Accounts!
Can you imagine how simple things would be with one account? Think about it. No transfers, no wondering how to move things around.
Put Your Small Business on a Budget
Be aware of the fact that your Business Self and Home Self may be two different people. Build a better small business budget to protect both.
A Small Business Tax Crash Course
In this little Small Business Tax Crash Course, we’ll cover: quarterlies, profits vs. distributions, and self-employment tax
How much should you budget for food?
People who are new to budgeting aren’t sure how much they should be spending on groceries. Of course, every household is different.
Activities that Raise Awareness (Whiteboard Wednesday)
We discuss both budgeting and data entry, and how different activities land on a y-axis of awareness (we want more awareness, keeping mind diminishing returns obviously).
Balancing Your Budget and Accounts (Whiteboard Wednesday)
Today we discuss a simple equation to help you balance your on-budget accounts with your budget.
Weighing Effort & Reward
Sometimes it makes sense to simplify your budget and take a lower effort approach, especially when un-needed complications are holding you back.
Our Experience with a Cooking Co-Op
Want to cut down on your grocery costs and increase your spare time? Try a cooking co-op. Here's our experience!
The Unbelievable Savings Achieved through Index Fund Investing
You've heard about index funds, the personal finances gurus basically rave about them. But are they really worth it? Yes, and here's why.
What is a Staycation?
What's a staycation? Well, if you’re looking for a way to have a great time and save a bundle, you need to learn about staycations.