Budgeting for Integrity

Think of what is most dear to you or valuable or core to your character. Your sense of humor? Your creativity? Your sentimentality? How do you want that to show up in your life? Who do you want to share that with? Integrity and authenticity can be hard to define but it’s important that you start with an attempt to do so. 

When most people think about a budget it comes down to two things: money in, money out. At Empathematics, we think about money differently--after all, we’re monetary absurdists! We think about the finances of a budget after considering your integrity, your emotional well-being, your goals and aspirations, and your contribution to financial solidarity. The question we ask is “what kind of life do you want to live and how much does it really cost to achieve that?”. That can look as many different ways as there are people in the world, so we take a holistic look at your financial and emotional well-being. That’s why we call ourselves financial and emotional coaches instead of just accountants. 

Of course we recognize that your bills need to get paid and that you deserve some clarity and financial security. We also recognize, however, that finances do not exist in a vacuum and, as such, we do not budget in a vacuum. Your budget should be a reflection of what you are striving for emotionally. How much would it cost for you to leave your dead-end, abusive workplace? What is the monetary solution to the question of “how can I spend more time with my kids?” We will, upon your onboarding and at our check-ins, ask you how your integrity and emotional well-being are doing. It is important to us that we are helping you build and budget for the life that fulfills you emotionally, not just maintain the status quo. 

We believe that personal growth and healing are the impetus behind every human life. Growth is not just a capitalist ideation that we need to be ever expanding outward in some manifest destiny fever dream, but the idea that money--absurd a paradigm though it is--can allow us to live a more personally fulfilling life where we can take space to heal our wounds, learn a new skill or hobby we are called to, participate in collective liberation, or to carve out more meaningful relationships with the people in our life. We want to help you do that. Budgeting in the classic sense, money in/money out, is an impossibility for Empathematics. Our bottom line is that vacuums suck. 

Financial clarity is a gift, and an emotional and financial wellness coach is an investment that allows you to see that the life you desire is possible. We help your life be more meaningful and transcendental, for you and those you care for.

-Fiadh Leigh