Today’s episode of the Consumerism Commentary Podcast focuses on budgeting. Our first guest is Jesse Mecham, designer of the budgeting software You Need a Budget. We speak with Jesse about his philosophy and rules of budgeting and how it relates to the software he designed.
In the second half of the podcast, our guests are Francois Bondiguel and Jason Leong, co-founders of the budgeting software PocketSmith. Tom Dziubek speaks with Francois and Jason about PocketSmith.
To listen, use the player above (Adobe Flash required), download the podcast here, subscribe to the podcast RSS feed, or use the iTunes link. Note: open links in a new window (Ctrl-click or Command-click) to avoid interrupting the podcast.
[00:00] Introduction from Tom Dziubek
[00:40] Interview with Jesse Mecham of You Need a Budget about budgeting
– [01:08] Traditional budgeting
– [02:05] Budget limits vs. ways to reduce spending
– [04:39] Budgeting philosophies that ensure success
– [09:46] You Need a Budget (YNAB)
– [13:05] How YNAB is different from other budgeting tools
– [14:44] Price of the YNAB software
[15:59] Interview with the co-founders of PocketSmith
– [16:15] How the co-founders met
– [18:24] Explaining PocketSmith
– [19:40] How PocketSmith is different
– [20:34] PocketSmith’s target audience
– [22:27] Information required by PocketSmith
– [23:19] PocketSmith membership accounts
[27:56] End
We always welcome feedback from listeners. If you have any comments for this episode or for any other, or if you have suggestions for future episodes, please leave us comments here or email us at podcast at this domain name.
Updated January 16, 2010 and originally published September 6, 2009. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the RSS feed or receive daily emails. Follow @flexo on Twitter and visit our Facebook page for more updates.
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Luke Landes founded Consumerism Commentary in 2003 and has been building online communities since 1990. Luke, also known as Flexo, has contributed to PC World Magazine, US News, Forbes, and other publications. 
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Enjoyed the podcast. You Need a Budget sounds like a simple but very powerful tool. I like the idea that the software helps you determine what you want to do with your money based on your values. And that it helps you find areas where you are wasting money. For a fairly small outlay, it sounds like good value for money.
Thanks, Save Money Hound, I’m glad you enjoyed the podcast.