Resources That Actually Help You Budget

We've spent years testing different approaches to financial education. These materials come from real situations where people learned to manage money better—not abstract theory.

What You'll Find Here

Our materials started as internal documents we created while working with clients. When someone asked a good question, we'd write it down. When a method worked particularly well, we documented it. Over time, these notes became the foundation of our teaching approach.

Budget Templates

Spreadsheets that people actually use. We track which versions work best—current templates reflect feedback from several hundred users who found previous versions confusing or incomplete.

Weekly Exercises

Short tasks you can finish during lunch. Each one focuses on a single aspect of budgeting—tracking one category of spending, or calculating one financial ratio. Nothing fancy.

Case Breakdowns

Real budgeting scenarios from our client work (with details changed for privacy). We walk through what worked, what didn't, and why certain decisions made sense in context.

Video Walkthroughs

Screen recordings where we build budgets from scratch. You'll see the messy first drafts and false starts—not just polished final versions that hide the actual process.

Discussion Forums

A place to ask questions about specific situations. Other learners often have better answers than we do—someone's probably dealt with your exact budgeting challenge before.

Reference Guides

Quick lookups for common questions. What's a reasonable percentage to spend on housing? How do you categorize irregular expenses? These aren't rules—just patterns we've noticed.

Monthly Practice Sessions

Every third Tuesday, we run live budgeting workshops where you work through actual scenarios. Bring your laptop and current financial situation—we'll help you apply what you're learning to your real budget.

Most people show up with questions about their specific circumstances. That's exactly what these sessions are for. We can't give you personalized financial advice (we're educators, not advisors), but we can show you how to think through your situation systematically.

  • Interactive budget building sessions with real data
  • Small groups so you can ask detailed questions
  • Next session scheduled for September 16, 2025
  • Recordings available if you miss the live session
See Workshop Schedule
Budget workshop session with participants working on laptops

Who Creates These Materials

Our teaching team has backgrounds in accounting, financial planning, and adult education. But more importantly, each of us has made significant budgeting mistakes—and learned from them.

Bernard teaches budget fundamentals and expense tracking

Bernard Mikkelsen

Budget Fundamentals

Worked as a bookkeeper for twelve years before moving into education. Specializes in helping people who find traditional budgeting advice too vague or complicated to use.

Rita covers cash flow planning and savings strategies

Rita Chávez

Cash Flow Planning

Former financial analyst who got tired of making recommendations people couldn't actually follow. Now focuses on teaching methods that work with real-world constraints and messy situations.

Goran handles advanced budgeting and financial planning

Goran Andersen

Financial Systems

Spent eight years helping small businesses organize their finances. Good at explaining why certain approaches fail and what to try instead when your first plan doesn't work.

Structured learning materials organized by skill level

How to Use These Resources

There's no required order—start wherever makes sense for your situation. That said, most people follow a pattern like this:

  • Start With the Basics

    Download a simple tracking template. Use it for one month without changing anything about your spending. Just record what actually happens.

  • Analyze Your Patterns

    Look at where money went. Not to judge yourself—just to understand your baseline. Our analysis guides help you spot patterns you might miss on your own.

  • Make One Change

    Pick the easiest improvement you can think of. Track it for another month. See if the change sticks. If not, try something else. Our case studies show this works better than overhauling everything at once.

  • Build Your System

    Once you have a few successful changes, you'll start to see what works for you. Our advanced materials help you create a personal system that actually fits your life.

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