About Our Team
We're Emily and Naomi—longtime friends who care deeply about helping people create financial lives that feel calm, intentional, and spacious.
Over nearly two decades of friendship, we've lived surprisingly parallel lives. We've each started businesses, renovated homes, farmed and raised goats, and invested in rental properties. We’ve lost and grieved a parent and financially planned for the other parent.
Most recently we have each made dream cross-country moves - from Portland, OR for almost 20 years, to Vermont and to Portugal.
Through all of it, one thing has remained constant: We've always been drawn to creating more freedom in our own lives, and helping others do the same.
We don't believe more is always better.
We believe meaningful work, healthy boundaries, financial security, and a life outside of work can all exist together.
We also believe financial coaching should be a warm, kind, judgment-free place where people can ask honest questions, learn new skills, and build confidence with their money.
Our goal isn't simply to help people reach financial clarity or independence - It's to help them enjoy the process of building and living the best lives they can imagine, starting now.
Emily Gowen, AFC®
Back in 2011, I was newly self-employed with consumer debt, student loans, and barely enough money in the bank to feel comfortable.
I'd always chosen work I loved, even when it didn't pay well, and I constantly worried about whether I'd be able to cover my bills. My background in math helped—but it was determination, curiosity, and eventually the right support that changed my relationship with money.
Emily’s Story
Over the next few years, I paid off my debt, built an emergency fund, and started saving for retirement.
As a first-generation college student who'd been financially independent from a young age, I knew how to "make it work," but I didn't yet have the language or tools of financial literacy. Local nonprofits helped me learn those skills, and once I found my footing, I began volunteering as a financial coach.
I worked with friends to pay off debt, and celebrated alongside them as they reached milestones they once thought were impossible.
When I reached my own first big financial goal, I called a financial advisor and asked,
"Okay...what now?"
She told me there weren't many resources for someone in my position—someone getting their financial footing, but without wealth to manage yet.
She also told me she was about to begin training Money Coaches.
That conversation changed the course of my life.
Today, my relationship with money looks very different.
I've renovated homes, built a rental property, saved for my daughters' futures, and intentionally designed a business that supports the kind of life I want to live.
Those experiences continue to shape how I coach.
I understand the structural barriers that make financial progress difficult, and I also believe deeply in the agency we build when we have clarity, guidance, and a plan we trust.
Outside of coaching...
When I'm not meeting with clients, you'll probably find me hiking, swimming, gardening or cooking, dreaming up a new project, or spending time with my husband and our twin daughters.
Financially, I'm especially interested in self-employment and defining what "enough" looks like.
If you don't feel that you are ready for one-on-one coaching, please check out ourResources Pageor self-paced Financial Clarity Foundations courseto get started.
My approach is grounded in both education and experience.
Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC) Certification & Ongoing Coursework
You Need A Budget (YNAB) Certified Coach
Financial Coach Academy; Mastermind, Symposium, Retreats, & 12-month Elite Coaching Program
Certified Financial Planner Coursework
Lunaria Financial; Personal & Business Money Coaching Course
“One of Emily's greatest gifts as a Financial Coach is her ability to be practical, logical and mathematical while simultaneously also being caring and compassionate. She is authentic, direct, sincere, kind and honest around the complex topic of money and whatever it may bring up for her clients. I highly recommend working with her!”
– Michael S., Portland, Oregon
Meet Money Coach Naomi & Behind-the-Scenes-Wizard, Kerby!
Hi! From left to right we're Kerby and Naomi (and our goats are Panqueca & Binga).
When we met in 2018, we both wanted creative and vibrant futures, but had no idea that it was our relationship to money that was holding us back.
Though we were working serious jobs, our financial literacy was near zero. Kerby was a senior software engineer with a great salary, but had no savings, a tiny closed 401K trapped in a 0.01% APY savings account, and credit card debt that never seemed to budge. Naomi owned a thriving and debt-free business, but was running from student loans, and was stashing her money 'under the mattress'.
While we both appreciated our careers and were good at our work, we were stressed all the time in unsustainable ways, and knew we wanted life to be really different.
When Emily introduced us to her approach to managing money, something clicked. We finally understood where we stood, where we wanted to go, and how to use our money to help us get there. Instead of feeling stressed and uncertain, we started making decisions with purpose.
Seven years later, we've achieved financial independence, left our traditional jobs, and moved to Portugal—creating a life that once felt more like a dream than a plan.
Today we get to spend our time doing work we care deeply about, helping people create more calm, confidence, and freedom with their money.
We'd love to help you build a financial life that supports the life you want to live.
Or,
Why have just one freebie?
Here are a few free guides and workbooks We hope you’ll find helpful.
Let’s get started on your journey to financial peace of mind and confidence with your money
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