Learning Resources Built From Real Experience
Our study materials aren't polished marketing brochures. They're documents created by people who've actually solved these budgeting problems themselves—often through trial and error.
We collect feedback from every participant and update our materials quarterly based on what actually works in Australian households.
Foundation Budget Builder
This isn't a generic template. It's a 48-page workbook developed over three years with input from 200+ Australian families.
Each exercise connects to real scenarios—mortgage stress, irregular income, or supporting adult children still at home.
- Weekly tracking sheets with flexible categories
- Australian tax consideration guides
- Emergency fund calculators for different life stages
- Debt reduction strategies that don't assume perfection
Monthly Tracking System
A spreadsheet system that participants from our October 2024 cohort are still using daily. Nothing fancy—just functional.
Works in Excel, Google Sheets, or Numbers. And yes, there's a printed version for those who prefer pen and paper.
- Pre-formatted Australian bank import templates
- Automatic calculations for super and Medicare
- Visual progress charts that update in real-time
- Seasonal expense reminders (registration, insurance)
Supplementary Guides
Short documents addressing specific challenges that kept coming up in group sessions.
Topics like managing Afterpay debt, handling commission-based income, or budgeting through maternity leave. Written by people who've been there.
- 12 situation-specific planning guides
- Australian banking product comparisons
- Quarterly economic context updates
- Common mistake breakdowns with corrections
- Links to verified government resources
Who Creates These Materials
Small team. Diverse backgrounds. All of us came to financial education after facing our own money problems.
Callum Theriault
Budget Systems Developer
Former freelance designer who survived three years of irregular income before creating tracking systems that actually worked.
Specialises in variable income budgeting and creative industry finances. Built most of our spreadsheet tools during his own financial recovery.
Briony Castell
Content Lead
Came to budgeting after maxing out two credit cards in her twenties. Spent five years cleaning up that mess while working in retail management.
Writes all our core materials. Obsessed with clear language and realistic scenarios. Won't publish anything she hasn't personally tested.
How We Develop Content
Every guide starts with participant questions from previous programs. We draft materials, test them with a small group, then revise based on what confused people or didn't match their reality. Our January 2025 workbook went through four complete rewrites before we felt it was genuinely helpful. This process takes months, but rushing out materials that don't actually work would waste everyone's time.
Materials In Action: March 2024 Workshop
We ran a six-week program with 28 participants in Brisbane. Everyone used the same workbook but applied it differently based on their situation.
Completion Rate
24 out of 28 finished all exercises
Common Feedback
Wanted more examples for irregular expenses
Material Updates
Added 8 new worksheets based on their questions
Still Using Tools
19 participants checked in after 6 months
The biggest lesson? People need permission to adapt our materials to their reality. We now explicitly say "cross out what doesn't apply" and "add your own categories" in every workbook. Budgeting isn't one-size-fits-all, so our materials shouldn't pretend to be either.