You Need a Budget: The Proven System for Breaking the Paycheck to Paycheck Cycle, Getting Out of Debt, and Living the Life You Want

by Jesse Mecham

YNAB’S PRIORITY CHEAT SHEET Knowing what to prioritize first doesn’t always come naturally, so at YNAB, we encourage following this clear Rule One hierarchy: • Take care of your immediate obligations first—a roof over your head, food for you and your family, and bills like electric and heat that mean bad things if you don’t pay them. Just setting aside money for these and knowing it’s there will help you be more secure and feel more secure. • Then move to the true expenses (more about these in Chapter 3). These are large, irregular expenses that surprise you (you know the feeling) but really shouldn’t. • Now the real fun kicks in. What are your highest priorities after your obligations? Family time? A hobby that borders on obsession? I won’t judge, but fund those next. • From there, we get into things that require money, but are just for fun. The sky wouldn’t fall if they didn’t get funded for a month. The choices are still yours, but following this structure can help you learn what’s important to you, and what might just have been spending habits you’d happily drop.