You Need a Budget: The Proven System for Breaking the Paycheck-to-Paycheck Cycle, Getting Out of Debt, and Living the Life You Want
By Jesse Mecham
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About this ebook
Wall Street Journal Bestseller
“Jesse Mecham has achieved the impossible: a book on budgeting that is fascinating, entertaining, and practical. Read this book, follow his advice, then watch your bank account grow and your financial worries fade.” —Josh Kaufman, bestselling author of The Personal MBA and The First 20 Hours?
Experience a life free of financial stress and transform your relationship to money with this indispensable guide—the first book based on You Need A Budget’s proven method that has helped hundreds of thousands of people break the paycheck to paycheck cycle, get out of debt, and live the life they want to live.
No one should tell you what to do with your money—only you know what’s most important to you. Always guiding you back to your true priorities, Jesse Mecham will fundamentally change the way you think about your money and what it can do for you. His proven method—four, simple rules—will transform money management from a paralyzing burden to a powerful tool, putting you in total control of your life:
- Give Every Dollar A Job. Be intentional about what you want your money to do before you spend it.
- Embrace Your True Expenses. Break up larger, less frequent expenses into smaller, more manageable amounts. By saving monthly for insurance premiums, holidays, or car repairs, when the time comes, your money is ready and waiting to do its job.
- Roll With The Punches. When life changes, so must your budget. Make adjustments and move along. Flexible budgets succeed because they’re guilt-free, realistic, and sustainable.
- Age Your Money. As you repeat the first three rules, you’ll increase the time between the moment you earn a dollar and the moment you need to spend it. When your money is at least a month old, you’ll have finally broken the paycheck to paycheck cycle for good.
This tried-and-true system has changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people by teaching them how to take charge, adjust money habits, eliminate stress, and build the life they want to live. Don’t waste another month counting down the minutes until payday.
Jesse Mecham
Jesse Mecham founded YNAB in 2004 to help him and his new wife, Julie, watch their money. Studying for his master of accountancy at Brigham Young University at the time, he put his numbers wizardry to work to develop a system to track their expenses, and that became YNAB. He lives in Utah with his family.
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Reviews for You Need a Budget
120 ratings10 reviews
What our readers think
Readers find this title very practical and easy to apply. It provides a superb insight into financial freedom and offers practical steps for living a debt-free life. The book is well-written and has changed readers' perspective on managing money. It is recommended for those starting out in their careers or heavily in debt. Overall, readers love this book and consider it a realistic and achievable guide to financial freedom.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Aug 18, 2024
I listened to the audiobook first and found the pdf here. So far, it's my favorite book on budgeting. YNAB incorporates 4 simple rules to keep your finances under control, and they make sense! He even emphasizes that Rules 2-4 are basically different versions of Rule 1. I won't go into details here, but if you try it, you can start seeing results within the first month if you really want it bad enough. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Oct 19, 2021
I loved this book more than I have loved all the others on the same subject. This book most importantly a more realistic, more achievable and practical definition of FINANCIAL FREEDOM. One that is surely a choice. One that is a budget away. One that most souls are one day away and not one lifetime away from achieving it! I loved this book!!! - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Mar 21, 2023
A good book, I started implementing the 4 rules described in this book and it has definitely changed my perspective on how to manage money. I have more control of my finances, and I'm more mindful of what I spend money on. Would recommend!1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
May 16, 2023
I decided to do a reread of this as I’ve been consistently using YNAB for almost twenty months and am proud of how I’ve been able to save. I’ve been listening to the Budget Nerds guys from YNAB so thought I’d return to the source of the rules here, and I realized I like those guys more than the author/founder. Most of it likely has to do with the fact that he has six kids and lives in Utah, so I’m getting yucky Mormon* vibes which turn me off (a lot of the people interviewed have lots of kids too), but then he also seems very dude-bro which annoys me as well.
But the book really is a good primer for how YNAB works since it’s unlike other budgeting apps I’d seen before; it’s basically the envelope system in digital form, but I do love how much more in control I feel over my money and the decisions I make regarding spending.
*Note that I don’t actually know if he’s Mormon, but even if not I apparently have issues with people who seem to want to overpopulate the world all by themselves.1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
May 17, 2022
Great and easy to apply methods, I recommend everyone to read it.1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
May 13, 2021
Easy to apply steps to living a debt free life . Very practical .1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Apr 11, 2021
Superb inside on financial freedom. Very well written, friend ;)1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Nov 17, 2019
This book is a true eye-opener. I hated the budgeting stuff before reading this book but now I am seriously considering budgeting my whole earnings. Great work!1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Aug 2, 2019
Very practical and allowed me to see the budget in a flexible way that let's me reach mg goals whilst at the same time living my best life. Would recommend it to those starting out in their careers and those heavily in debt. Worth a read.1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Jan 8, 2018
An enlightening and interesting way to go about your personal finances. I just picked this up because it was the new years and it sounded like a good idea and I was very impressed. I had not been aware of Jesse Mecham, the founder of YNAB and the finance platform that went with it, but after I read this I joined a few Facebook groups so I could keep up on this. I haven't invested in the software yet, but I am definitely tempted. This plan sounds a lot more doable then a lot of other budget plans I've read. I'd describe it but I don't want to butcher it. Just check it out! It seems easy to use and follow and has great results!1 person found this helpful