Our Story

Teaching Real Money Skills That Actually Work

Back in 2019, our founder Gretchen Tavish was drowning in spreadsheets. She'd tried every budgeting app on the market. Most felt like homework. Some made her feel worse about spending habits. None of them stuck.

What she needed wasn't another tracker. She needed someone to show her how to think about money week by week. That realization changed everything.

How We Started

From Overwhelmed to Teaching Others

Gretchen spent three years figuring out weekly budgeting through trial and error. She made mistakes. Overspent on weekends. Forgot about irregular bills. Eventually, patterns emerged. She started sharing what worked with friends over coffee.

Word spread faster than expected. Friends brought their partners. Colleagues asked for advice. By mid-2022, Gretchen was running informal workshops from her dining room in Perth. That's when she realized this could help more people.

julavernosian launched in early 2023 with a simple focus: teach practical weekly budgeting to real people facing real financial stress. No judgement. No complicated jargon. Just honest guidance from someone who'd been there.

Financial planning workspace with weekly budget materials

Student reviewing weekly financial planning materials

How We Teach Differently

Most financial courses throw theory at you. We start with your actual week ahead. What's coming? What can you control? What needs attention first?

Our approach came from watching where people actually struggle. It's rarely the big picture. It's the Wednesday when your car needs petrol and you're not sure if you can afford lunch out on Friday.

Focus on one week at a time instead of overwhelming yearly plans
Work with real scenarios from participants' lives
Address emotional spending patterns without shame
Build confidence through small, achievable weekly wins
Create sustainable habits rather than temporary fixes

Real Progress From Real People

These aren't miracle stories. They're honest accounts of people who put in the work and saw their relationship with money shift.

Sloane Varick

Started October 2024

Sloane came to us after her third overdraft fee in two months. She earned decent money as a dental hygienist but somehow never knew where it went. The weekly planning sessions helped her see patterns she'd been missing. Turns out she was fine Monday through Thursday, then lost track completely on weekends.

After four months, she's built a buffer and actually knows what's in her account before checking it. Still works on weekend spending, but no overdraft fees since December 2024.

Paxley Norris

Started June 2024

Paxley joined our program feeling embarrassed about his finances at age 34. He'd avoided looking at his accounts for years. The weekly check-ins forced him to face reality in manageable chunks. First breakthrough came when he realized his subscription costs were eating 0 monthly.

Eight months in, he's cancelled subscriptions he didn't use, built his first emergency fund, and stopped avoiding money conversations with his partner. Planning ahead feels normal now instead of stressful.