Learn to Budget Like You Actually Mean It
Most people treat budgets like New Year's resolutions—they start strong in January and by March, they're eating takeaway four nights a week wondering where the money went. Our program teaches annual budgeting that sticks because it's built around how you actually live.
Talk to Us About StartingHow the Program Works
We've been teaching Australians to manage their annual budgets since 2018. Started with twelve people in a borrowed conference room in Salamander Bay. Now we run programs throughout the year, but we've kept the same approach—small groups, real numbers, no judgment.
Foundation Work
You'll spend four weeks just tracking. Not changing anything—just writing down what you actually spend. Most people discover they're spending $200 a month on subscriptions they forgot about. One participant found she was paying for three different streaming services and only watching one.
Building Your Framework
Now you build your annual plan. Not monthly—annual. Because car registration doesn't care that it's an expensive month. Christmas happens every year. Your budget should expect these things. We work through the whole year together, identifying every predictable expense.
Living With It
This is where most budget plans fall apart—around week six when life gets complicated. Your kid needs new school shoes. The car makes a weird noise. Someone gets married. We meet fortnightly during this phase because you need support when reality hits the spreadsheet.
Making It Yours
After six months, you've got your system. But we don't just kick you out—you get access to quarterly check-ins for a full year. Some people need them, some don't. Either way is fine. The goal is for this to become second nature, not another thing you have to think about constantly.
Who Teaches This Stuff
Three people run these programs. No fancy credentials—just years of working with ordinary folks trying to make their money behave.
Bronwyn Caldwell
Spent fifteen years as a bookkeeper for small businesses before switching to teaching individuals. She's seen every money mistake imaginable, which makes her remarkably patient when you show up with receipts stuffed in a shoebox.
Petra Lindgren
Former retail manager who got really good at budgeting when she had three kids in five years. She teaches the evening sessions because she knows what it's like trying to learn new skills when you're already exhausted from work and family.
Siobhan Mulcahy
Handles the one-on-one sessions for people who need extra help or have complicated situations. Divorced parents, blended families, people supporting elderly relatives—she's worked through it all and won't blink at whatever your situation is.
Why Annual Planning Actually Works
Monthly budgets fail because life doesn't happen in neat monthly chunks. You budget $300 for groceries in June, but then it's your mum's birthday and you're hosting Christmas in July and suddenly you're $150 over. Next month you're under, but you've already given up on the system.
- You look at the whole year—every birthday, every bill, every predictable expense goes in upfront
- Quarterly expenses get divided by three so you're saving for them monthly without thinking about it
- Annual bills get broken into twelve pieces so rego and insurance don't ambush you
- When December rolls around and you need $800 for presents, you've already saved it in $67 monthly chunks
What You'll Actually Learn
Six core modules spread over six months. Each builds on the last, but we adjust based on how quickly people pick things up. Some groups fly through module three, others need extra time on module two. We follow the group, not some rigid schedule.
Tracking Without Judgment
Four weeks of writing everything down. Every coffee, every online purchase, every parking meter. You'll probably hate it. Everyone does at first. But you can't fix what you can't see, and most people have no idea where their money actually goes.
The Annual View
Building your twelve-month picture. We use a simple spreadsheet—nothing fancy. List every bill, every expected expense, every birthday and holiday. Then we turn those into monthly amounts you need to set aside. Math is basic, but the planning takes work.
Finding the Leaks
Now you compare your tracking data to your annual plan and look for the gaps. This is usually when people find the subscriptions, the impulse purchases, the "it's only twenty bucks" expenses that add up to three hundred a month. No shame, just math.
Buffer Building
Creating breathing room between your income and expenses. Not a massive emergency fund—that comes later. Just a small buffer so one unexpected bill doesn't wreck everything. For most people, this takes three months to build.
When Plans Meet Reality
Your budget will not survive first contact with your actual life. Something will go wrong. We spend this module learning to adjust on the fly—how to make decisions when you're $200 short in one category and have to find it somewhere else.
Making It Automatic
Setting up systems so you stop thinking about it so much. Automated transfers, separate savings accounts for different purposes, simple routines for updating your spreadsheet. The goal is to make good decisions the default option instead of constantly having to choose.