Meet Emily Gowen, AFC®
My professional life has varied considerably over the years- from teaching math to urban gardening to bodywork- yet the common thread is that I love holding space for people and being a helpful and empowering resource.
I'm a financial coach because I know what it feels like to be burdened by finances, and I want to help as many people as I can turn that stress and trapped feeling into hope and positivity about their financial future and lives.
My Story
in 2011 I had consumer debt, student loans, and had just started my own business with a near-empty bank account- and had no idea how I was going to make it work.
I’d always chosen work I loved, even when it didn’t pay well, and I constantly felt anxious about whether I could cover my bills. My background in math helped, but it was determination — and eventually the right support — that allowed me to turn things around.
Over the next few years, I paid off all 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 have the language or skills of financial literacy. Local non-profits helped me learn those tools, and once I found my footing, I began volunteering as a financial coach. I worked with friends to pay off debt, built spreadsheets for them, and stayed in touch as they met their milestones.
When I hit my first big goal, I reached out to a financial advisor to ask, “Okay…what now?” She told me there weren’t many resources for someone like me, with no wealth to manage yet — but she was about to train Money Coaches. That conversation changed everything.
Since then, I’ve continued to deepen my own relationship with money: buying and renovating homes, building a rental property, saving for my kids’ futures, and shaping a life that feels grounded and spacious.
I understand the structural barriers that make financial progress hard, and I also believe in the agency we can build when we have guidance and clarity.
I believe Financial Coaches are the missing link for creating a financially educated and empowered culture.
What so many of us need is a money-cheerleader and educator to get us to where we are saving and creating wealth, as most of us don't yet have wealth to manage. I know that our system does not set our youth up for financial success, and on the contrary, offers a confusing and often predatory array of options to get us, and keep us, in debt.
I love helping people break out of the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle, live with a cushion that eases their anxiety and stress, and save for a future they are excited about.
Areas of experience & interest
Self-employment, defining financial freedom, gardening and landscaping, hiking, creating beautiful and functional spaces, and prioritizing quality of life. I’m also a mom to twin girls who teach me more than I can say — and as of 2025, I can add “moved my family across the country and sold multiple homes” to the list.
If you don't feel that you are ready for one-on-one coaching, please check out our Resources Page or self-paced Financial Clarity Foundations course to get started.
Trainings:
Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC) Certification & Ongoing Coursework
Financial Coach Academy, Mastermind, Symposium & Business Automations training
12-month Elite Coaching Program through the Financial Coach Academy
You Need A Budget Certified Coach
Certified Financial Planner Course 1
Coach Connections 12-mo program
Innovative Changes Financial Coach Training
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 method of managing money, everything changed. In almost no time, we had become total budgeting nerds--getting clear on exactly where we were, and what we really wanted out of life.
Seven years later, we have taken control of our finances, achieved financial independence, quit our jobs, and moved to Portugal!
Most exciting of all, we are now able to spend our time working at our own pace on the projects we really love, like working with folks like you! Empowering you to make the most of life on your own journey to financial wellness and freedom.
We can't wait to help you live a life more awesome than you ever thought possible!
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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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