In 1 minute I will tell you everything you need to know about money:

  1. SPEND LESS THAN YOU EARN. INVEST THE DIFFERENCE EARLY AND OFTEN.

  2. Pay off your credit card in full every month

  3. Spend lavishly on what you value, ruthlessly cut out what you don’t

  4. Max out your retirement accounts (Roth IRA, 401(k))

  5. Avoid individual stocks (if you must, don’t start here, and keep it under 5% of your net worth)

  6. Invest in low-cost index funds

  7. Avoid debt

  8. If you use a financial advisor, make sure they’re a fiduciary and fee-only

  9. Your house is not an investment unless it brings in money (renting is ok!)

  10. I repeat. Spend less than you earn. Invest the difference early and often. 

And that’s it! Seriously, if all you follow are these fundamentals, you’ll be set for life. 

As with everything, that’s way easier said than done.

As Derek Sivers said, “If [more] information was the answer, then we'd all be billionaires with perfect abs.”

Alas... earwax. We are not all billionaires with six pack abs. Money is emotional, political, and should not be conquered alone.

If you’re in a place right now where you need to master the basics with a coach that won’t judge, will answer any and all questions you could ever have, and will guide you every step of the way and keep you on track, The Fundamentals might be a great fit for you! You might be in a place with a more complex situation. You might want another perspective on how best to move forward with the next things you’re looking to tackle. Either way, sometimes you just want some customized solutions, which one-on-one coaching can certainly help!

Jenn I need something I can actually do today


I gotchu. Lots of options, pick one and get it done:

  1. Get your emergency fund out of a basic savings account and move it to a High Yield Savings Account 

  2. Increase your automatic transfer from your paycheck straight into your 401(k) by 1%

  3. Track your spending (I use Mint, a pencil and paper)

  4. Make your Intentional Spending Plan with my Bucketlist template 

  5. Make your debt annihilation plan with the calculator Dan and I actually use

  6. Check your Net Worth with Personal Capital

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“Ok Jenn, what’s your financial sitch?”

Glad you asked! Before I tell you, let’s make sure we’re on the same sheet of music: personal finance is PERSONAL. In no way am I recommending you do exactly the same as what I have set up here. My journey here will look different than yours, and I had a ton of advantages and privileges that led me here. This is part of my mission to normalize talking about finances, and I can only do that by being completely open with you. Here’s my current portfolio as of December 2020*

  • Debt-free

  • 1 year living expenses emergency fund in Vanguard Money Market Account

  • $500/mo (max) Roth IRA at Vanguard - VIGAX

  • $1625/mo (max) TSP (Military’s 401(k)) - 50% split to C and S 

  • $550/mo taxable Vanguard brokerage - VTSAX

  • $1000/mo Wedding & Honeymoon fund - USAA Savings account

  • $700/mo Real Estate Investment fund - USAA Savings account

*This does not include my husband’s finances as we have yet to combine them. Please note that my portfolio has changed since I first started investing and is likely to change again, so do not take this as gospel.

What’s my secret?

  1. Pay myself first

  2. I built a Machine that runs by itself: invest and pay bills 100% automatically 

  3. I have a very vivid vision I’m shooting for

How did I decide what to invest in?

It’s simple. Quite literally. I highly recommend The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collings, along with my other top book recommendations:

Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki - Explains how money works, and how you can make money work for you.

I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi - The how-to guide on everything you need to know money-related.

Set for Life by Scott Trench - I give this as graduation gifts. Read this before you ever buy a house.

My personal investing (and entire money management) philosophy is based on building a long-term wealth building Machine. It hides money from me, uses that money to make more, runs automatically, and I only check on it once a quarter. There are quite literally hundreds of ways to invest in this world. I opt for the one that makes me the most money for the least amount of personal effort (which happens to be the most efficient way to build wealth statistically).

If that’s also what you’re into but you need more nuts and bolts on how to set it up, check on it, and adjust over time, my Investing Workshop walks you through it all. If you’re more into day trading, options, or picking stocks (this is gambling, not investing), I am not the coach for you. I want my investments to actually give me my time back, not suck even more time away from me. If you also feel that way, this is for you.

But at the end of the day, all this boils down to one thing:

This is all for naught if I have no one to share it with. 

I have a dream. Actually, I have a few.

One of them is to give Dan his dream Jeep Wrangler one day. Another is to wake up and watch the sunrise with coffee from my balcony overlooking the ocean, before being on the water all day with Dan in our boat. (The type of boat is a massive debate - he’s all about this fishing center console thing and I can’t picture anything but a gorgeous wake boat full of fruitful opportunities to wakesurf, wakeboard, waterski, scuba-dive...).

And those will be the days we’re not slow-traveling all over the world, experiencing as many cultures and adventures as we can. That’s not to mention how we’ll be sharing all these incredible life moments with our family and friends. Or about how we’ll be working every day to preserve our oceans and save the reefs while there’s still time. 

I’m not into investing just so I can stare at a big number on a screen one day.

It’s all so I can spend time with the people I care about most, doing the things I care about most, without ever having to ask permission to do it. 

I’m not alone in working towards all that. I’m also not alone in living life as best I can on the way there. I need to be on the same page with Dan, especially since his dreams are a little different, like wants-to-be-an-astronaut-while-working-for-Corvette-Racing-on-the-side different. We need to be aligned with how we’re going to get there, and that means we need to be totally comfortable talking with each other about our finances. Given the horrible stats about how many marriages end due to money issues, I’d argue that being on the same sheet of music with money is one of the most important things in a relationship. 

So yea, just talk to your partner about money today and all your problems will be solved! 

…Right. As before, easier said than done. 

Love and Money. Quite possibly my absolute favorite part of what I get to do.

Nothing brings me more joy than helping two people get in sync about money. I’m not just talking the nuts and bolts of a customized way to combine finances that works for them, creating a spending plan, or planning for retirement/kids’ college. Money in relationships is so much more nuanced than that, and that’s what makes it so powerful!

I love watching couples realize how they approach money, see how their experiences growing up influence their current thinking, learn how their partner feels about money, find new and better ways to talk about it. It’s such a transformative thing, and it’s important to treat it as such.

If you and your partner aren’t humming along like a well-oiled machine, completely in sync with no friction about money whatsoever and you’re dying for your next money date together, chances are you can benefit from a couples workshop!

It’s not a therapy session, but I’ve never had a couple walk away from it not feeling completely empowered and more in touch with each other than they did before they started.

I want this for you, and I hope you both will trust in me to bring out the best in you so we can get you living your most incredible life together.

I believe in transparency.

I believe everyone should be a millionaire. I believe life should be filled with adventures at every stage, not saved up for only the end. I believe experiences are worth more than things ever will. I believe your relationships are the most important things to cherish in the short time we have. I believe life should be lived out loud in abundance, not in restriction and scarcity. I believe every human has the power to leave this world a more beautiful place. I believe money is the best tool to make it all happen. Allow me to show you the way.