Hello, my name is Jesse Mekum and this is podcast number 503 for YNAB, where we teach you

four rules to help you stop if you paycheck to paycheck, get out of debt and save more money.

For your listening pleasure, I am pleased to come back to you three years into what I've

called just one big massive experiment for the benefit of YNAB podcast listeners everywhere

and it goes a little something like this.

I hesitate, I honestly hesitate to share with you the blasphemy that I must confess.

But for the sake of science, here's how it has gone down in the Mekum household since the

beginning of 2018, little recap, 2018, no experiment at all.

Just straight up playing vanilla budgeting, we got our direct import going, we're entering

transactions on our phone, we're having our monthly budget meeting, we're clicking

along, we're saving up for house repairs or following rule two, we're embracing our

true expenses, we're rolling with the punches, we're making things green and gray, it works.

2019, I'm thinking, you know, I really want to test just hyper awareness of our money.

And Julie's probably thinking, oh, good, hyper aware Jesse of money, that this is going

to be great.

No, I'm just kidding.

I don't even think she thought that.

I just think she thought I support you in this experiment.

So what do I do?

I disconnect, I started a brand new budget, fresh start.

Disconnect all bank accounts and we went full on manual only for all of 2019, full on.

I updated every single transaction manually, every single morning, reconciled, every single

...