Give Your Budget a Check-Up

We’re in the full swing of Summer, and whether you’re in vacation mode or you’re working just as hard as ever, July is a great time to review your budget. After all, if you created it in January, a lot can change in 7 months, and you want to make adjustments now if you need to. Budgets are fluid documents that are meant to be changed and updated as needed to make sure your money is always working for you.

You don’t need to spend hours and hours pouring over every detail of your budget, but I do suggest taking the five steps listed below to make sure you’re on track to reaching your goals by the end of the year. 

Review & update your budget

If you created your budget at the beginning of the year, now is the time to make sure that it’s still working for you. Are you staying within your budget, or are there some categories that need to be adjusted? With the increases we’ve seen in food and gas prices, many of our clients are finding ways to reduce spending ...

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, many women are thinking about how to show love to the special people in their lives. But before you buy the flowers or book the dinner, I want to invite you to pause and do something equally meaningful: show love to yourself and your financial future.

Self-love is not selfish. It is one of the smartest investments you can make. Just like the airplane safety reminder says, you need to put on your own oxygen mask before assisting others. The same is true with your money. When you prioritize your financial wellness, you create stability, confidence, and peace that benefit everyone around you.

As a financial planner who has helped hundreds of women through major life transitions, I have seen how financial clarity can transform confidence. When you feel in control of your money, you show up differently in every area of your life. You make choices that align with your values, not your fears. And that is the ultimate form of self-love.

Here a...

If you’ve ever wondered how to improve your financial situation, you’re not alone. It’s one of the most common goals I hear from women in every stage of life.

Whether you’re navigating a career transition, rebuilding after divorce, or simply trying to create more stability and confidence with money, improving your finances often feels both incredibly important and incredibly overwhelming.

The good news? Improving your financial situation doesn’t require perfection, and it doesn’t happen overnight. Instead, it happens through intentional choices, consistent actions, and a commitment to your financial wellness.

In many ways, learning personal finance for women is less about complicated strategies and more about creating sustainable habits that support your life and your values.

Think of it as financial self care. Just like physical health or emotional wellness, your financial well-being improves when you consistently make choices that support your long-term stability and peace of min...

Divorce changes everything, including your financial life. And while the process itself is incredibly hard, what comes next is where I see women do some of the most powerful work of their lives.

I'm Leah Hadley, AFC, CDFA, MAFF, the founder of both Intentional Divorce Solutions and Intentional Wealth Partners. I work with women every day who are navigating the financial and emotional terrain of life after divorce. And I've done this work myself.

This post is a curated guide to my best resources across income, money management, mindset, and co-parenting. Think of it as a starting point for wherever you are in the rebuilding process.

How to Rebuild Your Finances After Divorce

The financial reset after divorce is real. In many marriages, one spouse managed the money while the other stayed more removed from the details. If that was your situation, you may be starting from a place of uncertainty. That's okay. Clarity comes quickly once you decide to pursue it.

The most important first ...

When you’re starting to invest, it can be overwhelming. There’s a lot of information, industry jargon, and things you can’t control. People talk about the market as a shorthand. If you aren’t in this world day in and day out, you may be missing some things that could help you in the long run. There’s no need to panic or worry, though, because with a little knowledge to get your investment life off on the right foot, it isn’t so scary. 

First of all, let’s give you a round of applause! To some people, investing is such a big concept that they can’t wrap their brain around. They kick the can down the road and avoid the subject. But that isn’t you! You are capable, you can learn, and you’re ready to go for it. Here are a few tips for when you’re just starting to invest that will help you sort through some questions and give you a foundation of knowledge.

Prioritize Your Goals

Prioritizing goals is a big one that’s challenging for a lot of people. Investing is a balance of funding yo...

One of the questions I hear most often from parents is some version of: "How do I get my kid to stop spending every dollar the second it lands in their hands?"

It is such a good question, and honestly, it is one I wrestle with in my own home too.

Here is what I know for certain: teaching kids to save money is not just about the dollars. It is about building the relationship with money that they will carry into adulthood. Every habit we help them form now, whether it is resisting the impulse buy or working toward a goal, is laying the foundation for the financial decisions they will face later.

And that is worth every conversation, every teachable moment, and yes, every negotiation over the toy aisle.

Why Teaching Kids to Save Is Harder Today

Let us be real: we are raising kids in the age of instant gratification. Two-day shipping. One-click purchasing. Digital wallets that make money feel invisible. The concept of waiting and saving runs completely counter to the world they are na...

You scrub the baseboards. You donate three bags of clothes. You finally tackle that junk drawer. And then you sit down and feel genuinely good about your space.

But when was the last time you did that for your money?

Spring cleaning your finances is not just about tidying up numbers on a spreadsheet. It is about getting honest with where you are, getting clear on where you want to go, and building a system that actually works for your real life. Not someone else's. Yours.

I talk about this a lot in my book, Intentional Money: The Modern Woman's Guide to Building Wealth, Purpose and Peace. The very first pillar of what I call the Intentional Money Method is Clarity. Not perfection. Not having everything figured out. Just the willingness to look.

Spring is the perfect time to look. First quarter is done. Taxes are hopefully filed. And there are still nine months left in the year to make meaningful progress toward your goals.

So let's do this together. Here is your step-by-step sprin...

I have been working with women on their finances for nearly two decades, and one of the most consistent patterns I have seen is this: the women who make the most meaningful progress are almost never doing it alone.

Not because they are more disciplined. Not because they have more money to work with. But because they have someone in their corner. Someone who knows their goals, checks in on their progress, celebrates the wins, and tells them the truth when they are sliding off track.

That is what a real accountability partner does. And if you do not have one, finding one might be one of the most impactful financial decisions you make this year.

What a Financial Accountability Partner Actually Is

An accountability partner is not a cheerleader, though encouragement is part of it. And they are not a financial advisor, though they might help you think through decisions. A true accountability partner is someone who holds space for your goals, asks the hard questions, and shows up consiste...

Every January, millions of people write down the same financial goals they wrote down the year before. Save more. Spend less. Get out of debt. Pay off the credit cards.

And by February, most of those goals are sitting in a drawer somewhere, forgotten.

Here is what I have learned after nearly two decades of working with women on their finances: financial resolutions do not fail because people lack discipline. They fail because they are built on shame, vague intentions, and someone else's idea of what financial success should look like.

This year, I want to offer you a different approach.

Why Most Financial Resolutions Do Not Work

The traditional advice around financial goal-setting tends to focus almost entirely on tactics: automate your savings, cut your spending, track every dollar. And while those things have their place, they skip the most important step entirely.

They never ask you why.

Why do you want to save more? What would financial security actually make possible in you...

A budget is one of the most powerful tools you have for your financial life. Not because it restricts you, but because it gives you clarity. When you know where your money is going, you can make intentional decisions about where it goes next.

If you have tried budgeting before and it has not stuck, I want to gently offer this: the problem usually is not you. It is the budget. Most budgets are built around rules and restrictions rather than around your actual life, your values, and the goals that matter to you. When a budget does not reflect reality, it falls apart. When it does, it becomes one of the most grounding things you can do for yourself financially.

Here is how to build one that works..

Step 1: Set Up Your Budget Framework

Before you fill in any numbers, you need a structure to put them in. This is your budget framework, and it is simply a template that organizes your income, your expenses, your savings, and your goals in one place.

Your framework can be a spreadsheet, a ...