Started With a Spreadsheet

Back in 2019, a group of us sat around a kitchen table trying to figure out why budgeting felt so impossibly complicated. We had fancy apps, complex formulas, and plenty of advice — but nothing clicked.

So we stripped everything down. One spreadsheet. Clear categories. Real spending patterns from real people. We tested it with friends, then their families, then colleagues who were drowning in expense tracking chaos.

By 2021, we'd refined our approach into something teachable. Not another app promising miracles, but a practical method grounded in behavioral patterns and honest money conversations. We started running workshops across Victoria, then expanded online when demand grew beyond what we expected.

Today we're still that same team, just with better coffee and a lot more stories from people who've gone from financial fog to genuine clarity.

Budget planning session with financial documents and calculator on desk

How We Actually Teach This Stuff

Most budget courses dump information and hope it sticks. We've learned that people need context, repetition, and honest conversations about why they spend the way they do.

Pattern Recognition First

Before we touch any budget tool, we spend time identifying your actual spending patterns. Not what you think they are — what your transactions reveal. This usually surprises people, and that's exactly where learning begins.

Group Problem Solving

You'll work through real scenarios with other participants. Someone always has a perspective you haven't considered, and explaining your approach to others strengthens your own understanding dramatically.

Iterative Refinement

Your first budget won't be your last. We teach you how to adjust as life changes — new job, unexpected expenses, shifting priorities. The skill isn't creating one perfect plan; it's adapting continuously.

Students analyzing financial data during interactive workshop session

Collaborative expense tracking exercise with spreadsheets and notes

The People Teaching You

Siobhan Gallagher

Lead Instruction Specialist

Siobhan spent eight years as a financial counselor before joining us in 2020. She's particularly skilled at helping people who've tried budgeting multiple times and given up. Her approach combines behavioral psychology with practical accounting, delivered in a way that never feels condescending.

She leads our intensive programs starting September 2025, focusing on expense patterns and sustainable habit formation.

Experience That Actually Transfers

Our instructors come from diverse backgrounds — accounting, social work, small business ownership, debt counseling. What they share is years of real-world experience helping people navigate financial stress. They've seen what works beyond textbook theory, and they adjust their teaching based on how each group responds.

Torsten Bjørnstad

Methodology Instructor

Former small business accountant who specialized in helping service businesses track irregular income. Torsten teaches the practical mechanics of budget systems and troubleshoots when numbers don't add up.

Workshop Facilitator

Group Learning Coordinator

Manages interactive sessions and ensures everyone gets personalized attention during workshops. Coordinates follow-up support and tracks participant progress through our autumn 2025 programs.

Instructor leading expense budgeting workshop with participants

One-on-one mentorship session reviewing budget strategies