Just last week my brother, 10 years older than me, said he figures he’s too old to learn how to have a different relationship with money. My heart broke, because I felt the same way a few years back, but now I can honestly say I am re-defining my relationship with money to great success. I told him as much, and he seemed skeptical, which I get because he knows how many times I’ve dug myself out of debt just to turn around and ask him for an emergency loan. But it’s true: I am getting good at money, letting go of the shame we inherited for being people who are “bad” with money. Hopefully someday I can get my brother to give YNAB a try!
Ellie, it does feel a bit chicken and egg. It's hard to believe you can change patterns and behaviors and get good with money until you've seen yourself do it, but you also probably won't be inclined to try it unless you believe you can. I imagine you are an inspiring example for your brother, and I hope he decides to give it a try as well.
I will say that the book Die With Zero can be a real call to action for people to get intentional with their money sooner rather than later. The book is way more nuanced than its title might suggest. I can tell you that I've had several really positive conversations with my eighty-year-old mother-in-law about money, some of which were started by ideas in that book (and she has a fairly fixed idea of how she should relate to money).
As a recent widow in my early 60's, having to manage our money on my own was overwhelming, scary, and anxiety ridden. The only thing I was doing was looking at my spending in hindsight and constantly being fearful of my future. My brother turned me on to YNAB...thank goodness, which has calmed me down considerably. I feel more freedom knowing I have control over my finances. My future is still scary but that's a whole other topic....
I'm sorry for your loss, Tawn. I can imagine how the uncertainty and overwhelmed about your finances probably only made the whole situation feel more unmanageable. Kudos to your brother, and you for making inroads on this during a rough time. Thanks for writing!
Any possibility of more posts on this publication that aren’t completely based on “you’re bad at money?” I’ve been a YNAB user for several years and think I’m pretty ok with money…but I’m still interested in new ideas.
Just to take the other side, I've been with YNAB for several years and still have struggled to move into planning ahead instead of tracking. This article helped me realize that yes, I'm great at tracking, but maybe I need to admit that I'm still bad at money. I get what you're saying too though!
Hey Jimmy, thanks for writing. Do you mean you wish there were more posts that assumed people were already good at money, or specifically avoiding that phrase "bad at money"?
I feel like most of YNAB's content lately (both here and YouTube) is around attracting new users, rather than people who've been YNABing for years. I thought it was just a new year thing at first but we're in March now lol xx
I do want people who've been using YNAB for years to feel like they've got a good reason to read this newsletter. I also genuinely feel that YNAB has a unique POV that is much needed among people who are struggling with money. I think there's a lot of unhelpful advice and pressures out there around personal finance. All that being said, if you think the balance is off here between speaking to experienced YNABers and new folks, that's good to know. Thank you.
Perhaps more the former than the latter? Or at least more content that is useful along the full spectrum of people who are interested in having a good personal finance situation.
A “you’re bad at money” article is a bit of a turn off for me, but perhaps it’s appealing to others?
Got it, thank you. No pressure, Jimmy, but since I have you on the line, if there's anything specific you want to see mentioned more in here, I'm all ears!
Well, I’ve watched all the Hannah videos with my partner a while back. So I’ll say I don’t know what I still don’t know. Perhaps more ways to analyze saving and spending?
I feel like I've just had an x-ray taken of me while I read your article. The shame piece really penetrated. Need to read more like this and start a plan...
Just last week my brother, 10 years older than me, said he figures he’s too old to learn how to have a different relationship with money. My heart broke, because I felt the same way a few years back, but now I can honestly say I am re-defining my relationship with money to great success. I told him as much, and he seemed skeptical, which I get because he knows how many times I’ve dug myself out of debt just to turn around and ask him for an emergency loan. But it’s true: I am getting good at money, letting go of the shame we inherited for being people who are “bad” with money. Hopefully someday I can get my brother to give YNAB a try!
Ellie, it does feel a bit chicken and egg. It's hard to believe you can change patterns and behaviors and get good with money until you've seen yourself do it, but you also probably won't be inclined to try it unless you believe you can. I imagine you are an inspiring example for your brother, and I hope he decides to give it a try as well.
I will say that the book Die With Zero can be a real call to action for people to get intentional with their money sooner rather than later. The book is way more nuanced than its title might suggest. I can tell you that I've had several really positive conversations with my eighty-year-old mother-in-law about money, some of which were started by ideas in that book (and she has a fairly fixed idea of how she should relate to money).
As a recent widow in my early 60's, having to manage our money on my own was overwhelming, scary, and anxiety ridden. The only thing I was doing was looking at my spending in hindsight and constantly being fearful of my future. My brother turned me on to YNAB...thank goodness, which has calmed me down considerably. I feel more freedom knowing I have control over my finances. My future is still scary but that's a whole other topic....
I'm sorry for your loss, Tawn. I can imagine how the uncertainty and overwhelmed about your finances probably only made the whole situation feel more unmanageable. Kudos to your brother, and you for making inroads on this during a rough time. Thanks for writing!
Any possibility of more posts on this publication that aren’t completely based on “you’re bad at money?” I’ve been a YNAB user for several years and think I’m pretty ok with money…but I’m still interested in new ideas.
Just to take the other side, I've been with YNAB for several years and still have struggled to move into planning ahead instead of tracking. This article helped me realize that yes, I'm great at tracking, but maybe I need to admit that I'm still bad at money. I get what you're saying too though!
Hey Jimmy, thanks for writing. Do you mean you wish there were more posts that assumed people were already good at money, or specifically avoiding that phrase "bad at money"?
I feel like most of YNAB's content lately (both here and YouTube) is around attracting new users, rather than people who've been YNABing for years. I thought it was just a new year thing at first but we're in March now lol xx
I do want people who've been using YNAB for years to feel like they've got a good reason to read this newsletter. I also genuinely feel that YNAB has a unique POV that is much needed among people who are struggling with money. I think there's a lot of unhelpful advice and pressures out there around personal finance. All that being said, if you think the balance is off here between speaking to experienced YNABers and new folks, that's good to know. Thank you.
Perhaps more the former than the latter? Or at least more content that is useful along the full spectrum of people who are interested in having a good personal finance situation.
A “you’re bad at money” article is a bit of a turn off for me, but perhaps it’s appealing to others?
Got it, thank you. No pressure, Jimmy, but since I have you on the line, if there's anything specific you want to see mentioned more in here, I'm all ears!
Well, I’ve watched all the Hannah videos with my partner a while back. So I’ll say I don’t know what I still don’t know. Perhaps more ways to analyze saving and spending?
I feel like I've just had an x-ray taken of me while I read your article. The shame piece really penetrated. Need to read more like this and start a plan...
Great post- i started getting better with money when my son turned me onto YNAB about 10 years ago.