Episode 258
Financial Peace: How Smart Money Strategies and YNAB End Financial Stress (Best of GTGE)
Money stress affects so many of us, but it doesn't have to be that way. In this Best of episode from our archives, Janine and Shannon dive deep into the budgeting tools and money management strategies that have brought them genuine financial peace. Shannon shares her expertise with YNAB (formerly You Need a Budget) software, while Janine discusses her journey from financial stress to feeling "in the driver's seat" with her money.
Fun Fact
Since recording this episode, both Shannon and Janine became Certified YNAB Coaches! (links below)
What You'll Learn
- How YNAB's "give every dollar a job" approach revolutionizes budgeting [4:12]
- The game-changing concept of paying next month's expenses with this month's income [5:56]
- Why checking your budget daily takes less than 15 minutes and creates lasting financial peace [7:22]
- How to budget for annual expenses monthly to eliminate financial surprises [10:08]
- Strategies for couples to manage money peacefully with separate fun budgets [12:47]
- The brilliant pairing of YNAB with QuickBooks for business owners [18:29]
- How to create a financial buffer using "magical paychecks" [27:31]
Key Takeaways for Recovering Perfectionists
Start imperfectly, but start: Janine's experience shows that you don't need to master YNAB immediately. Begin using it, then learn more to deepen your understanding.
Daily habits beat perfect systems: Shannon manages three budgets and 15+ accounts in under 15 minutes each morning. Consistency trumps perfection.
Roll with the punches: YNAB's "whack-a-mole" feature lets you move money between categories when life happens. Your budget can be flexible, not rigid.
Progress over perfection: Janine went from being perpetually behind on QuickBooks to staying current by pairing it with her established YNAB habit.
Links
- Want to give YNAB a try? Use our referral link to get an extra month free and support the podcast at the same time.
- Shannon's YNAB & Money Coaching
- Janine's YNAB Coaching
The Bottom Line
Financial peace isn't about having tons of money—it's about knowing where your money is and feeling in control. Whether you try YNAB or create your own budget and buffer system, the goal is making money feel supportive rather than stressful.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is YNAB worth the monthly cost? Shannon and Janine both say absolutely yes—the peace of mind and financial control are worth far more than the subscription fee.
How long does it take to see results with YNAB? Most users feel more in control within the first month, with significant stress reduction after 2-3 months of consistent use.
Can YNAB work for irregular income? Yes! Shannon explains how to handle variable income by building buffers and prioritizing essential expenses first.
Connect With Us
Have questions about YNAB or financial peace strategies? Find us on social media @gettingtogoodenough or leave a voicemail at 413-424-GTGE (4843).
Transcript
Hello and welcome to Getting to Good Enough, a podcast to help you let go of perfectionism so you can do more of what you love.
Speaker A:I'm Shannon Wilkinson, a life coach in Portland, Oregon.
Speaker A:I'm a recovering perfectionist who's getting better at Good Enough.
Speaker B:And I'm Jeanine Adams, a certified professional organizer in St. Louis, Missouri.
Speaker B:And I'm lucky enough to be naturally good at Good Enough.
Speaker A:And today we're talking about financial peace and how to get some for yourself.
Speaker A:Hey, Janine.
Speaker B:Hey, Shannon.
Speaker B:How are you today?
Speaker A:I am terrific.
Speaker A:How are you?
Speaker B:I'm terrific, too.
Speaker B:I'm recovered, I think, from my 12 hour journey from Walla Walla to St. Louis and then having to get up early the next morning.
Speaker B:Yesterday was a tough day, but today I'm okay.
Speaker A:Oh, good.
Speaker A:Yeah, that re entry with the time change and long day of travel, that's always rough.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:But things are back to normal, I think.
Speaker A:No, good, good.
Speaker A:I know you miss your pot stickers, but.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Although it's so funny just you just said that and my stomach felt full the moment you said it.
Speaker B:I felt a fullness in my stomach.
Speaker B:I did go back, by the way.
Speaker B:Did I?
Speaker B:I don't know if I sent you a link.
Speaker B:I went back with my dad.
Speaker B:So I had a second dose of pot stickers, but I stopped at 18.
Speaker B:It was Steve that later was a little surprised.
Speaker A:Yeah, that's funny.
Speaker A:Well, and I feel compelled to report that it's sort of snowing here.
Speaker B:Oh, boy.
Speaker B:Snow in Portland?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Goodness.
Speaker A:I mean, it's not unheard of, but it's funny because they've been threatening it all week and, But.
Speaker A:And it's actually sort of happening.
Speaker A:It doesn't look like it.
Speaker A:There's going to be any kind of accumulation or anything, but.
Speaker B:Oh, that's.
Speaker B:Anyway, I. I ended up driving about 45 minutes, I think.
Speaker B:It was in really heavy snow on my way to Spokane on Sunday and I was glad I had rented an suv.
Speaker B:I didn't slip or slide at all, but it was kind of slow going and yeah, it was kind of.
Speaker B:It was just coming down really hard and that's not my favorite thing.
Speaker B:So I'm glad here in St. Louis is about 50 degrees and sunny.
Speaker A:Oh, geez.
Speaker A:But didn't you have snow?
Speaker A:Oh, you weren't there.
Speaker A:But wasn't there snow on the ground last week while you were gone?
Speaker B:Yeah, there was snow over the weekend.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So it's on the ground when I came home, but the streets were clear.
Speaker A:Oh, boy.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Well, so today we are talking about financial peace.
Speaker B:Yeah, those words put together feel at the same time nice and discordant.
Speaker A:They do a little bit, yeah.
Speaker B:I don't usually have a lot, unfortunately, but I'm working on it.
Speaker B:And you have quite a bit of financial peace.
Speaker A:I think I do.
Speaker A:I owe a lot of my financial piece to ynab, which we've talked about before, which is the acronym for you need a budget.
Speaker A:It's a budgeting software.
Speaker A:It's web based.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:I think maybe we should explain it just a little bit for those who familiar with it.
Speaker B:And it's also the source of my financial peace that I'm working toward.
Speaker B:So I think it's an amazingly powerful tool and I owe you a huge debt of gratitude for introducing me to it, even though it took years, right?
Speaker B:Years since you introduced me to it, for me to finally jump on board.
Speaker B:So since you're the experienced one, why don't you explain it?
Speaker A:Well, approaches budgeting from a little bit different angle than I think most people are used to.
Speaker A:I think what most people do is sort of make a budget and say like, oh, you know, this is how much I spend on this, this is how much I spend on that, blah, blah, blah.
Speaker A:But what you do with YNAB is when you have money come in, then you give that money a job, that's what they call it.
Speaker A:And you put that money into your budget where you need it, and so you're not.
Speaker A:It gives you visual of your spending.
Speaker A:So like if you spend money in a category that you don't, that you haven't budgeted for, it comes up red, for example, to let you know that you haven't budgeted and you need to put money into that category to cover that.
Speaker A:But the, the.
Speaker A:When I used YNAB when I did not have a lot of money and it really helped and I had sort of irregular income and it really helped me manage it.
Speaker A:But where ynab, and it's excellent at that and it can help you get to the point where I feel like it really shines, where you can create a buffer, ideally having basically paying for this month's expenses with last month's income.
Speaker A:So you're not, you're not like waiting for a paycheck to come in to be able to budget what you need to budget.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Or put another way, when you get a paycheck, you're applying it to next month's rent, not this month's rent.
Speaker B:And that has a very nice feeling behind it.
Speaker B:That's a Peaceful thing.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, that.
Speaker A:That.
Speaker A:When you say it that way, it does sound much more peaceful.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So, like, when money comes in, you're putting it towards next month's expenses so that they're already budgeted for before they hit.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And when you have a regular income, it seems to me like that would be a little easier because once you get one month buffered, you just keep applying it.
Speaker B:Then when you have an irregular income like I have, it's really helpful because you get this visual image of exactly where your money is going and.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Very, very helpful.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, it is.
Speaker A:It's really.
Speaker A:Has created a sense of financial peace I never expected.
Speaker A:And it's like, I love YNAB so much.
Speaker A:I look, I do it every day.
Speaker A:I get online, and I make sure that all my new transactions are categories properly.
Speaker A:Things that need to get matched up are matched up, and I love doing that every day.
Speaker A:It gives me such a sense of peace having done that.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And again, if you're doing it every day, then it just takes a little bit of time depending upon how many transactions.
Speaker B:Financial transactions you have in a day.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:So it's like this effort that isn't hard, and it's a little bit fun because I've had the experience where I put it off, and then I had to deal with a lot of transactions at once.
Speaker B:And that was less enjoyable.
Speaker A:It is less enjoyable.
Speaker A:But I do our family budget.
Speaker A:I do my.
Speaker A:My business I have on ynab, and then I take care of my mom's finances, and I have that on ynab.
Speaker A:So I'm managing three budgets with.
Speaker A:Good Lord, I don't even.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker A:Trying to think of just roughly how many accounts that would be.
Speaker A:Probably, I don't know, 15 accounts, maybe.
Speaker B:Mm.
Speaker A:15 different accounts between the three bank accounts and credit cards and.
Speaker A:And, yeah.
Speaker A:And I can do it all.
Speaker A:And there's a fair number of transactions, and I can get it all done in definitely less than 15 minutes every morning.
Speaker B:Oh, that's fantastic.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's just great.
Speaker B:I should clarify that I'm just doing my businesses finances.
Speaker B:I know.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:Now, Barry, my husband, takes care of our personal finances, so I just transfer a certain amount of money twice a month into our joint account for my business account.
Speaker B:So everything I'm doing is my business expenses.
Speaker B:So it may be.
Speaker B:When I get really good at it, I'll see if he'd like me to do it for our family's finances as well.
Speaker B:But I'm still on the learning curve.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:But one thing That I found really valuable when I started doing it was.
Speaker B:Was the notion of compiling all your expenses, these annual things that come up.
Speaker B:So for my business, things like your annual Dropbox subscription, your annual maintenance fees for my certification, and writing them all down and then dividing them up by 12 and trying.
Speaker B:And then the software tells me how much each month I need to put into that category.
Speaker B:That.
Speaker B:That's brilliant.
Speaker B:I had the experience last week where my recertification bill came due.
Speaker B:It was $100.
Speaker B:And I looked at my budget and the money was there.
Speaker B:So I didn't.
Speaker B:I just charged it.
Speaker B:And because I had to pay online.
Speaker B:And then when the charge came through, the money in the budget was transferred to the credit card.
Speaker B:So it will be part of my payment of the credit card.
Speaker A:That's awesome that we sort of a.
Speaker A:Same sort of thing.
Speaker A:We have a charitable donation budget, and we.
Speaker A:Before I got my husband fully on board with using it for the family finances, we'd just sort of wing it when a couple of times we would go to fundraising events or, you know, like the kids schools would have auction events and stuff like that.
Speaker A:And we just sort of guess about what a reasonable amount to spend was.
Speaker B:You know, I think that's what most people do, huh?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And so then once I got us all set up on Ynab, I saw what we spent.
Speaker A:I saw, you know, what was reasonable.
Speaker A:And then that money goes in every month into the budget.
Speaker A:And then when it comes time, when we go to an event, then we know exactly how much we have to spend.
Speaker A:So if there is an auction item that we really want, then, you know, we know how much we can bid on it.
Speaker B:That's great.
Speaker B:And Ynab has an app, a mobile app, so you can just glance at your phone.
Speaker B:You don't even have to remember.
Speaker B:You can just look at your phone and see how much you have budgeted for that category and know.
Speaker B:And figure out.
Speaker B:Find out whether you get the thing.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah, that's terrific.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:That sort of reminds me.
Speaker A:I had a funny interaction with a salesperson over the weekend.
Speaker A:We went to the art store and Mike got some things and I got some things, and we go up to the register and we have separate budgets for these fun.
Speaker A:You know, we each have a fun budget of money that we can spend however we want.
Speaker A:And, you know, these things were definitely going to go on our respective fun budgets.
Speaker A:And Mike was like, should we pay for it separately or do you want to just separate it out on the receipt?
Speaker A:And I asked the guy, you know, well, can you subtotal it after you total up his stuff?
Speaker A:And he's like, oh, yeah, sure.
Speaker A:So then he rang up Mike's stuff, subtotal it, and then added my stuff, and then we got the total.
Speaker A:So it made the receipt really easy to manage.
Speaker A:But the guy was sort of looking at me funny.
Speaker A:I said, oh, it has to come out of our separate fun budgets.
Speaker A:And he goes, that's an interesting idea.
Speaker A:My wife's been spending a lot more money than me lately, and maybe we need to do something like this.
Speaker B:Nice.
Speaker A:I said, yeah.
Speaker A:I said, well, it's great because you each know how much you can spend.
Speaker A:And, like, Mike likes to buy things, you know, when he sees them, like, he.
Speaker A:He buys things more regularly.
Speaker A:I like to sort of save my money up.
Speaker A:And then when I see something, I have the money to get it.
Speaker A:Like, I don't have to save for it because I already have.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And so we have very different sort of methods of spending our fun money.
Speaker A:And it doesn't matter because he has his and I have mine.
Speaker A:And, you know, there's no question about it.
Speaker A:Like, if you.
Speaker A:It's kind of.
Speaker A:It makes it so much more relaxing and peaceful.
Speaker B:And peaceful.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:It's good for a peaceful relationship as well.
Speaker B:I mean, you don't have to be keeping an eye on how much he's spending, and he's not looking at what you're spending, and it's budgeted.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And then a side benefit from my experience is that you're budgeting this money and not spending it.
Speaker B:So you're basically saving it.
Speaker B:And so your bank account is fat, but you're not spending that money because it's budgeted.
Speaker B:So it gives you that buffer where you don't have to worry about bouncing a check or anything.
Speaker B:Yet you're not overspending and you're not dipping.
Speaker B:It's like having a savings account without having to transfer money into it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And you.
Speaker A:And that's one of the tricky things, is that you have to get.
Speaker A:If you've been used to managing your money by looking at your bank balance, you can't do that with Ynab.
Speaker A:You have to do it by looking at your.
Speaker A:At your categories and seeing what your budget's like in there.
Speaker A:But it's so nice to go like, oh, you know, we had to have some work done on the car.
Speaker A:I was like, oh, we have a budget item for the car, and happens once or twice a year that we spend it, but it's there.
Speaker A:And so we don't have to worry about where that money is going to come from.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And in the principles within ynab, if you didn't have enough, let's say you had.
Speaker B:You had budgeted $400.
Speaker B:That's what was sitting in your budget for car repairs.
Speaker B:And you came up with a $600 car bill.
Speaker B:You can make.
Speaker B:Move the money.
Speaker B:Or they call it whamming.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Whack a mole.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Move it from your furniture budget or whatever.
Speaker B:Or whatever budget you might have so that you're always.
Speaker B:Your priorities can shift and it's built into the.
Speaker B:The system.
Speaker B:What?
Speaker B:That's rule number two.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:I can't remember what exactly it is, how they phrase it, but it's basically nothing.
Speaker A:I think it's roll with the punches.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Roll with the punches.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:I did read the book, by the way, in episode whatever, the money episode, we talked about ynab, and I was saying, yeah, I gotta read the book.
Speaker B:And you said, really what you need to do is do it, and then it will be a lot more clear to you, which is what I did, of course, because I always take all your advice.
Speaker B:But I then downloaded the book from the library and listened to it and found it very helpful.
Speaker B:I gotta say, it was a nice.
Speaker B:It gave me.
Speaker B:It gave.
Speaker B:I think it was what allowed me to.
Speaker B:Or motivated me to start using YNAB the way it was supposed.
Speaker B:Is supposed to be used.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Well, yeah, I think you have to sort of start using it.
Speaker A:Watch some of their videos.
Speaker A:They have really great educational videos.
Speaker A:And then read the book, read the blog so that you get the concepts behind it.
Speaker A:But understanding the concepts before you understand how the software actually works is.
Speaker A:It's a little more.
Speaker A:I don't know, it seems a little more confusing to me.
Speaker B:I agree 100%.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:If I hadn't had experience trying to use the software, I wouldn't have gotten as much out of the book.
Speaker B:Without a doubt.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Oh, and the other thing I was telling you before we started recording a flash of brilliance I had at the end of the year, that she's helping me a lot, is that in addition to budgeting my business with ynab, I also have to keep track of my expenses.
Speaker B:And YNAB does have reporting, but it's not robust enough for my business.
Speaker B:So I don't feel it is.
Speaker B:Maybe it is.
Speaker B:Anyway, so I'm also keeping all that in QuickBooks.
Speaker B:So when I.
Speaker B:When it's time.
Speaker B:Time for taxes, I'll just.
Speaker B:For my business, I'll do a profit and loss statement and give it to the tax guy.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So at the end of the year, I thought, oh, yeah, I should see how I'm doing with my QuickBooks entry.
Speaker B:And discovered that I had not really entered anything all year.
Speaker B:And I just.
Speaker B:I was shocked and appalled because I felt like I'd been, like, dealing with my finances, but I'd been doing it.
Speaker B:Why not QuickBooks?
Speaker B:So I've gotten myself caught up on QuickBooks.
Speaker B:I had, like, some marathon time at the end of the year doing that.
Speaker B:And then I realized since I'm doing YNAB every day, what happens is I check it and I see the transactions that have come through, and I approve them and budget the money or make sure the money's budgeted correctly.
Speaker B:I'm also going into QuickBooks and entering each of those transactions.
Speaker B:And it.
Speaker B:I think that's so brilliant, so helpful.
Speaker B:Like, I feel so much peace about this.
Speaker B:Like, I'm not behind on QuickBooks for the first time my life, because I'm always behind on QuickBooks.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And that's something that weighs on you.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:We've been asked you about it for years.
Speaker B:It's weighed on me.
Speaker B:I always wanted a better habit of dealing with QuickBooks.
Speaker B:My ideal was that I would do it, like, once a week on Sundays.
Speaker B:I would enter my transactions.
Speaker B:Now I don't even have to do that now.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's just happening.
Speaker B:I paired a habit with an established habit.
Speaker B:So I've already got the habit of doing ynab, and it's kind of fun, and it doesn't have any dread associated with it.
Speaker B:And so now I'm just pairing this new habit of doing the QuickBooks.
Speaker B:Because part of the problem with QuickBooks and one of the reasons that I would put off doing it would be that my.
Speaker B:My memory, I wouldn't remember what.
Speaker B:Like, I have a deposit.
Speaker B:Like, who was this and which client was this?
Speaker B:Oh, my gosh.
Speaker B:There's not a way to run a business.
Speaker B:So there would be, you know, and I don't like feeling stupid.
Speaker B:I don't like feeling helpless.
Speaker B:All these things would come into play.
Speaker B:And now I know exactly what it is because it happened yesterday, and I can just enter it.
Speaker B:So it's.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's going.
Speaker B:I think.
Speaker B: it comes time to do taxes for: Speaker B:When it comes time to just.
Speaker B:Even when I think about money, it's just.
Speaker B:I feel more in Control and happy, and I.
Speaker A:You just know where you're at.
Speaker B:I know.
Speaker B:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I'm very, very excited.
Speaker B:And my top goal for the year in my goal setting this year is to pay off a business credit card.
Speaker B:And so YNAB's giving me the tools to do that.
Speaker B:And along with.
Speaker B:Do you know undebtit.
Speaker B:Do you know that?
Speaker A:Oh, I've heard about it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So it's a free or premium.
Speaker B:There's a premium version, too.
Speaker B:App that helps you figure out the best ways to pay off debt, and it integrates with why now, although I haven't, so I'm not exactly sure what that means.
Speaker B:But it.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's great because it gives you models.
Speaker B:If you pay this much, you know, it'll be gone in this amount of time, that sort of thing.
Speaker A:Oh, right.
Speaker B:And, you know, if people.
Speaker B:I don't have multiple credit cards that I'm paying off, but when people do, it helps them figure out what.
Speaker B:Which order to pay them in in various scenarios.
Speaker B:So it's pretty great.
Speaker B:But anyway, yeah, I'm feeling like I'm in the driver's seat.
Speaker A:Oh, yay.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's big for me.
Speaker A:That's awesome.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker A:Well, and, you know, money can be so stressful, and I think there's just this sort of, I don't know, residual habitual stress around money if you are not on.
Speaker A:On top of it and in control and sort of aware of what's happening with your money, if you've.
Speaker A:If you've ever struggled with money.
Speaker A:So even though you're not in danger of, you know, bouncing a check, you always sort of have that fear if you don't know where you're at.
Speaker A:And that's a problem you've had in the past, right?
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And also, I think once this credit card is paid off, it will really help me not incur any credit card debt.
Speaker B:Because part of the principles in YNAB is that when you spend money on a credit card, you budget for it, and therefore, the money is there for you to pay it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So that's what that.
Speaker A:What we do is we have.
Speaker A:We have our credit card set up on automatic payment, so the payment in Florida is taken out of our bank account.
Speaker A:And we know that that money is in the bank account because we've budgeted for all of it in advance.
Speaker A:So we never have to worry about, like, oh, is there enough money to cover that?
Speaker A:Or, you know, like, you know, when I was not.
Speaker A:When I didn't have as Much extra cash.
Speaker A:I would.
Speaker B:I had.
Speaker B:And I.
Speaker A:Was worried about missing a payment.
Speaker A:I had automatic payment set up as a.
Speaker A:For the minimum amount due.
Speaker A:And then based on what my income.
Speaker A:Then I would budget more money to pay down the credit card.
Speaker A:But you know, there was always like, oh, I have to make sure there's enough money.
Speaker A:Money on such and such a date.
Speaker A:But if you've already budgeted for those things and you're.
Speaker A:And you're spending the money or you know, you've budgeted for it with money that you've already earned, then you get that peace of mind that is so priceless.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:I'm looking forward to it.
Speaker B:That.
Speaker B:That is just amazing.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I know that you would have the autumn because I do this too.
Speaker B:You had the automatic payment for the minimum, not because you intended to only pay the minimum, but so that you wouldn't pay it risk paying it late.
Speaker B:You know, at least you're always right have the minute minimum payments.
Speaker B:You don't get a late charge.
Speaker A:Exactly.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:That's really cool.
Speaker B:I'm looking forward to.
Speaker B:I'm definitely looking forward to it once mine is paid off to putting it on full pay the balance and it's totally on autopilot because the money is there.
Speaker B:I totally get that.
Speaker B:And wow, that's.
Speaker B:I feel really excited even just thinking about it.
Speaker A:Yay.
Speaker B:I feel like.
Speaker B:I hope that listeners, if they're intrigued, will check out the YNAB website.
Speaker B:There's a free trial, 33 days that what we decided they offer.
Speaker A:I think it's something like that.
Speaker B:Just over a month where you can try it out and at no cost.
Speaker B:And then after that there's a.
Speaker B:Is it 6, 6.99amonth?
Speaker B:I should know.
Speaker B:It's in my budget.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:We pay it for a year.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And I want to say it's.
Speaker A:Oh, yeah, so do I. I can't remember how much it is for a year.
Speaker B:I think it's $84 a year or just under $84 a year and it's 100% worth it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:But it's nice that they offer a free trial and we'll have a link in the show notes too to it.
Speaker A:Yeah, I think so.
Speaker A:And that, you know, there are a couple of other things that we talked about.
Speaker A:Like YNAB for me is the cornerstone of my financial piece.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:And I encourage people to check it out and I think I would like to offer if.
Speaker A:If there any of our listeners are.
Speaker A:Want to try out YNAB and have questions about it, I would be happy to answer them in our Facebook group.
Speaker B:Oh, that's wonderful.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Because it is.
Speaker A:It's confusing.
Speaker A:It's a completely different way to think about your money.
Speaker A:So I want to support people who want to try it, because I really do feel like it's life changing.
Speaker B:There are Facebook groups devoted to YNAB as well.
Speaker B:I mean, I think picking your brain, Shannon, is the best solution, the best thing that available to anybody who's listening.
Speaker B:But if they want more, there's.
Speaker B:Or there's.
Speaker B:Do you belong to any of those?
Speaker B:There's a couple.
Speaker B:I belong to at least one YNAB group.
Speaker A:Oh, that's so funny.
Speaker A:It never even occurred to me.
Speaker A:But of course there must be.
Speaker B:Yeah, I think it's like fans of YNAB or something.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:But I think that's a very generous offer, and I hope people take you up on.
Speaker B:I will take you up on it.
Speaker A:Excellent.
Speaker A:But there was a couple of other things that we talked about outside of YNAB that I think can help bring financial peace of mind, and one of them, it's sort of related, but you can do this whether you're using YNAB or not, and that is to create that buffer so that you're paying, you know, this month's income, pays next month's expenses.
Speaker A:And one of the ways that we were able to do that was by Mike gets paid every two weeks, and so he gets 26 paychecks a month.
Speaker A:I mean, a year.
Speaker A:26amonth.
Speaker A:It's amazing.
Speaker A:26 a year.
Speaker A:But we budget based on 24 paychecks a year, as if you were only getting two per month.
Speaker A:As.
Speaker A:And so there's those two extra paychecks that I refer to as the magical paychecks that helped us create our buffer.
Speaker A:And then.
Speaker A:And now they go to a specific line item on our budget that.
Speaker A:So when they come in, they.
Speaker A:They just go straight to this line item for our.
Speaker B:So you have a line item on your budget that's funded specifically by those two extra paychecks?
Speaker A:Yeah, there's a monthly amount goes into it and then.
Speaker A:Plus those two paychecks.
Speaker A:But that helps us meet the annual goal that we want to meet in sort of a painless way.
Speaker B:That's fantastic.
Speaker B:Plus, it keeps you from frivolously spending the bonus money, right?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Oh, that's cool.
Speaker B:That's a very.
Speaker B:That's a very smart.
Speaker B:You're so.
Speaker B:You're so, like, next level smart on this stuff, Shannon.
Speaker A:Well, It's.
Speaker A:It.
Speaker A:I mean, I.
Speaker A:Having been broke and not really having good financial mentor models in my life growing up, you know, I struggled with it, but then I became an investor relations consultant.
Speaker B:Oh, right.
Speaker B:I forgot about that part of your life.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And I started talking about money a lot, and I had to build, like, these crazy spreadsheets for my clients, and.
Speaker A:And then I had a lot of banks as clients, and so I.
Speaker A:You know, I just started thinking about it from a different perspective and helped.
Speaker A:And I.
Speaker A:And I'm always looking for ways to help money feel supportive as opposed to stressful.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Because, you know, that's what it's all.
Speaker A:That's what.
Speaker A:It's there.
Speaker A:It's there to support you.
Speaker B:I feel like you should create a course or something about this.
Speaker B:And it just popped into my head.
Speaker B:I realized we've never talked about that, but it feels like you should.
Speaker B:You'd be a great teacher on that, because that's a beautiful sentiment.
Speaker B:Money is.
Speaker B:Should be supportive, not stressful.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:I mean, that's the idea.
Speaker B:That's my goal.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And I imagine a lot of people feel the same way.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:That's great.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So anything else about financial peace?
Speaker B:I don't think so, but I appreciate your patience in helping.
Speaker B:Well, I was gonna say helping me with ynab, which you have.
Speaker B:But moreover, you've also, like, just been patient and not shaken me and said, why don't you just do it?
Speaker B:Knowing that it would help me when I complain about such things.
Speaker B:So I feel like I'm finally there.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yay.
Speaker A:Well, I'm so thrilled.
Speaker A:Like, when you told me that today, it made me so happy.
Speaker B:Yay.
Speaker B:Yeah, me too.
Speaker B:Me too.
Speaker A:So that's awesome.
Speaker A:Now I'm, like, thinking of all these other things that we can talk about that Mike has a spiel that he gives his young patients because he doesn't just talk to them about their physical health.
Speaker A:He also talks to them about their financial health and their mental health.
Speaker A:They have appointments with him.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:But, you know, it's just another way to think about it, and I think it is useful, like, for your whole life to feel confident about money.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And the sooner in your life you can do it, the better.
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:I would have liked to have been more confident about money about 20 years earlier.
Speaker B:That's what I was thinking.
Speaker B:25 for me.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So what about you?
Speaker A:Do you have financial peace?
Speaker A:Do you have any tips that you would like to share with us?
Speaker A:Do you have questions?
Speaker A: now by leaving a voicemail at: Speaker A: That's: Speaker A:Or by hitting us up on social media, on Facebook and Instagram, @gettingtogoodenough, on Twitter, ttgenough, and of course, always on our website, gettingtogoodenough.com where you'll find the show notes for this episode and all our other ones.
Speaker A:But for now, this is Shannon Wilkinson.
Speaker B:In Portland, Oregon, and Jeanine Adams in St. Louis, Missouri.
Speaker A:And we hope that good enough is getting easier for you.
Speaker A:I feel compelled to go check my Y nab right now.
Speaker B:Make sure there's no red in there.
Speaker B:Yeah.
