By November I wanted something calmer and closer to what I’m good at. I’ve kept a family budget for fifteen years, helped two friends shake off credit card debt, and I like talking about money without making people feel dumb. So I booked the church classroom for two Saturdays, printed twenty flyers that said “budgeting, for real people—pay what you want,” and brought a box of Costco cookies. Seventeen showed up the first weekend. Twelve the next. We talked about “why” before “how,” then opened bank apps together and built a simple zero-based plan on paper. Nobody got a lecture. Everyone left with a first draft that could survive a Tuesday at 6 p.m. In the donation jar: $612 the first week, $408 the second. Costs were under a hundred bucks. Two people asked for one-on-one sessions at $150 each in December. It wasn’t flashy, but it felt honest. Across the year, after the flips and lawns and the flop and the car saga, this was the win that made sense. Teach what you already do. Price it simply. Keep the bar low enough that people actually walk in. Money followed, quietly. So did momentum. #Finance #MakeMoney #SideHustle #Budgeting #Community