Dear friend,
What if your budget was a living, breathing map?
Let’s begin with a breath.
A deep, steadying breath that drops you down into your body—maybe even all the way into your belly, where intuition lives. That wise place that doesn’t care about spreadsheets or shoulds or what your uncle thinks you should be doing with your money.
Now… imagine this: what if creating a budget didn’t feel like pulling teeth?
What if it wasn’t rigid or punishing or full of shame? What if, instead, it felt like laying out a map of your current life, your desires, your care, your responsibilities, and your dreams?
In today’s Money Mocha, I have an audio clip of me teaching about my unique version of creating budgets, which I call “money maps.”
In today’s Mocha, I invite you into one of the most grounding and practical tools in my Art of Money methodology: the Three-Tier Money Map.
This is not your typical, dry, boring, anxiety inducing budget. This is a soul-rooted, flexible, and deeply personal framework that helps you chart your financial terrain—based on where you are right now in your life, and where your heart is longing to go.
Over the years, I’ve seen so many of us struggle with budgeting—especially those of us who are self-employed, caring for others, or living with inconsistent income. And honestly? A lot of the traditional advice just doesn’t work when you’re juggling a creative life, a business that ebbs and flows, or caretaking roles that shift with the seasons.
That’s why I developed this Three-Tier Money Map. It meets you exactly where you are. It’s permission-filled. It’s body-aware. And it allows space for your basic needs and your big, bold dreams.
Here’s how it works (and what I walk you through in the audio):
- Tier One: Basic Needs – your bottom line. What do you need to feel safe and supported right now? For some, that includes rent, groceries, and the phone bill. For others, it also includes weekly therapy or massage. There’s no judgment here—only clarity.
- Tier Two: Comfortable Lifestyle – the sweet spot. What would life look like if you had just a little more ease? Maybe there’s more giving here. More travel. A debt payment plan. An upgraded grocery list.
- Tier Three: Ultimate Lifestyle – the dream tier. This is where you stretch, dream, and vision. It might feel edgy or tender. That’s OK. Here, we name those savings goals and long-range dreams that might have felt too big to say out loud.
As you’ll hear, this is not about perfection. It’s about creating a living, evolving plan that can adapt with you. Your Money Map might change in three months—or even next week—and that’s normal.
It’s not about control. It’s about choice.
And here’s the heart of it: your Money Map helps you clarify not just how much money you want or need, but why you want or need that amount. What you’re resourcing. Who you’re caring for. What kind of life you’re trying to grow.
So whether you’re brand new to this work or revisiting your financial intentions for the year, I invite you to carve out time for this gentle yet illuminating practice.
Light a candle. Do a body check-in. Let this be a sacred little ritual. You can even turn on the audio below and follow along in real time.
Let’s reimagine what budgeting money mapping can be.
Let’s make it beautiful. Let’s make it yours.
🎧 Listen to the audio teaching here to learn how to create your own Three-Tier Money Map.
As you listen to this teaching and begin to craft your own Money Map, I hope you can feel how powerful it is to bring clarity and compassion into your financial life—not with harshness or rigid rules, but with curiosity, intention, and care.
This is just one small taste of the deeper work we do together inside The Art of Money—my 3-month financial therapy program that creates a safe, compassionate container for true money transformation.
If you’ve been longing for a new way to relate to money—one that blends practical tools with emotional healing, that honors your values and your body’s wisdom—you’re not alone. And you don’t have to do it alone. That’s exactly what The Art of Money was created for.
In this program, we’ll go far beyond traditional budgeting (though yes, we’ll talk about the numbers).
We’ll also explore your Money Story, unwind old patterns, learn powerful money practices, and create personal rituals to support lasting change. All within a community that understands that money work is life work. That it’s tender. That it’s sacred.
If this resonates, I’d love to welcome you into this next Art of Money program that’s beginning soon on May 1st, 2025.
🌀 Click here to learn more about the Art of Money program and join us
Take a deep breath.
Listen inward.
And follow the path that’s calling you.
If that path is leading you to work with me to change the way that your money life feels, my team and I are here, ready to guide and walk with you on this path.
With my dearest wishes,
