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Hello, YNABers. My name is Jesse Meekam with

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another episode of the YNAB podcast, and I'm

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here each week to obsess out loud about

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spending purposefully, saving aspirationally, and even giving joyfully.

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It all comes down, as you know, to

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just four simple habits. But for today, I

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just wish you a very, very, very Merry

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Christmas. And I

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hope it was... Yeah, I just hope the

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day is full of all that you are hoping

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for. We take a break

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at YNAB around the holidays. So

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it's a two-week break,

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I think, is how it kind of works out

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to be. And we started when we were a

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really small company, and then it was

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kind of easy. And we've kept it as

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we've become a slightly larger company. And

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it's become a little more of a, you

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know, a little more of a trick to make sure

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everyone gets their holiday time off. We

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got to stagger things and things like that. But

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it's important. I like

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this kind of forced moment

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where we get to

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figure out or remember. I

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think it's really remember what's

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really important. And I

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know you're going to say, well, Jesse,

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how does this tie into, you know,

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spending? Well, hopefully

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it's not in the, you know, spending irrationally

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and reactively and on autopilot

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kind of way that Christmas

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is unfortunately becoming known for.

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Hopefully it's the spending purposefully bit

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of what we aspire to. Hopefully

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you were saving aspirationally

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all year long to

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be able to bless family and friends

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with gifts that are meaningful. You

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know, we... It's

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fun to give gifts. It's...

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You have to think about the person. You have to, you

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know, you have to kind of figure out a little bit of

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a puzzle. And I've always enjoyed that, but

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it's really fun. when you know

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that there's no other kind

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of secret stress that's hidden behind it. So

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hopefully that for you was this year for

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Christmas. Looking ahead and paying

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that Christmas bill every single month.

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Now, is it too early for me

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to mention Christmas 2024? Yes,

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yes it is, but I'm going to anyway.

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Beginning in just a few days, you

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can set up a Christmas target

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in YNAB. And you can say,

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and I always do this for easy math, I'm going to

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spend $1,200 on Christmas. You

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now have committed to a $100 per month

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Christmas bill. And

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it is a happy, joyful, merry

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bill where you just set aside

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that money and like

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clockwork, as

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the season starts to turn a corner again, you'll

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find that there's a pile of money there just

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waiting to be used in all the right ways.

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And those right ways are your ways, not my ways, but

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they are right. And the money is there, meant

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to bless, meant to not

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have you second guess. And

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Christmas isn't about any of the

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money. It is about any of that. But isn't

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it nice if we can at least for one day

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have money kind of be able to get out

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of the way in a sense.

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So I hope that's the case for you. And

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if not, I hope you just can

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kind of nod and say, ah, but it will be next

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year. So we will see you

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next year. Until next time, for

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these last few days. Remember, it's

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just four simple habits. Merry Christmas.