FAQs
What services do you provide?
I offer advice-only budget coaching services for individuals, couples, and families. My work focuses on helping you (a) figure out where your money is currently going, (b) decide where you want it to go instead, and (c) design smart and sustainable systems to make it happen. I do not offer investment management services, advise on retirement planning, prepare taxes, or sell any financial products.
What does "advice-only" mean?
Advice-only means I only provide suggestions and recommendations of what you should do, but I do not provide any direct money management for you.
How are you compensated?
I am fee-only, meaning that my compensation comes only directly from the fees paid by my clients. I do not receive referral fees or commissions from any products or services I may recommend to you, nor do I sell financial products of any kind. My fees are transparent and up front so you always know exactly how much you are paying me. You are also the only one paying me, and as a result I only recommend what is in your best interest at all times.
How can I justify spending money to help me solve this problem?
It can seem counterintuitive to pay somebody if you are struggling with your money. However, if you are struggling and have not been able to solve the problem on your own, consider what will happen if you allow the problem to continue unchecked for another 6 months, 6 years, or even longer! Carrying credit card debt is expensive, and making a poorly planned large purchase can be expensive too. Hiring somebody to help you comes with a steep upfront cost; however, this is an investment in yourself and your progress. At some point, leaving the problem unsolved is more expensive than solving it, both in terms of financial and emotional cost. To truly evaluate this decision, you need to look at both the costs and the benefits of working together.
While I cannot guarantee specific financial outcomes, I have seen repeatedly how my services will save you money both immediately, as we find subscriptions you had forgotten to cancel and other ways to immediately reduce your expenses, as well as long term, as we work on stopping the pattern of carrying expensive credit card debt, reevaluating what expenses truly add value to your life, and make other changes to your spending habits.
How many sessions will we need to solve my problem?
All clients are on their own journeys, and for some, our work together lasts only a few sessions, and for others, we work together for years. Working with a coach gives you the benefit of ongoing accountability, support, and structure. Typically, most clients start off with more frequent sessions as we start to delve into your money and start getting new systems set up, and then these sessions naturally start to space themselves out over time. After we have completed the more intensive upfront work together, you can continue to check in weekly, every other week, monthly, or quarterly to keep you on track for the long term.
Do I need to have a certain level of savings or investments to work with you?
I work with clients across a large range of income levels, assets, and debts. There is no one typical client profile, and no asset or income minimums to meet. All clients are charged the same fees regardless of assets or income.
Where do we meet?
We will meet online over Zoom.
How long are sessions?
Depending on the package you have selected, sessions may be 55 minutes, 1 hour and 25 minutes, or 1 hour and 55 minutes in length. Sessions start on the hour or half hour, and they wrap up 5 minutes before the hour or half hour. A few minutes before our scheduled end time, we will pivot to reviewing next steps and scheduling.
Do you offer evening and weekend sessions?
I do sometimes have evening and weekend availability, though these times tend to be popular and book up quickly. Evening and weekend scheduling access is available as a package upgrade. Please email me to inquire about current availability and pricing.
What tools will we use?
We will collaborate primarily via Zoom and Google Sheets. You will need a Gmail account in order to access Google Sheets, and a computer with a webcam to access Zoom. An iPad, phone, or Chromebook unfortunately won’t work for most clients.
What will happen in a typical meeting?
In a typical meeting, we will use Zoom to screen share from your computer. I will sometimes also request virtual access to your screen, so we can collaboratively type and edit documents together.
Is my data secure with you?
By design, I do not ever have any of your financial information in my possession. The information we review together will be saved on your own computer or in a cloud system owned by you. I will not have any of your passwords, log in details, account numbers, credit card numbers, or any other sensitive financial information at any time. Your data will always remain your own, and you choose what to share with me.
Is our work together confidential?
Yes, absolutely. I take very seriously the responsibility of being a confidante for my clients. This is all spelled out in our client agreement.
Can you help me save $20k in 1 week?
No, probably not. There are, sadly, no shortcuts to creating a solid financial footing, and only you have the power to change your situation. I do firmly believe, however, that if you want to change your financial situation, you can. I can provide the tools, expertise, vision, support, and accountability for you to get where you want to go at a pace that is achievable for you. My goal for you is long term, sustainable financial health, so while we may make some changes right away, the most powerful changes will be made over the long term. That said, many of the tweaks we make will likely add up to large financial impacts over a lifetime.
I'd like to work with you. What are the next steps?
Great! The first step is to schedule your free 20-minute consultation call so we can confirm my service is a a good fit for your needs. After booking, you will receive a confirmation email with our meeting link. Once we’ve talked and you decide you want to move ahead and work together, we will get you scheduled on my calendar, there will be a contract for you to sign electronically, and you can set up your payment plan.
I feel overwhelmed by the idea of collecting my financial information.
This is very common! For this reason many clients choose to work through the data gathering work together over Zoom. There is no requirement that you have everything pulled together ahead of time — we will work through that together. Together we will get it done!
Do you work with clients who have ADHD?
Yes! I have worked with many clients who have (or suspect they may have) ADHD. ADHD is largely underdiagnosed in adults and in particular adult women, and it can cause patterns of financial difficulties relating to issues around executive function. Certain budgeting tools, strategies, and approaches are going to be more successful for those with ADHD, so it can be very important to choose an ADHD-literate coach!
Do you offer payment plans?
Yes. Reach out and we can discuss what would work for you and your budget, and we will work something out to spread the payments out over time.
Do you offer reduced price services?
Yes, I reserve a limited number of spots in my client roster for income-based sliding-scale clients. Reach out to discuss this further if this is of interest to you.