The Money Balloon

A buoyant system for managing your money. (Simply & Sustainably.)

What if handling your finances felt comfortable, and spirited? Like your relationship with money was adding to the quality of your life instead of stressing you out or boring you with tedium?

The Money Balloon can help you create your own personalized money systems with the Goldilocks stamp of approval: The ideal amount of structure that supports you. A straightforward, simplified approach, with just the right amount of detail. (Without some financial guru talking down to you.)

Playing hide and seek with your money?

Maybe you’ve been avoiding looking too closely at your finances. Or numbers might even freak you out a bit.

There may be some financial decisions you want to make, but you don’t have enough clarity to feel confident in your choices.

And some little things might be slipping through the cracks, or you spend way too much time worrying that they’ll slip through the cracks:
When is that bill due? Did I already account for that business expense?

Or, you just worry that money is slowly trickling out of your fingers, wasted or unloved.

Maybe that was just me.

My money situation got crazy-complicated in the last few years. Almost funny, considering my plentiful financial credentials.

I have a bachelor’s degree in accountancy and a master’s degree in accounting and business taxation. I spent several years working as a Certified Public Accountant; you could say that I’m comfortable with numbers, in a concrete, external sense. But then…

I went from having a hefty paycheck deposited into my bank account every other Friday to quitting my job and living off my savings to running my own business. In the midst of all that transition, I went through my share of money murkiness.

Now I’m also juggling accounting for my business, several streams of income, joint ventures, invoicing clients, and, and, and…

All of that murkiness was also making other things more complicated, too. Like, I couldn’t figure out how much time I needed to spend working on certain projects because I didn’t know how much I actually needed to earn. (Because I sorta didn’t want to know, you know?)

I needed a super-clear, balloon’s eye view of my financial landscape. And I also really wanted to explore my relationship with money–where it might be tripping me up, and how resolving some sticky spots could improve my lifestyle.

All that to say… I needed a Money Balloon!

But wait. This is about your Balloon.

What if you could peer into your money stuff with less gluey guilt and more ease and confidence? Instead of feeling pressured and anxious about money, you can be supported by a system, a Balloon, that gives you peace of mind, clarity and hope.

So how about a lighthearted tour through your financial landscape?

First, we’ll take a snapshot of where you are now with your moolah. (Plus a bit of gearing up for that if it’s at all scary, sticky, or seemingly full of doom.)

Then we’ll explore the softer side of your relationship with money, pushing out the boundaries of possibility. You’ll play with personalized ideas for earning and spending that help you steer toward the possibilities.

And with a fresh sense of your needs and your money aspirations, we’ll create systems infused with your own wishes and personality. You’ll have comfortable money processes to support you going forward.

Finally, you’ll create the actual Balloon, a working draft of your own personalized system for Handling the Money.

The Money Balloon

30 page Balloon-building instruction manual
A guided tour through your financial landscape
Snapshot Worksheet
For a clear view of your current money picture
Event Planning Worksheet
You’ll figure out what needs to happen and when (no more late fees or 2 am freakouts)
Money Balloon Dashboard in MS Excel
A simple template for monthly accounting
The Money Balloon Template in MS Word
A pretty system to put on your wall

Seeing your complete financial picture is like checking your money coordinates. Knowing where you are right now allows you to brainstorm new routes and sidestep some of the challenges that might crop up along the way. And with your destination in sight, and supportive systems to get you there, you might even enjoy the ride.

A few words on what The Money Balloon is cheerfully not.

This is not your standard “lose the latte” money advice. There will be no talk of forgoing daily treats.

The Money Balloon won’t catapult you into making oodles of money in just three short weeks. But if making oodles of money is your thing, it will help to get a clear sense of where you are right now, and what might be holding you back.

You won’t be pressured into creating a budget. But you will gain the clarity that will be crucial if you decide you want a budget. And you could even shape the included worksheets and spreadsheet to support your budgeting endeavors.

The Money Balloon doesn’t cover detailed bookkeeping or personal financial planning advice. Instead, it will help you figure out what support you might need, and devise clever strategies for incorporating that support into your overall money system.

And if certain elements of your money systems are working for you, great! You won’t have to scrap anything order to convert to my way of doing things. This is about incorporating smart ideas and strategies in ways that sustain and nourish you.

Your balloon ride, your happy destination.

Money is imbued with so much symbolism, equating it with our own value, worth, and responsibility. And we’re constantly making decisions and performing tasks related to money.

Why not use those moments as opportunities to resolve some of our challenges and infuse this relationship with support, flow, and confidence? So we can relax knowing that we’re doing the right things; earning and spending in ways that feel sustainable and right for us.

You’ll walk, erm… float away with more clarity and capacity to steer in the direction that’s right for you. Your Balloon will help carry you toward a buoyant, sustainable relationship with your money.