Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast

It’s summer rebroadcast season! Ok, let's get this out of the way: We're big fans of You Need a Budget. Like, huge fans. Massive, life-changing kind of product fans. So you can imagine that we're a bit beside ourselves this week.

See, for someone who has had struggles with money in the past, discovering a tool that has the capacity to rewire your brain around budgeting and spending is a pretty big deal™. That's YNAB, a budgeting tool like no other. Even better, while the team had not intention to make a budgeting tool that can work for folks with ADHD brains, for a lot of us, they did just that.

Jesse Mecham is the Founder of YNAB and personal finance expert. He hosts the You Need A Budget Podcast, the Beginning Balance Podcast and is the Wall Street Journal best-selling author of the book of the same name, You Need A Budget. The Smart Money Mama herself, Chelsea Brennan, introduced us to YNAB in 2020 and the tool quickly landed at the top of our list of favorite, life-changing services, so Jesse is here not only as a budgeting guy we think you might like to meet, but because we are legit fans.

YNAB isn't a sponsor of this show, but we encourage you to visit right away and sign up for their 34-day free trial and see how it works for you.
  • (00:36) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast
  • (02:59) - Support the Show: Become a Patron at Patreon.com/TheADHDPodcast
  • (06:00) - Introducing Jesse Mecham
  • (13:16) - The Tenses of Money
  • (16:15) - The Four Rules
  • (17:13) - 1. Giving Every Dollar a Job
  • (20:17) - 2. Embrace your True Expenses
  • (25:23) - 3. Role with the Punches
  • (26:35) - 4. Aging Your Money
  • (29:45) - The Elusive Emergency Fund
  • (33:05) - What if you hate "Budgeting"
  • (34:35) - Your Credit Card and You
  • (39:01) - What if you're overwhelmed?
  • (42:49) - YNAB as a Couple
  • (46:05) - Kids

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Join the Declutter Challenge!
The Winter 2026 ADHD Declutter Challenge is now open for enrollment! Join a community of people on a 31-day mission to reduce clutter and start the new season with a fresh new view by visiting https://takecontroladhd.com/declutter.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

What is Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast?

Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright offer support, life management strategies, and time and technology tips, dedicated to anyone looking to take control while living with ADHD.