Fennel Financial Coaching

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Spokane, WA
Fennel Financial Coaching

I help professionals ditch debt without the overwhelm and build wealth without the stress. Frustrated with your financial situation? Ready for a change?

Tired of living paycheck to paycheck? Let's chat!

08/13/2026

For years, back when I was teaching, walking past someone else's decorated classroom would send me straight into comparison mode. String lights, color-coded bins, a whole room that looked like a magazine spread while mine just looked like a room.

So I started borrowing a line from Amy Poehler and said it to myself every time it happened: “Good for her. Not for me.”

That teacher's classroom never had anything to do with mine. Once I stopped measuring myself against it, I stopped shopping for approval and started spending on the stuff that actually made me a better practitioner.

👋 Hi, I’m Jeannette. I help professionals ditch debt without the overwhelm and build wealth without the stress. Follow for simple, no-shame money guidance.

[teacher comparison, classroom decor, teacher money mindset, classroom budget, financial coaching for teachers, teacher burnout, back to school teachers, teacher freebie, money mindset, comparison trap, homeschool, homeschooling]

08/07/2026

My husband's phone buzzed first. "Another evacuation," he said. "The fire's moving."

Our power was already out. I stood in our dark house watching him track the fire in real time.

The next day, while scrolling through social media, part of Spokane looked like an inferno. People were still learning if their houses had survived.

A couple I did my master's with lost everything. Someone my husband used to race bikes with lost everything too. There are no words for that.

Then I looked around our own house, and realized: if I'd had even an hour to pack, I would have been caught with my pants down. We just didn't have enough in place.

This week I'm doing two things. Sitting with gratitude that everyone we know is safe. And rethinking the practical stuff, like where our documents and insurance policies actually are.

Swipe through for the five things I'm double checking this week, and what I'd encourage you to check too.

None of this is about fear. It's the same principle as an emergency fund: you do the unglamorous work now so you're not starting from zero when everything else feels like it's falling apart.

Save this so you can work through it this week.

❤️ If you're able, the Innovia Foundation's Wildfire Emergency Response Fund is supporting recovery work for the families who lost their homes in Spokane this week: innovia.org

[wildfire evacuation, emergency preparedness, financial peace of mind, emergency fund, evacuation checklist, insurance tips, family emergency plan, financial planning, ready not scared, financially fluent, Spokane wildfires, Spokane strong, Spokane Complex Fires]

08/06/2026

TEACHERS: Save this before your next classroom run. 🍎

Every August used to look the same for me. Walk into Target with a vague plan, walk out $200 lighter with bins and borders I didn't actually need. No plan meant I just kept spending.

So I built a plan. Here's what I do now before the first week of school:

1. Walk the room, make your list first. Skip Pinterest, write down what your classroom actually needs to function on day one.

2. Set your spending limit before you shop. Decide the number when you're calm, not standing in the dollar aisle.

3. Shop with cash, leave your cards home. Research shows people spend 60%+ more when swiping a card versus paying cash. It's harder to overspend when cash is all you've got.

4. Create a wishlist, share it, let people help. Post it, text it to family, put it out there. You'd be surprised who wants to help stock your classroom, even people you haven't talked to in years.

5. Ask teachers that recently retired or resigned for extra supplies. They're usually sitting on bins they'd love to pass along instead of hauling home again.

None of this is about spending less out of guilt. It's about deciding where your money goes before back-to-school chaos decides for you, so you've still got room for iced coffee and date nights in September.

Comment "PLANNER" and I'll send you my FREE A+ Classroom Budget Planner directly. Set your goal, list your items, and track what you bought vs. what got gifted off your wishlist.

08/04/2026

Back when I was teaching, my classroom closet had a graveyard of bins, borders, and "cute" storage I bought every August and never actually used.

By my last few years in the classroom, I'd finally dialed in 6 small changes to how I did back-to-school shopping. It meant more money left over for date nights with Joe and iced Americanos during the first week of school.

Teacher friends, if you've ever walked out of Target $200 lighter with stuff you didn't need, this one's for you. I broke down exactly what finally worked for me, plus I made a free tool I wish I would have had back then.

🔗 Link in the comments!

08/03/2026

If you lost your home in the Spokane Complex Fire, I’m giving you permission to accept help from others. You're allowed to let people show up for you (with meals, with money, with time) without guilt.

Accepting help isn't a weakness. It isn't a failure. It's how communities are supposed to work.

If you're able to give, please consider supporting families rebuilding after the Spokane Complex Fire. If you don't know a family directly affected, there are several nonprofits acception donations right now.

If you're one of the families, I hope you take this as a sign let people help your family.

Let's stick together, Spokane.

08/01/2026

Every August had the same script: Target, shopping cart, vague plan, $200 gone before I left the parking lot.

Nothing about it was reckless. It just wasn't planned.

And without a plan, I kept spending.

Then the week before school hit, my guard dropped completely. I'd "need" things I'd somehow forgotten in August.

So I stopped winging it.

A list made from walking my actual classroom. A number decided before I ever stepped in a store. Cash instead of cards, with a hard limit I couldn't go past. A wish list I actually shared. And asking the teachers on their way out the door.

It was the difference between an August that drained me and one I walked into with a plan already in place.

Teacher, I made something to help you do the same: the free A+ Classroom Budget Planner.

Set your goal. List every item. Track what you bought versus what got gifted.

Comment "PLANNER" or DM me and I'll send it your way.

Know a teacher gearing up for the new school year? Send them this.

A calm, organized start is a gift.

[teacher wish list, classroom spending, teacher savings, budgeting for teachers, first year teacher tips, homeschool budget, private school teacher, college professor budget, teacher self care, teacher paycheck, classroom supplies budget, back to school spending, teacher money mindset]

07/30/2026

There was a time I overspent on my classroom every August. So I started doing these 3 things to keep more money in my pocket for iced coffee, non-classroom Target runs, and date night.

1. Write your classroom supply list first

2. Set your spending limit

3. Bring cash only, no cards

➡️ Save this before your next supply run.

👋 Hi, I’m Jeannette. I help professionals ditch debt without the overwhelm and build wealth without the stress. Follow for simple, no-shame money guidance.

[teacher budget, classroom supplies, back to school shopping, homeschool supplies, homeschool budget, teacher money tips, classroom shopping list, school supply list]

07/24/2026

"I'll deal with it once I make more money."

"Everyone has debt, that's just adulting."

"As long as nothing bounces, I'm fine."

I believed every one of these completely. Not because I was lazy or bad with money, but because nobody ever asked me to question them. Most advice I'd gotten was tactics: track your spending, cut the subscriptions, get a side hustle. None of it touched what was actually driving the behavior.

Here's what changed things for me: the debt was never really the problem. It was a symptom of beliefs I’d never once questioned. Once I started catching the belief, questioning it, and replacing it, the numbers started moving. That's how I paid off six figures of consumer debt, not through a bigger paycheck.

Want a some small wins before you tackle the big beliefs? Comment "MONEY" and I'll send you my free 7 Quick Money Wins Checklist.

[debt free journey, money mindset, consumer debt, debt payoff, financial freedom, budgeting tips, personal finance, pay down debt, money beliefs, debt free community]

07/22/2026

For years I thought the plan was simple. Make more money, the spending problem solves itself. Bigger paycheck, bigger safety net, done.

Then I got the raise. And somehow my spending grew right alongside it. More travel. More outdoor gear. More shoes.

That's when it hit me. The money was never the issue. I was. My habits, my avoidance, the stories I told myself about what I "deserved" after a hard week. No amount of income was going to fix that. Only I could.

So I stopped waiting for a number to save me and started actually looking at my spending habits. Not fun at first. But it's the only thing that's actually worked.

If you're waiting for "more money" to fix it, I promise you, it won't. You will.

👋 Hi, I’m Jeannette. I help professionals ditch debt without the overwhelm and build wealth without the stress. Follow for simple, no-shame money guidance.

[money mindset, spending habits, personal finance, budgeting tips, debt free journey, financial coach, income vs habits, money story, financial wellness, spending triggers]

07/19/2026

I'm a former teacher turned financial coach, and I still remember the moment that changed how I thought about teacher pay. A coworker with my exact years of experience, same district, same job title, was making $30,000 less than me. Not because I worked a side job. Because of a handful of decisions I made early on that quietly compounded over a decade.

I broke down all six moves in this post: the strategies that grew my paycheck without a single side hustle. If you're a teacher looking to grow your income, this is worth the read or saving for later (or if you love or know a teacher, forward this to them).

🔗 Link in comments.

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Spokane, WA

Website

https://www.fennelfinancialcoaching.com/, https://fennelbudgetingshop.etsy.com/

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