![You Need a Budget [Paperback] [Jan 01, 2017] Mecham, Jesse](/static/loading.gif)
You Need a Budget [Paperback] [Jan 01, 2017] Mecham, Jesse
- Downloads：1660
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-09-24 05:50:41
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Jesse Mecham
- ISBN：0062854917
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
A guide based on the tenets of the award-winning financial platform， "You Need a Budget，" argues that a well-planned budget does not involve deprivation and counsels readers on how to prioritize financial goals， reduce stress through strategic cash flow allocations and meet the challenges of unplanned expenses。
Reviews
Clarence Reed
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ReedIII Quick Review: Simple， practical， straight forward， highly usable advice on the value of budgeting。 The book could be considered a supplement and summary （maybe a substitute） to the workshops， web site and app。 The web site is also thorough and usable。
Matthew Sherin
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This book is a great， foundational entry into the personal finance world。 If you are like me and want to budget but have no idea where to start， it's a worthy read。 However， while I found the content enlightening， quite a bit of it seemed like common sense。 I'm not saying there is no real knowledge to be found here。 There is， and reading this book will likely help you avoid beginner mistakes and pitfalls。 However， I felt like this book could be a pamphlet。 The main point of this book are the fou This book is a great， foundational entry into the personal finance world。 If you are like me and want to budget but have no idea where to start， it's a worthy read。 However， while I found the content enlightening， quite a bit of it seemed like common sense。 I'm not saying there is no real knowledge to be found here。 There is， and reading this book will likely help you avoid beginner mistakes and pitfalls。 However， I felt like this book could be a pamphlet。 The main point of this book are the four rules， each spanning about 3 to 10 words。 They are great rules， but they constantly make their appearance all over the book。 Its a 200 page book which could have been about 50-75 pages。 There is a whole chapter on teaching budgeting to your kids， and a whole other chapter on budgeting with a significant other。 It is great and all， but there are only about 10 chapters。 So if you are a single person with no children， about a fifth of this book won't apply to you。 On top of that， the rest of the chapters just cover the four rules in more detail。 There is also a chapter on slaying debt， one of the more interesting chapters。 But besides the four rules and the chapter on debt-slaying（if you are in debt， you've likely heard this info before）， there isn't too much content。 I felt like a college professor reading a student paper that clearly started with a half page before they embellished to make it 5 full pages。 I bought the book for 7 bucks， and for that， I think it was a good purchase。 Otherwise， just read up on the YNAB website and put that money towards your personal fun money each month。 。。。more
M。A。C。
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Budget like a proI have dabbled in ynab for years but never felt like I got the hang of it。 This book has finally got me feeling ready and capable。
Createpei
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An excellent and very accessible book that covers four basic rules for consideration when you are budgeting。 I won't summarize what those are as they are contained in the book and are easy to find on the internet either way。The book is clear， concise， and easy to read （1 day of off and on reading for me）。 The author offers several suggestions around additional budgeting questions such as couple's budgeting， teaching your children how to budget， and debt recovery。 Finally there is a chapter on ho An excellent and very accessible book that covers four basic rules for consideration when you are budgeting。 I won't summarize what those are as they are contained in the book and are easy to find on the internet either way。The book is clear， concise， and easy to read （1 day of off and on reading for me）。 The author offers several suggestions around additional budgeting questions such as couple's budgeting， teaching your children how to budget， and debt recovery。 Finally there is a chapter on how to cope when you feel like quitting （which sounds common in *ALL* systems based programming！）This is a rules based system rather than a practical or practice based content。 You won't be finding out if， for instance， you should deduct this or that expense。 Rather this is more of a financial philosophy of approaching your view of and categorization of your money。Definitely worth a read in my opinion。 。。。more
Jenny
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I just started using this system about a month ago and have devoured all the articles I can find， FB posts， and videos。 So I wasn’t sure if the book would be worth it， but I found it to still be worth the purchase and read。 It laid out the foundation of the system and explained it in a straightforward way that I still found helpful in terms of mindset despite having consumed info from so many other sources。 Even though it’s basically the electronic version of an envelope system it is somehow so I just started using this system about a month ago and have devoured all the articles I can find， FB posts， and videos。 So I wasn’t sure if the book would be worth it， but I found it to still be worth the purchase and read。 It laid out the foundation of the system and explained it in a straightforward way that I still found helpful in terms of mindset despite having consumed info from so many other sources。 Even though it’s basically the electronic version of an envelope system it is somehow so so much more。 In fact， I even used an app version of the envelope system for years in the past， but there is something about YNAB that makes it so fun and so much more big picture。 I would def recommend this to anyone looking out refresh their budgets and/or money mindsets。 This feels like a game changer。 。。。more
Bee
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Who knew a book about budgeting would be so interesting。 I learned some creative tips about implementing a budget， managing it， what to make allowances for， and how to apply it in a family setting。 Great to learn ways to involve kids in learning about finances and budgets。
Umide Sacoor Ahnemann
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Pretty thin on content， it could have been written in two pages。 Its core principles， which underlie the brilliant YNAB app （which I've been using for years） are the only thing that matters - as a book it falls flat on developing the concepts further。 Pity， it does not stand up there with the app。 Pretty thin on content， it could have been written in two pages。 Its core principles， which underlie the brilliant YNAB app （which I've been using for years） are the only thing that matters - as a book it falls flat on developing the concepts further。 Pity， it does not stand up there with the app。 。。。more
Katerina Molchanova
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Finally after 2 years of using the app I decided to refer to the original source。 Unexpectedly， thought there are some approaches already knew， I found a lot of new ideas and hidden tips。 The book is very light， easy to read and filled with common sense。
Emma Whear
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I've been using YNAB since the 9th grade， so I'm not the bushy-eyed， bright-tailed reader that some could be。 That said， there was still value to reading this， especially after moving and losing track of any sense of what's happening to us financially。 Mecham has a few outlier views on college and debt that I enjoy （not necessarily agree with） but enjoy。Definitely took a few new points away about long-term expenses that I could be budgeting better for， and a renewed zest to look at our financial I've been using YNAB since the 9th grade， so I'm not the bushy-eyed， bright-tailed reader that some could be。 That said， there was still value to reading this， especially after moving and losing track of any sense of what's happening to us financially。 Mecham has a few outlier views on college and debt that I enjoy （not necessarily agree with） but enjoy。Definitely took a few new points away about long-term expenses that I could be budgeting better for， and a renewed zest to look at our financial proceedings。 Yay。 。。。more
Kendra
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I'm ready to start my budget！ Bring it on！ I'm ready to start my budget！ Bring it on！ 。。。more
Camilla
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This was okay， but honestly it didn't really teach me anything new。 That is a bit unfair perhaps; my man Dan is a perfect example of someone who manages money in healthy， smart， and balanced ways。 All I know about budgeting and financial decisions was from him。 It's sort of like having a financial coach who is my best buddy too。 You know how books like these always have wild success stories of people who follow certain financial principles and reap the rewards？ Well Dan could very easily be used This was okay， but honestly it didn't really teach me anything new。 That is a bit unfair perhaps; my man Dan is a perfect example of someone who manages money in healthy， smart， and balanced ways。 All I know about budgeting and financial decisions was from him。 It's sort of like having a financial coach who is my best buddy too。 You know how books like these always have wild success stories of people who follow certain financial principles and reap the rewards？ Well Dan could very easily be used as one of those examples if he followed a specific program; he'd be like a ridiculously perfect example actually and could pretty easily write a book like this himself （and he'd actually put in effort to address non-mainstream readers unlike this guy）。 Dan advises my little sister on her money matters， at her request， and it's a neat bond for them。 Anyways all this book really taught me is how absolutely lucky I am to have Dan in my life - oh， and running the books！ 。。。more
Grace
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Not gonna lie， throughout the whole book， Jesse gave a lot of *hints* that his specialized software is really the best way for you to budget。That being said， I totally agree with his approach to budgeting。 I have always been a numbers nerd as well as super frugal。 It felt kind of intuitive to me， but where this really shines is in the fact that it gave me a realistic， concrete way to explain the concepts to my partner。 He is not a huge fan of money。 He views it as a means to an end。 I couldn't u Not gonna lie， throughout the whole book， Jesse gave a lot of *hints* that his specialized software is really the best way for you to budget。That being said， I totally agree with his approach to budgeting。 I have always been a numbers nerd as well as super frugal。 It felt kind of intuitive to me， but where this really shines is in the fact that it gave me a realistic， concrete way to explain the concepts to my partner。 He is not a huge fan of money。 He views it as a means to an end。 I couldn't understand why he didn't want to spend time budgeting in the obsessive way that I do it。 But this book covers those concepts clearly and succinctly and has helped us get on the same page about money。 It is extremely helpful whether or not you buy his specific software。For the sake of transparency: we did decide to get the software， and the amount of time-savings in our life is well worth it。 （I personally wanted to set it up for ourselves in a very similar way instead of paying money。 But he got a free year for being a student， so I've still got time。） 。。。more
Maddie Soriano
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This is an encouraging， informational book and a quick read。
Katherine
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I heard about this system while listening to a financial podcast， then unexpectedly came across the book while checking out the local library。 I think it's definitely an interesting way to think about money - I really appreciate his take about obligatory and true expenses， as well as his non-judgmental attitude about what else readers may think is important in their lives as priorities for funding。 I heard about this system while listening to a financial podcast， then unexpectedly came across the book while checking out the local library。 I think it's definitely an interesting way to think about money - I really appreciate his take about obligatory and true expenses， as well as his non-judgmental attitude about what else readers may think is important in their lives as priorities for funding。 。。。more
Chuck
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YNAB founder gives you all his secretsJesse Mecham， the creator of the budgeting software You Need A Budget （YNAB） tells you his budgeting philosophy and shares how to escape common budgeting pitfalls。 You'll find his four rules particularly helpful。 His advice is a little unorthodox， but you'll learn the wisdom behind it by reading carefully。 YNAB founder gives you all his secretsJesse Mecham， the creator of the budgeting software You Need A Budget （YNAB） tells you his budgeting philosophy and shares how to escape common budgeting pitfalls。 You'll find his four rules particularly helpful。 His advice is a little unorthodox， but you'll learn the wisdom behind it by reading carefully。 。。。more
Tiffany
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Thanks for stating the obvious。。。 but I would have appreciated budgeting tools and forms？ What am I missing？！
Wendy Bell
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Really good to read before accessing and downloading the app。 Very effective。
Maegrauko
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Very usable even if you dont use the YNAB app。 I would recommend if you need a flexible aproach to handling your money or lack thereof。 That said I am been a YNAB4 user for over 6years now and I am happy I got to the book eventually。 It was a good refresher of the philosophy behind the 4 rules and got me rethinking my budget and giving a fresh look at my actions。
Francisco Bayona
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Lucky for me I got it for free when I renewed my YNAB plan a few years ago。 The book itself is good， is easy to read and have nice information and "real life stories"。 But what you "learn" from the book can also be learned for free from their website。。。 So， if you can read it for free o almost free， go for it。。。 Otherwise don't put any money on it。。。 Lucky for me I got it for free when I renewed my YNAB plan a few years ago。 The book itself is good， is easy to read and have nice information and "real life stories"。 But what you "learn" from the book can also be learned for free from their website。。。 So， if you can read it for free o almost free， go for it。。。 Otherwise don't put any money on it。。。 。。。more
Annette
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A quick read through all of the basics of YNAB’s life-changing approach to budgeting。
Mark
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Sara's been adulting with this for a bit now and I'm going to give it a try。DPL Libby Sara's been adulting with this for a bit now and I'm going to give it a try。DPL Libby 。。。more
Cheng Jun
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Interesting perspective。
Thao Nguyen
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The best idea I think I got from the book is the three reasons why we are always reluctant to immediately get away from things we know for sure will be useless， which are: the overwhelming number of options we have drives us crazy， the obscure financial plan makes every choice seems irrational， and that the scared feeling deep inside hinder us from facing with the real in and out of our budget。 The next step is to make sure the money decisions are aligned with the way we want to live。 The book m The best idea I think I got from the book is the three reasons why we are always reluctant to immediately get away from things we know for sure will be useless， which are: the overwhelming number of options we have drives us crazy， the obscure financial plan makes every choice seems irrational， and that the scared feeling deep inside hinder us from facing with the real in and out of our budget。 The next step is to make sure the money decisions are aligned with the way we want to live。 The book mentioned 4 rules， but all 4 are variations of the first one: "give every dollar a job"。 The rule is pretty straightforward， each and every dollar must be assigned to some jobs， and its flow should be watched thoroughly。 I have been practicing this for years since high school so I could not agree more with the author。 I have already practice almost the same thing so I could not learn much new thing from this book， but overall a good quick read to the extent that I should've gave this book a 4-star rating if I found it earlier。 。。。more
Tin Mayer
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 A great book about budgeting。 It covers budgets for single people， for couples， and families。 The chapter on kid’s budget was really interesting and something I have not seen in other books。 I would recommend this book to anybody。 I believe that everybody needs a budget。 This was literally the first thing that I did when I was starting my journey。 What I got from the book was a tool to do a” budget restart “ for my own budget。 I needed that for a while and I am glad I stumbled upon this book。
Emily
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I enjoyed that this book didn't say all the same crap you hear about cutting out your coffee or not going out to eat。 For many people who are drowning in debt they already don't buy those things。 I do wish that more budget books would acknowledge poverty and how many jobs don't pay a living wage。 Otherwise this was okay， nothing I haven't heard before though。 I enjoyed that this book didn't say all the same crap you hear about cutting out your coffee or not going out to eat。 For many people who are drowning in debt they already don't buy those things。 I do wish that more budget books would acknowledge poverty and how many jobs don't pay a living wage。 Otherwise this was okay， nothing I haven't heard before though。 。。。more
Happy Bhalothia
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It’s a must read for everyone whosoever wants to keep a record of their spending， especially for this generation’s kids as they are mainly indulged in buying trivial things relentlessly。 I can say with confidence that it’s worth your time as it contains so many strategies vis a vis prioritising of bills， predictable and unpredictable spendings etc。 It also contains various examples of people who came out of debt and started to live the life they always wished to。 Give this book a chance to salva It’s a must read for everyone whosoever wants to keep a record of their spending， especially for this generation’s kids as they are mainly indulged in buying trivial things relentlessly。 I can say with confidence that it’s worth your time as it contains so many strategies vis a vis prioritising of bills， predictable and unpredictable spendings etc。 It also contains various examples of people who came out of debt and started to live the life they always wished to。 Give this book a chance to salvage your financial knowledge， adios！ 。。。more
Kady
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It’s less patronizing than the word vomit of Dave Ramsey and more realistic in terms of living a life beyond staring at the walls and eating rice and beans。 However， as many “financial gurus” opt to do， they conveniently ignore the systemic issues many people face when it comes to debt。 Making blanket statements about “debt not being an option” as if all debt is generated because you abuse a Victoria’s Secret credit card is disingenuous and tone deaf。 And he uses an example of a person starting It’s less patronizing than the word vomit of Dave Ramsey and more realistic in terms of living a life beyond staring at the walls and eating rice and beans。 However， as many “financial gurus” opt to do， they conveniently ignore the systemic issues many people face when it comes to debt。 Making blanket statements about “debt not being an option” as if all debt is generated because you abuse a Victoria’s Secret credit card is disingenuous and tone deaf。 And he uses an example of a person starting a “side hustle” by joining an MLM company is absolutely， mind blowingly terrible advice。 An FTC study revealed 99% of people who joint MLMs —lose— money and empower unqualified people to give medical advice and health advice。 The predatory nature of MLMs is unethical。 Even if this one sample person did make enough money to make a difference in their life， they are the exception not the rule。 Ultimately I may still try the software and app， but don’t expect much enlightenment from the book。 。。。more
Becky Johnston
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A short and practical guide to what is， essentially， "Zero based budgeting"。 Nothing that I haven't seen elsewhere， but it was presented effectively and plainly， which I appreciated。 A short and practical guide to what is， essentially， "Zero based budgeting"。 Nothing that I haven't seen elsewhere， but it was presented effectively and plainly， which I appreciated。 。。。more
Olympia
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Simple information that’s been written about money over and over， but having said this it’s always good to have a refresher。 Great to have Libby audio。
Jess
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