We Turn Financial Chaos Into Clear Plans

Since 2019, we've been teaching Australians how to budget without the spreadsheet headaches or complicated jargon that makes your eyes glaze over.

Started in a Coffee Shop

Three years ago, I was sitting in a Wollongong café watching my mate struggle with his budget spreadsheet. He had fifteen different tabs open, formulas that made no sense, and was ready to throw his laptop out the window.

That's when it hit me – most budgeting advice treats everyone like they're accountants. But real people just want to know if they can afford that weekend trip to Byron Bay without checking their account balance with anxiety.

We started gulenarista because budgeting shouldn't require a finance degree. It should feel like having a conversation with someone who actually gets it.

Financial planning workspace with documents and calculator

How We Actually Teach

Forget everything you think you know about financial education. We do things differently here.

Real Scenarios Only

No theoretical examples about saving for retirement in 30 years. We work with actual situations – like budgeting for Christmas when you've got three kids, or figuring out if you can afford to eat out twice this week.

Small Groups, Big Results

Maximum eight people per session. You're not sitting in a lecture hall taking notes you'll never read again. You're in a room where everyone knows your name and your specific money challenges.

Follow-Up That Matters

We check in with you three months later. Not to sell you more courses, but to see how you're tracking and adjust what's not working. Because life changes and budgets should change with it.

No Shame Zone

Bought something stupid last month? So has everyone else. Made a financial mistake? Join the club. We start from wherever you are right now, not where you think you should be.

People Who Get It

Our team isn't made up of financial advisors who've never worried about money. We're regular people who've made mistakes, learned from them, and figured out what actually works in the real world.

Brennan Castillo

Lead Program Designer

Kelvin Thornton

Community Support Specialist

Wade Briggs

Workshop Facilitator

Felix Montenegro

Resource Development

What We Stand For

These aren't just nice words on our website. They guide everything we do.

Honesty Over Hype

We won't promise you'll be debt-free in six months or that you'll love budgeting. What we will promise is honest advice that works for your actual life, not some perfect version of it.

Progress Over Perfection

Small improvements that stick beat dramatic changes that last two weeks. We celebrate when you remember to check your account balance, not just when you hit your savings goal.

Community Over Competition

Your success doesn't diminish someone else's. We create spaces where people support each other rather than comparing bank accounts or judging spending choices.

Accessible Over Academic

If our advice needs a glossary, we're doing it wrong. Financial literacy should be available to everyone, regardless of education level or background.

What Actually Happens

We don't track dramatic success stories because real progress is usually quiet. But we do see patterns in what happens when people finally understand their money.

847

People who've completed our programs since 2022

6 weeks

Average time to see meaningful changes in spending habits

73%

Still using our budgeting method six months later

Monthly workshops we run across the Illawarra region

See Our Programs

Success stories and testimonials display

Thaddeus Kline

Workshop participant, March 2025

"Finally found a budgeting approach that doesn't make me feel like I need to give up coffee forever. Six months later, I actually look forward to checking my bank balance."