Who Can Benefit

I specialize in working with women coming out of marriage later in life who are suddenly and wholly responsible for their finances, sometimes for the first time ever. I also work with couples who have combined their resources but haven’t found a way to come together on their goals, resulting in unnecessary friction.

Additionally, your Monthly Cash Flow Planner will make it easier to gather the figures you need to apply for a home loan, to meet with a financial planner, and/or complete the financial worksheet for divorce documents, should you be in the divorce process.

Why you might resist this

Many of the people I have worked with dreaded budgeting because they feared what they see, or just didn’t think they had it in them. No matter the reason, there was an underlying sense that they couldn’t alter their situation. In fact, the opposite it true. Yes, sometimes the picture isn’t ‘pretty,’ but until you can see exactly what’s going on with your money, you’ll likely remain locked in cycles of fear and uncertainty, unable to do anything about it.

“Working with Raven was my light at the end of the tunnel. Facing my finances was a scary and vulnerable experience for me. With compassion and guidance, Raven gave me the tools to help me see my way out, and the understanding of those tools, which gave me a sense of empowerment. Working with the budget she set up for me is fun! It’s now a game that I’m eager to win.”

~ Julia M

Seeing your situation in black in white is far less scary than what runs through your imagination.

When you take the emotions out of the equation – and let the numbers guide you – you can make better decisions for yourself.

I am here to show you how to get started, and work with you until you’re confident in your ability to continue.

Right here, right now, you take over the management of what happens in your financial future.

All my life I’ve been drawn to develop simple systems to help people and companies move from confusion and chaos to order and calm using simple organizing structures. I’ll do the same for you as your money coach. I’ll introduce you to a cash flow management approach that gives you a new level of confidence in your foundation, an approach that will carry you forward no matter your relationship status, or life circumstances.

What You Bring to the Table - Basic skills and attitude

1) You need to be able to work on a laptop or computer and have basic working knowledge of Excel, Numbers for Mac, or Google Sheets. (I’ve pre-programmed the formulas, you only need to plug in the numbers. See ‘How it Works’ below.)

2) You might be uncomfortable talking about money and showing me what’s going on, but you’re determined to move beyond your resistance.

3) Maybe you’ve tried to work with an app or an online service and realize that they are either too cumbersome or, like I did, you realized that they are easy to ignore! Once you get comfortable working with the spreadsheet you can, if you like, transfer the data to one of a few online platforms I can suggest.

How it Works

We start by looking at your current income – no matter the sources – and your current expenses and obligations.

• Income includes what you currently receive from your business or job, support, trust or savings distributions, income property, etc.

• Weekly “cash” expenses are the things you spend money on every week. This is where we uncover immediate opportunities to reduce your cash outflow if needed, without reducing the quality of your life. We are likely to uncover additional weekly expenses not accounted for. These unaccounted for expenses are gold. They often answer the mystery question, “Where did my money go??

• Monthly obligations include everything from rent or mortgage to utilities and self-care expenses (such as massages and/or hobbies). This is not about depriving yourself of things that you enjoy and need; it’s about understanding where they fit into your priorities. This is the area where longer-term consideration can yield great rewards!

Once we have established your financial base-line, we will design a plan to set aside money for your common annual financial obligations, things like property taxes and car registration.

If you’re carrying debt, we’ll develop a plan to pay it down to zero. If your personal debt is significant, we’ll talk about that and how to address it. If you are owed money and it’s long overdue, we’ll look at that, too. In both cases, a communication plan and new promises are usually “all” that’s required.

Last but not least, we’ll take a look at your bucket-list dreams, as well as your anticipated future needs, so that you can account for them in your Monthly Cash Flow Plan today. Some common categories include travel, retirement, education, emergency cash reserves, philanthropy, children, etc. If you don’t have the resources for these things today, we’ll discuss strategies to insure you have these resources in the future.

Your Monthly Cash Flow Plan is a living document. It integrates your current financial picture and future desires and needs. It’s your roadmap to establishing the financial stability you need to create what you want for yourself in your life.

Works Your Investment - What it Costs

$750 sets you up with your personal Monthly Cash Flow Planner, and includes 2 months of focused money management coaching. Coaching includes all scheduled pre and post plan-creation meetings.

The Process and Timeline

30-minute prep Call

I’ll set you with guidelines about how to gather your financial information so that we have the greatest chance of creating a Money Cash Flow Plan that reflects your current situation and future needs. We’ll go over your needs and goals, and discuss what’s required for the successful 90-minute Plan Creation Meeting

90-minute Cash Flow Plan Creation Meeting

We’ll meet on Zoom for about 90 minutes.

You’ll receive a Monthly Cash Flow Plan template in Excel or Numbers (for Mac users), complete with formulas. You won’t have to do anything more than populate the worksheet, which I’ll help you do. We’ll tailor the expense and income categories and money flow plan around your circumstances.

I’ll teach you how to use the worksheet to make decisions, and allocate your resources week-by-week, and month-by-month.

First 45 minute check in

About a week after your Money Flow Plan Creation Meeting we’ll meet by phone or on Zoom. We’ll celebrate early successes, and address any questions and challenges that arose. Most people discover that they forgot something - or a few things - and need to add or adjust their plans.

If there was a need, I’ll check in with you on the status of how things went with people who owe you money, or people you are indebted to. If you need guidance about how to have these conversations, we’ll talk about it.

Second 45-minute check in

4-5 weeks after our 90-minute Plan Creation Meeting we’ll meet again on Zoom or by phone.

This is a chance to discuss and celebrate what has transpired, to review the plan, and address any new challenges around managing your resources in this new way.

If you’d set some goals not addressed in the first post Plan Creation meeting, we’ll discuss.