Blog
Coast FI Number by Age: What Changes in Your 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s
Searching for a Coast FI number by age usually leads to a chart that makes the answer look simple. Find your age. Find the matching number. Decide...
What to Do After You Hit Coast FI
You ran the numbers. You checked them again. According to the assumptions in your plan, you have reached Coast FI. So why do you still feel like you...
Coast FI for High-Cost Families: Building Flexibility in a High-Cost Life
A Coast FI calculation can look wonderfully simple until you add your actual life. The examples often assume manageable housing costs, predictable...
How We Moved to New Zealand | A Financially Flexible Life
What Does a Financially Flexible Life Really Look Like? When people ask what a financially flexible life actually looks like, I often think back to...
How to Combine Finances Before Marriage
Combining finances before marriage can feel surprisingly… activating. Like, “we love each other, why does this conversation suddenly feel like a pop...
Premarital Money Questions Every Couple Should Ask
Getting married means combining more than schedules, furniture, and family traditions. It also means bringing together money habits, beliefs, fears,...
Budgeting for New Parents
Becoming a parent changes your life in beautiful, exhausting, expensive, and often very humbling ways. Even if you feel emotionally ready, the...
When the Calendar Attacks: Why We Overspend in Busy Seasons
You aren’t bad at budgeting; you are just overwhelmed by the calendar. Learn the 3 phases of seasonal overspending and how to prepare your finances for high-pressure months before they happen.
Burnout on a Budget: How to Control Emotional Spending During Stress
You aren’t spending because you lack discipline; you’re spending because you’re running on fumes. Learn the psychology of “depletion spending” and discover low-effort, shame-free ways to control emotional spending when you are totally burned out.
The Cost of Calm: Why Anxiety Drains Your Wallet
When anxiety hits, does your wallet come out? Emotional spending isn’t a character flaw, it’s your internal alarm system asking for safety. Learn how to quiet the alarm without draining your bank account.
What Your Cart Is Trying to Tell You: 3 Emotional Spending Examples
If you’ve ever found yourself staring at an online checkout screen at 11 PM, wondering how you got there, you aren’t alone. Maybe it was a tough day...
Emotional Spending Triggers and How to Identify Yours
Emotional spending rarely starts with a number. It starts with a feeling. In high-cost, high-pressure lives, spending can quietly become a way to...
Signs You Are an Emotional Spender
A trauma-informed guide to understanding the feelings that shape your financial habits Emotional spending shows up quietly for many of us,...
Money Isn’t Just Math—It’s Memory: My Conversation on World Travel Made Easy
Money isn’t just math—it’s memory and nervous system. This recap explores financial trauma and travel rewards, values-based money dates for couples, and simple guardrails (PIF autopay, one points purpose) so you can turn stress into options—and actually enjoy the trips you plan.
We Reached Coast FI at 50 on the West Coast. Here’s What Changed
When my husband retired at 50, we reached the goal we had started talking about ten years earlier. But the biggest change was not crossing a...
Navigating Cumulative Financial Stress: A Guide to Building Your Balance in High Cost of Living Areas
Financial stress often doesn't come from a single event—it's cumulative. Rising living costs, unexpected expenses, and economic uncertainty can make...
Navigating Financial Stress: My Personal Tax Slip-Up
Have you ever experienced that moment when financial anxiety punches you right in the stomach? Well, let me tell you about my recent experience. My...
Financial Wellbeing Guide for New College Students
I recently helped organize the University of California, Berkeley (Cal) Summer Welcome Party for new students from Sacramento, California put on by...
Nurturing Financial Literacy: A Guide to Talking About Wealth and Money with Your Kids
Embarking on the journey of parenthood involves navigating crucial conversations that often slip away amidst the daily hustle and bustle. One such...
W2 Employment to Solopreneur: I’m Scared and I’m Doing It Anyways
Have you ever done something that you were scared to do but did it anyway? I recently took a big step in my career. I retired as a medical social...
Generational Wealth: The Ultimate Blueprint for Success
In today's rapidly changing economic landscape, achieving generational wealth is more than just accumulating financial assets; it's about securing a...
We More Than Tripled Our Net Worth in Less Than Seven Years, Here’s How
In the complex landscape of personal finance and building generational wealth, the pursuit of wealth often involves more than just dollars and...
Family Adventures to New Zealand and Australia: The Ultimate Winter Trip
An important part of my overall wellbeing is traveling and having adventures, especially with my family. Being a busy mom, wife, daughter, employee...
The Power of Unity: The Benefits of Couples Financial Wellbeing Coaching
Money matters can be a significant source of tension and discord in relationships. Disagreements about finances can strain even the strongest...
A Client’s Conversation With Their Money: “Many Things to Many People”
Have you ever had a conversation with your money? Yes, that's right a conversation with your money. It is highly likely you have not, but...
Money Scripts and Realtors
Knowing your money scripts can be highly beneficial for a real estate agent in several ways. This blog post aims to define money scripts and how...
Top Benefits of Financial Wellness Groups
Financial Wellness Groups, focused on finances and emotions, can provide a supportive and transformative environment for individuals, couples, and...
Nature-Based Coaching: Why You Need It Now
Nature-based coaching, also known as ecotherapy or green therapy, is a coaching approach that recognizes the interconnectedness of human beings with...
Paying off a Mortgage Early: Should We or Shouldn’t We?
Have you ever thought about paying off your mortgage early? Well, it has been on our radar since my husband and I started getting serious. But, we...
How to Navigate Financial Anxiety in the Face of Bank Collapses
With recent bank instability, including the collapse of Crypto Bank, Silvergate, and SVB Financial Group in Santa Clara, it is understandable that...
Building Generational Wealth: Practicing Financial Skills at Home
How does managing your money every month make you feel? For many, it feels overwhelming, stressful, limiting, and frankly, frightening. Building a...
Building Generational Wealth: Learning Financial Skills to Build Lasting Wealth
You are more than capable of learning new money skills, building better relationships, and teaching your kids better habits with money, and it all...
Building Generational Wealth: How to Start Talking About Money With Your Kids
Let’s face it, talking about money can be awkward. Couples across the country struggle to communicate about finances, coworkers don’t know how to...
How Financial Wellbeing Coaching Helps at Different Life Stages
Financial Wellbeing Coaching is becoming more relevant for those looking to work through obstacles of all sorts and accomplish their...
Coping With Stress and Finding Financial Rhythm After Diagnosis
Illness adds stress to our lives and our bodies in countless ways, from the physical pain and stress that chronic illness causes to the mental...
My First Million: How To Get Your Kids Started
Where do we start with our kids and money? The earlier the better. This video goes over ways to get your kid started as well as essential money...
Considering Divorce? Financial and Emotional Tips
Divorce can be stressful and overwhelming. This video reviews the main things to consider to best prepare yourself emotionally and financially. More...
Prenuptial Agreements: How to Start the Conversation
Prenuptial agreements are a preventative tool. They protect couples both financially and emotionally. And, customizing your agreement before you...
How to Teach Young Kids About Money and Build Financial Wellbeing
Teaching kids about money early can help them develop the skills they need to build financial wellbeing and financial resilience for years to come....
Finding New Financial Rhythms After Divorce
Ending a relationship can signal the start of a huge life transition, and divorce can bring a wave of changes to many rhythms in life. House chores,...
Building Financial Rhythm in New Relationships
Summer is here, with the season of weddings, new bonds, and new beginnings in full swing. While recent engagements bring all the wonderful emotions...
Top Tips for Visiting the Arctic North Pole, Lapland, Finland
The Trip of a Life Time As a family of three, we traveled to Lapland, Finland in search of a big adventure this past December. It was the most...
Financial Intimacy: Mindful Money Premarital Conversations Checklist
How financially intimate are you and your partner? In this video, I go over my Couples Mindful Money Conversations Premarital Money checklist. This...
Preventative Care for Financial Stress in Relationships
As a pandemic has rocked the nation, healthcare has been a hot topic on every news channel, and preventative care has become a major conversation....
The Power of Financial Rhythm In Relationships
Relationships start with all sorts of excitement, fireworks, and butterflies. But over time, the chaos subsides, and we find a natural rhythm to...
Mindful Money: Practicing Receiving and Giving Well Wishes
Practicing Receiving and Giving Well Wishes Welcome to my Mindful Money/How Do I Practice Loving Kindness? series. These videos aim to help connect...
Dealing With Financial Stress: Rhythm Over Routine
How do you deal with stress? Honestly, in your everyday life, when you face financial stress or your partner gets on your nerves, how do you deal...
Getting Your Financial House in Order in the Face of Abuse + Checklist
In honor of International Women's Day, I would like to shine light on domestic violence that women experience worldwide which includes financial...
February Love: The Importance of a Legacy Binder + Free Checklist
February, in the US, is often known for being a month dedicated to and all about love. But February should not only be about valentines, it should...
Practical Ways to Practice Self-Love
February is commonly known as the month of love, where kids pass out Valentine’s Day cards, couples spend romantic evenings together, and candy...
Mindful Money: Practicing Loving Kindness
Practicing Loving Kindness Welcome to my Mindful Money/How Do I...? series. These videos aim to help connect your mind and body in supporting your...
The Joy of Missing Out
A New Year is always such a magical time, full of possibility as January 1st hits with a feeling of freshness in the air. For many, New Year’s...
Why I Am Going to the North Pole
You may not know this about me but I love adventure. It is a core value of mine. In my blog, I often talk about values based financial decision...
The Gift of Giving to Others
During the month of December we’re bombarded with commercials, emails, and endless posts that advertise the joy of giving to others. The perfect...
Financial Self-Care: Transforming Stress Into Money Gratitude
As the holiday season quickly approaches, many of us can feel an overwhelming sense of financial stress. While we want to feel gratitude and joy in...
Money Doesn’t Have to Be Scary
From scary clowns to haunted houses and things that go bump in the night, Halloween brings to light some of our deepest fears. While you curl up on...
Breaking Psychological Barriers with Money
Why does it always feel like money is such a struggle? Whether it’s an unexpected bill that just popped up or an emergency that you never saw...
Why Financial Independence Is the Right Path for Us
Financial Independence Financial independence (FI) is the status of having enough income to pay one's living expenses for the rest of one's life...
How to Stick to Your Savings Goals
What do you dream about doing if money wasn’t a factor? Would you buy your dream home? Take the vacation of a lifetime with family or friends? ...
The Pursuit of Financial Independence: Where Coast FI Fits
When was the last time you looked at your money and felt hopeful? For many people, checking a bank balance, opening a credit card statement, or...
Value-Based Budgeting: How to Budget Your Money and Time According to Your Values
Most people hear the word “budget” and instantly cringe. Budgeting usually feels restrictive, like it will keep you from having any fun or buying...
Navigating FOMO: How to Align Your Spending With Your Money Values
Scroll through social media or turn on the TV and you’ll find yourself faced with pictures of gourmet dinner dates, perfect destination vacations,...
Money Beliefs: The Cost of College
Money can bring out all kinds of emotions, especially when tied to big ideas like what you want to do with your life. There’s a widely accepted idea...
“I Want to Live Debt Free.”
As part of honoring Women's History Month and International Women's Day (March 8), March blogs are dedicated to inspiring money (hi) stories that...
Your Money Story: How Your History and Experiences Shape Your Views on Money
Do you ever wonder why you look at money so differently compared to your friends, coworkers, or significant other? People come from all sorts of...
In the Name of Love: Get Your Legacy Binder Together
February, in the US, is often known for being a month dedicated to and all about love. But February should not only be about valentines, it should...
“I Want to Get On the Same Financial Page With My Partner but I Am Not Sure How”. Three Ways to Get Your Partner Motivated About Financial Health.
It’s time to acknowledge the literature and research about money and relationships. Scream it from the top of your lungs: “Money will impact my...
Wrestling With Money Vigilance: A Personal Money Story
According to Brad Klontz, a financial psychologist, CPA, researcher, and author, he reports that a person with money vigilance is alert, watching,...
How to Navigate the Holidays by Setting Financial Boundaries
The holidays are quickly approaching and will look different this year secondary to the pandemic. However, no matter what your financial situation,...