How Our Program Began

Back in early 2019, I was sitting in a coffee shop in Canberra when a friend mentioned she'd never learned how to properly track her spending. She wasn't alone – most of us never got real financial education in school. That conversation sparked something.

We started with just five people meeting monthly in my living room. Everyone brought their bank statements, and we worked through basic budgeting together. No fancy presentations or corporate jargon – just real people figuring out real money problems.

By the end of that first year, our little group had grown to over 30 participants. People were bringing friends, sharing what they'd learned, and most importantly – actually using the budgeting skills they'd developed. That's when we realized this needed to become something bigger.