Thomas Monkesterson

Financial planning gets a bad rap—like it’s something only CEOs or people with six-figure salaries need to worry about. That’s backward. The truth is, planning is even more critical when your income is tight or inconsistent. It’s not about flashy investments or complex spreadsheets. It’s about knowing what’s coming in, what’s going out, and staying

Investing in Your 30s: Build Now, Stress Less Your 30s are a critical decade for building long-term financial security. Even with student loans, rent or mortgage payments, and maybe even the costs of raising a young family, it’s essential to start investing early and strategically. The good news? You don’t need to be a Wall

Debt rarely shows up unannounced. It creeps in through job loss, medical bills, or plain overspending. One unexpected expense, one missed paycheck, and the numbers start stacking up fast. But parsing how it started only tells half the story. Here’s the mindset shift: not all debt is bad. A loan for education, a mortgage—these can

Budgeting gets a bad rap. To some, it feels like a set of rules designed to suck the fun out of life. But in reality, budgeting isn’t about cutting back—it’s about choosing what matters. When you treat it like a lifestyle, not a punishment, you start getting intentional. That’s when it gets real. Financial freedom