Budget Nerds

Ben and Ernie are back with a Q&A episode, answering questions about YNAB from podcast listeners and YouTube viewers. In this episode, they discuss travel tips for funding vacations and keeping vacation expenses organized in the moment. They talk about how the new photo feature and bulk editing features can be used to preserve important memories as well as information about your travels. The Nerds also explore how YNAB can simplify tax preparation with a little planning (and sometimes a separate plan if you own a business). They answer questions about debt paydown while still working towards getting a month ahead on expenses, as well as the other side of the coin -- what do you do after everything is funded, you're a month ahead or more, and you're asking yourself: "what next?" Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube Budget Nerds Livestreams: https://www.youtube.com/@YNABofficial/streams Budget Nerds Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuIUGmbCDklkDCDm-cQqv2g Share your YNAB win with Ben and Ernie! budgetnerds@ynab.com

Ben and Ernie are going live again on YouTube today, May 13th, 2026 at 3:30pm Eastern time. They'll be going through their own transactions, categorizing, moving money to handle overspending, and more, so you'll get to YNAB with them in real time! Set your alarm clocks and follow the livestream at the link below. Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube Budget Nerds Livestreams: https://www.youtube.com/@YNABofficial/streams Budget Nerds Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuIUGmbCDklkDCDm-cQqv2g Share your YNAB win with Ben and Ernie! budgetnerds@ynab.com

In today's episode, Ben and Ernie interview Lauren, a single mid-30's physical therapist living in Arizona. Lauren is already a legend in the Budget Nerds community for YNAB'ing for years completely manually, without ever connecting a bank account. A true budget nerd, she logs in daily to enter transactions and reconcile. She's never even done a file import to enter transactions! Lauren shares her YNAB story which began with graduating from school and working her first job. Her newfound income felt like a financial safety blanket, and she began spending, unbeknowst to her, well beyond her means. She found herself deep into debt from both credit cards and student loans, and had to ask her mother for help making ends meet. Eventually Lauren discovered YNAB, learned how to spend more thoughtfully with cash on hand rather than debt, and slowly began to take control of her situation. In just a few years she paid off well over $100k of debt! Lauren also shares her challenges planning as a single person, including the hidden costs of being single. Housing, taxes, products and services... many aspects of personal finance today are geared toward couples and families, and may not offer good options for single adults. Single people also face unique emotional challenges. While they may only be accountable to themselves financially, they also solely bear the burden of saving for potential job loss and other unforeseen events that could impact their cash flow. Many couples and families have the peace of mind of two incomes, as well as the emotional stablity of two people working toward a common goal of financial stability. Finally, Lauren breaks down her YNAB categories as well as her daily habits, including using a checkbook and reconciling her balances by hand in the register! Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube Budget Nerds Livestreams: https://www.youtube.com/@YNABofficial/streams Budget Nerds Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuIUGmbCDklkDCDm-cQqv2g Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie! budgetnerds@ynab.com

Ben and Ernie take up arms in the age old personal finance battle -- pay off your debt first, or get a month ahead on your bills? While they have discussed this topic before, in today's episode they approach the two paths with a balanced view, weighing the pros and cons of each. While they have an obvious bias toward getting a month ahead on your bills, there are certain scenarios where really buckling down on paying off debt might be the best move. The beautiful thing about this problem is that either way, you are making progress toward a better you. Simply thinking through your approach and evaluating your emotions around debt, financial resilience, and day to day expenses helps align your actions with your priorities -- and at the end of the day, that's what YNAB is all about. Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube Budget Nerds Livestreams: https://www.youtube.com/@YNABofficial/streams Budget Nerds Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuIUGmbCDklkDCDm-cQqv2g Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie! budgetnerds@ynab.com

You may have noticed some recent changes to the YNAB app, starting with no more "add transaction" button in the bottom row of the screen. It was a little jarring for Ben and Ernie at first, but they quickly realized that you can still add transactions easily within YNAB, and in fact, there are many ways to add transactions quickly within the app. In today's episode, Ben and Ernie walk through all the ways you can add transactions in YNAB, on all platforms, including: iOS shortcuts and widgets iOS spotlight Using voice commands via Siri Android widgets From the lock screen of your phone Whether you're new to YNAB or a veteran, there's probably some new ways to add transactions you haven't explored yet, including ways to auto-populate categories and payees. This episode relies heavily on screenshots and visual references, so we encourage you to watch it on YouTube as well. Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube Budget Nerds Livestreams: https://www.youtube.com/@YNABofficial/streams Budget Nerds Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuIUGmbCDklkDCDm-cQqv2g Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie! budgetnerds@ynab.com

YNAB is a powerful, flexible piece of software, but there is a learning curve. In today's episode, Ben and Ernie teach you how to setup a YNAB spending plan from scratch, and the essential features you need to know. If you've been sitting on the fence, wanting to jump in, this is the perfect time to get started! And remember, as Ernie says, you don't have to be perfect! The beauty of YNAB is you can easily change your plan anytime you want, as new circumstances come up in life and as you gain more insight into what you want your money to do for you. Note this episode relies heavily on screenshots of the software, so we highly recommend you check out this episode on YouTube too! You can follow along with Ben and Ernie and setup your plan quickly and easily. Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube Budget Nerds Livestreams: https://www.youtube.com/@YNABofficial/streams Budget Nerds Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuIUGmbCDklkDCDm-cQqv2g Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie! budgetnerds@ynab.com

Through all the category breakdown episodes, Ben and Ernie have seen some thought-provoking, inspiring, funny, and downright weird categories from YNAB'ers. Today's episode is all about celebrating the weird and unusual categories in your plan. Ben and Ernie polled YNAB'ers across Facebook, YouTube, and even some of the YNAB team members and highlight the funniest, most inspiring, and weirdest categories they found. Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube Budget Nerds Livestreams: https://www.youtube.com/@YNABofficial/streams Budget Nerds Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuIUGmbCDklkDCDm-cQqv2g Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie! budgetnerds@ynab.com

In today's episode Ben and Ernie chat with Lauren, a long time YNAB user going back to YNAB4 and a Customer Support Specialist at YNAB. Though she was born in the US, Lauren is of Korean descent and since 2017 has been teaching English in South Korea. Her unique background has required some pro-level YNAB moves, since she is paid in US dollars but spends in both USD and Korean Yuan, which fluctuate in value relative to each other. YNAB's recommended solution is to maintain two plans, one in each currency, so that currency fluctuations don't cause your plan to drift over time. This is a reliable method, but it requires you to maintain two plans and keep track of duplicate categories in each currency. Lauren prefers to manage her money in one plan, and simply makes the currency conversion when she enters her transactions in YNAB. In today's episode Ben and Ernie dive into Lauren's categories, and discuss her unique way of managing multiple currencies in one plan. Resources mentioned in this episode: YNAB Templates: https://www.ynab.com/templates Follow Budget Nerds on YouTube Budget Nerds Livestreams: https://www.youtube.com/@YNABofficial/streams Budget Nerds Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuIUGmbCDklkDCDm-cQqv2g Share your YNAB wins with Ben and Ernie! budgetnerds@ynab.com