Frequently Asked Questions

How long have you been coaching?
I’ve been using YNAB since 2013, and talking my friends ears off about it ever since. I’ve worked informally with friends who wanted to learn the platform, and in Spring 2023 I took the YNAB Certified Coaching course. In January 2024 I started my official coaching practice after working with volunteer clients during the certification process. If you’d like to talk to someone I’ve coached in the past, I’m happy to connect you.

Why do you love YNAB?
Unlike other budgeting tools I’ve used, YNAB allows you to be proactive about prioritizing where your money goes. Rather than setting aspirational spending limits and then throwing up your hands when you go over, YNAB asks you to roll with the punches and make adjustments as life happens. The tool allows me to have an incredibly clear picture of what I have, what I need and how to meet my financial goals. Although there is a sometimes steep learning curve, once you get the hang of it you can manage your financial life in just a few minutes a day.

How much does coaching cost?

All my offerings are listed as tiers that represent a sliding scale. This is to allow for people who traditionally cannot access financial support or coaching to afford it. In order for the scale to remain accessible, people who make more, have significant savings or assets need to put themselves on the higher part of the scale. 

Here are some guidelines to help you decide where you should be on the scale. All amounts are in USD: 

• Tier 1 is for people/families making under $50k/yr without savings or familial support. 
• Tier 2 is for people/families making between $50-$75k/yr without savings or familial support. 
• Tier 3 is for people making $75-$125k/yr, without savings or familial support. 
• Tier 4 is for people/families making over $125k/yr, and people in all income brackets who have significant savings, own property, have familial inheritance or investments. 
• If you have significant debt outside of a mortgage, consider putting yourself in the tier below where your income would put you. 
• If you have savings or own property, considering putting yourself in the tier above where your income would put you.

Package or session cost is due in full before our first session. Payment can be made via Venmo. If you’re not sure where to put yourself on the scale, I’m happy to advise you. 

One-off sessions are best for people who are already using YNAB and feel relatively comfortable with the system, but need some guidance in answering questions or tweaking their budget. 

Offering	Cost*	Details
One off session	Tier 1: $50, Tier 2: $100, Tier 3: $150, Tier 4: $200	1 session, includes one round of email follow-up
3 sessions	Tier 1: $135, Tier 2: $270, Tier 3: $405, Tier 4: $540	3 sessions, includes unlimited email follow up during package period & two months of free YNAB subscription
6 sessions	Tier 1: $258, Tier 2: $510, Tier 3: $768, Tier 4: $1020	6 sessions, includes unlimited email follow up during package period & two months of free YNAB subscription

I’m trying to save money/get out of debt/manage my spending. Why should I spend money on coaching?
While it might seem counterintuitive to spend money in order to save in the long term, but without a true grasp on your current situation it will be difficult to make changes that will move you toward your financial goals. YNAB says that the average user saves about $600 in their first two months, and $6000 in the first year, so my hope is this is the beginning of a new path for you. I offer my services at a sliding scale to make it more accessible to people in different financial situations. If my rates are still inaccessible to you, please reach out and we can talk through other options.

Is YNAB an MLM or a pyramid scheme?
If you know me you know I’ve consumed a lot of podcasts, documentaries and books about cults and multi-level marketing. I am very wary of those dynamics. There is no pyramid here, we are not asked to recruit new coaches and YNAB does not get any portion of our coaching fees. We pay for the certification course and they add us to their directory if we meet the requirements. That’s it! I pay for YNAB just like any other user. People who love YNAB can be a little obsessive about it, but that’s as far as the culty-ness goes.

I feel nervous about talking about money with a coach. Will my information be kept private?
I totally understand that talking about your financial situation can feel very vulnerable. I absolutely respect that. Nothing you share with me about your financial situation will be shared outside of our session. I may contact YNAB Coaching support if there is a question I can’t answer, but any identifying info will be omitted. I will also not share that we are working together with any mutual connections or acquaintances. If you’d like to share, feel free!

What if I need to cancel my session or my package?
Please allow 24 hours for any cancelled or rescheduled sessions. If we’ve begun working together and you’d like to end our engagement before completing your sessions, a partial refund will be issued for the remaining sessions, based on the unused time in your package.