I was introduced to budgeting out of necessity. A friend and I were chatting about money and she casually mentioned "it's all about making sure you don't spend more than you make" and for some reason that had never occurred to me before. She walked me through a rudimentary budget using pen and paper and I threw myself full in: cash envelopes up the wazoo. I quickly realized that carrying around $500 or so in cash wasn't quite my style, and a different friend introduced me to YNAB (You Need a Budget).

YNAB felt like an answered prayer - the clarity of cash envelopes with the ease of a digital system. I have been YNABing since 2016 and loving it the whole way. My family has had it's fair share of financial ups and downs (unexpected house repairs, out of work to care for a medically needy child, etc.) but YNAB has been there for us the whole way.

I became a doula because I loved supporting people in the messiness and beauty of their pregnancy and birth journey. I became a YNAB coach because I love supporting people in the messiness and beauty of budgets (YES! a budget can be beautiful). The beauty of YNAB is it helps you simplify your life and your budget by prioritizing what matters to you most.

Let me help you figure out your priorities and let's go assign some dollars!

What makes me unique - Why Dollar Doula

I became a doula because I love supporting people through intense, emotional transitions. I became a YNAB coach for the same reason. Money can feel intense, it is often emotional, and budgeting can become a powerful transition from a place of fear to an attitude of capability and possibility.

Some of my favorite phrases from birth work directly apply to budget work: 

I can do hard things.

Setting up a budget can be hard work the first, second, or seventh time. It takes guts to put pen to paper (or fingertips to keyboard) and knock out a budget that you hope future you will appreciate – and live by!

One breath at a time.

What makes budgeting feel intense is the overwhelming number of decisions associated with it. I’m here to help you figure out - one dollar at a time - how to get your money to work for you.

My budget knows how to do this.

Unexpected travel expense? Unplanned and unpaid time off work? Change in plans due to changing family circumstances? You (and your budget) know how to do this. Let me help you navigate the ups and downs.