Sarah, a 32-year-old MBA graduate, felt trapped. Despite her education and successful career, she lay awake at night consumed by financial anxiety. Her parents' fights about money had shaped her relationship with finances, creating a scarcity mindset that kept her paralyzed. She had money coming in, but no idea where it was going. No budget, no investment strategy, no plan.

The realization that changed everything

Sarah's breakthrough moment came when she realized she couldn't therapy her way out of financial chaos. While her therapist helped with the emotional side, she needed concrete steps: a roadmap from someone who understood both the psychology and mechanics of money.

"I could talk to my therapist or family about my feelings towards money,” Sarah said. “But they couldn't really help me in a concrete way. That's why I sought out Doing We

The month-by-month roadmap

Month 1: Intro & Discovery ‍

Sarah shared her money story and how her childhood experiences shaped her financial anxiety. Her Doing Well coach listened to her struggles, beliefs, and goals, creating space for her to bring all her questions about budgeting, investing, and breaking free from scarcity mindset.

Month 2: Categorize & Analyze

Sarah reviewed all her accounts (bank, Zelle/Venmo, 401k, student loans) with her Doing Well coach. The shocking discovery: $300+ monthly on Uber/Lyft she hadn't tracked. Doing Well categorized every expense to understand her true financial picture.

Month 3-4: Budget & Optimize

Together, they analyzed Sarah's income and expenses to create a sustainable budget. She went on a massive subscription purge, cutting Apple subscriptions and apps she didn't need. She started driving more and carpooling instead of defaulting to ride shares.

Her new rule: Every expense had to earn its place in her budget.

Month 5-8: Plan & Automate

Sarah's comprehensive action plan came to life. She set up her "set it and forget it" system: $1,000 monthly automatically flowing to her Roth IRA, emergency fund contributions on autopilot, and accelerated debt payments.

Ongoing: Check-in & Thrive

Regular monthly check-ins kept Sarah on track with her action plan. She reduced monthly expenses by $3K, paid off $15K in debt, added $26K to her emergency fund, and invested $9K across Roth IRA and ETFs. With her employee benefits maximized, she discovered new ways to put her money to work and stopped second-guessing every financial decision.

How Doing Well guided the change

Personalized Budget

Instead of generic budget templates, Sarah got a custom system designed around her busy schedule, travel needs, and goal timeline for homeownership within 5 years.

Automated Investing

Doing Well designed a "set it and forget it" system for Sarah. That means automatic transfers, investment contributions, and debt payments that worked with her busy lifestyle, not against it.

Money Mindset

Understanding Sarah's scarcity mindset, Doing Well focused on creating abundance by building wealth systematically. Each automated process helped build confidence for the next financial goal.

The Results

Plus: $1,000/month automatically investing in Roth IRA & maximized employee benefits

Beyond the numbers: Sarah's mental shift

While the numbers tell one story, Sarah's emotional journey reveals the deeper transformation. Financial stress no longer keeps her up at night. Now she's able to look forward: planning for a house, considering entrepreneurship, and building towards retirement.

"It's crazy how much more confident I feel now that my money's under control,” Sarah said. “Now that my finances are in check, I'm more confident about going after bigger goals, like saving for a house or starting a business."

Her advice to others stuck in the same cycle

Get the same personalized guidance

If Sarah's story resonates with you, you can get the same personalized guidance that helped her build lasting wealth.

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