Category: Financial

How Modern Personal Budgeting Tools Are Leading to Financial Independence

Image credits: Pexels

In today’s fast-paced world, the once-simple task of personal budgeting has become far more difficult. Amid inflation pressures, increasing debt, and a need for financial independence, Americans are looking for smart tools that can handle their expenses. With the right combination of automation and a human touch, it is possible to create an adequate budget for the future.

Budgeting Designed to Change Behaviors

Modern budgeting apps aren’t just meant for tracking expenses, offering insight into financial behaviors, and providing personalized coaching. It’s hard to imagine budgeting as a quick fix to any problem today, which is something this fintech movement recognizes. Instead, modern budgeting apps help users treat budgeting like a lifestyle change, changing habits and creating advantages.

Modern budgeting tools are proving their efficacy by addressing the shortcomings of traditional personal budgeting methods, which can be less motivational and inaccurate despite being time-consuming. Rather than a fixed and rigid budget, users are empowered with financial insights that justify every dollar spent and paint a picture of the path toward financial freedom.

Human-Guided Budgeting in Fintech

Credit: MyBudgetCoach

Specific platforms aim to create positive change by pairing users with coaches to guide their spending habits. For instance, MyBudgetCoach emphasizes zero-based budgeting (ZBB), a method where all expenses must be justified “starting from zero.” By matching users with financial coaches suited to various niches, these platforms offer guidance that can lead to behavioral change.

“Our whole thing is we want to help people fall in love with budgeting,” MyBudgetCoach founder Zach Whelchel shared. “It’s actually fun when you get into it and you see systems running.”

With support from a financial professional, budget coaching platforms empower users with financial insights designed to give every dollar a purpose. This way, those struggling with their budget can find a path they might have overlooked or feel confident they are moving forward with a reliable guide.

For Whelchel, the difference between expense tracking apps and guided coaching comes down to agency. “Giving your dollars a job before you spend them is like looking forward,” he said, contrasting it with apps that only report spending after the fact.

That forward-looking perspective, combined with a coach’s accountability, helps users change behaviors instead of abandoning the process. He compared it to fitness or health training: “These are skills that take time to learn, and having a coach helps you get there.” With ongoing support, users not only gain financial clarity but also start to see budgeting as aspirational rather than restrictive.

Making Debt Management Feel Achievable

Credit: Legacy Financial

Alternatively, some platforms are designed to help users visualize when they’ll be debt-free and provide the tools they need to realize their goals. Using its patent-pending snowball and blizzard calculators, Legacy Financial App creates these clear visuals for users while offering flexible repayment strategies based on income levels.

“We’re giving hope to the hopeless,” Legacy Financial App founder Michael Smith Jr. explained, “because we’re showing a light at the end of the tunnel. You can afford to send your kids to college… there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Debt management might feel overwhelming, but the knowledge that it is possible to escape financial burden can be empowering. This kind of financial insight helps users to stick to a budget more closely, recognizing that their efforts will be rewarded by financial freedom as they reach the end of the tunnel.

Smith described the power of visuals in making debt repayment feel possible. “When you can literally see the day you’ll be debt-free, it changes everything,” he said, pointing to the app’s snowball and blizzard calculators.

For families, the tool helps translate sacrifice today into long-term confidence. “We’re not just managing numbers,” Smith explained. “We’re giving people a vision of a future where they can pay for their kids’ college or finally buy that home. And that keeps them motivated”. By connecting repayment to personal dreams, Legacy Financial turns budgeting from a burden into a hopeful pathway.

Creating Paths Forward in Personal Budgeting

While traditional personal budgeting methods have felt restrictive, modern tools empower users to move toward financial freedom. With the advantages of automation and real-time data working in conjunction with human guidance that can acknowledge one’s personal struggles, managing money feels less like a chore, but rather a path toward new opportunities.

Relying on the strategies implemented by modern budgeting, there is no need for spreadsheets and guesswork. Financial independence is more easily achieved with professional support and accurate budget accounting. However difficult it may feel to escape the burden of debt or financial responsibility, modern budgeting tools provide the resources necessary to keep moving forward.

September 22, 2025
California Family Budgets are Stretched Thin This Holiday Season

Image credit: Unsplash

By Walter Contreras

My family and the Latino community have a special connection to the holidays. The holidays are a time to gather with loved ones, exchange gifts, celebrate the joys of spending time with family, and most importantly, help others in need. But many Californians – particularly Latinos –are facing increasing financial hardship, much of it brought on by impractical state and local policies that have ballooned the cost of living for families across the Golden State, turning the celebratory holiday season into a struggle to make ends meet.

Many are forced to go into debt to try and make the holiday’s a joyous time for their families. In fact, California’s rising credit card debt problem captures this struggle. Our state now leads the nation with an average of $13,416 in credit card debt per household and in some cities these numbers soar above $20,000.

This heavy reliance on credit for everyday expenses—spurred by the rising costs of housing, gas, and groceries—is a worrying sign of a broader l financial crisis for Californian households. Fueling this emergency are impractical state and local policies that increase the costs of goods and services without delivering meaningful results for Californians. It’s past time for lawmakers to reject well intentioned proposals that have burdened millions of Californians with significant unintended economic consequences and embrace a more practical agenda that benefits working people instead. We cannot afford to try new methods of environmental protection without understanding the financial impact that they will have on everyday people.

Many of these policies are so-called “environmentally elite” regulations that offer questionable environmental benefits while hurting the state and its residents economically. For example, California’s approach to energy policy highlights the cost-of-living challenges that many households face. Over the past 10 years, residential energy rates have increased by an average of 101%, pushing households to pay electricity rates that are nearly double the national average.

Meanwhile, California’s gas tax—the highest in the nation at $0.68 per gallon—adds another significant financial burden on families. New regulations by the California Air Resources Board could increase fuel costs by an additional $0.47 per gallon, further straining commuters’ budgets. Notably, this is a regressive challenge that impacts our poorest and most vulnerable communities the hardest. Some estimates show that the bottom quintile of households by income spend as much as 16% of their budgets on fuel versus just 2% for the state’s highest earners.

Additionally, housing costs remain a deep-seated problem intertwined with state and local sustainability policies. Restrictive zoning laws and the delayed implementation of the California H.O.M.E. Act—a measure aimed at promoting the construction of duplexes and small housing units—have significantly hindered efforts to address the state’s longstanding housing shortage. State and local inaction have helped to drive up the average cost of a home in California to 2.5 times the median national price, while the cost of renting is 33% higher than the national average. As a result, families can barely afford their most basic necessity: a roof over their heads. In a state where families already pay top dollar for their property, gas, and food, it is unacceptable for policies to push costs any higher than they need to be.

It’s clear that the state’s approach to initiatives like sustainability policy is putting undue economic stress on our communities. That is why it is urgent that our elected leaders take a different approach – one that pursues more practical solutions that balances economic prosperity with environmental outcomes. Californians deserve no less.

To start, lawmakers should prioritize having deeper and more meaningful dialogues with communities to understand how current policies and proposals under consideration at the state and local level might benefit or unintentionally harm those communities. This measured approach is supported by community advocacy groups across the state and will help develop policies that do not disproportionately impact low- and middle-income households, all of which is key to developing lasting reforms that tackle the underlying issues driving our state’s affordability crisis.

The holidays should be a time of joy, not financial headaches. Yet, for many Californians, this season serves as a stark reminder of the state’s deep economic disparities and systemic challenges. This season, it is more important than ever for California’s leaders to commit to producing more thoughtful sustainability policies that offer residents the financial breathing room they need — not just in December, but year-round.

Walter Contreras heads the Sperantia Foundation, a Southern California-based organization focused on food and water access equality, social development, and environmental stewardship. Driven by community transformation, Walter is also a Faith Root Organizer for Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE). He is also a board member of Californians for Smarter Sustainability (CASS), which seeks to balance California’s economic prosperity and quality of life alongside environmental protection.

Written in partnership with Tom White

December 18, 2024
Leen Kawas Discusses 3 Financial Issues Biotech Leaders Should Address in 2024

Image credit: Unsplash

As the United States biotechnology industry continues to expand, the sector’s financial outlook continues its gradual improvement. In 2024, investors are providing increased funding to United States biotechs. That said, more stringent approval criteria are in place. Newer companies, and those without concrete clinical trial data, may find it difficult to obtain their research and operations funding.
Venture capital investments, along with follow-on funding, have been especially strong in 2024. Mergers and acquisitions also continue at an impressive pace. Although these are encouraging trends, initial public offerings (or IPOs) haven’t yet returned to normal levels. Larger-scale economic issues can also fuel a climate of uncertainty.

Overall, however, United States biotechnology firms are optimistic about their future growth prospects. That said, company CEOs and executives should ensure they are well positioned to navigate complex financial challenges. Lack of a proactive strategy can negatively impact the respective company’s forward progress.

Leen Kawas’ Keen Awareness of the United States Biotech Industry

Leen Kawas is Propel Bio Partners’ Managing General Partner. Based in Los Angeles, this steadily expanding biotech-focused venture capital firm works with start-up and early-stage businesses. These fledgling companies typically need financial, technical, and operations guidance. Although Leen Kawas welcomes all candidate pitches, she especially encourages female and minority founders to apply.

Prior to Leen Kawas’ Propel Bio Partners role, she capably served as biotech Athira’s Chief Executive Officer (or CEO). While there, she excelled in the management of multiple drug development cycles. In September 2020, Leen Kawas also successfully managed Athira’s IPO.

Leen Kawas’ well-rounded biotechnology expertise equips her to deliver informed insights on diverse biotech issues. She recommended that biotech leaders address three financial issues impacting their respective companies’ forward progress.

3 Financial Concerns for United States Biotechnology Leaders

Effective biotech leaders are well equipped to handle technological, financial, and organizational challenges that may arise. Specifically, Leen Kawas detailed three financial issues that merit United States’ biotech leaders’ attention.

Maximization of Appropriate Technology

Biotech leaders acknowledge the importance of remaining current with industry advancements. This knowledge can enable them to proactively identify and pursue new research avenues and business opportunities. Smart use of technology also helps drive more efficient clinical trial execution and achieve better hiring outcomes. Together, these positive developments place the biotech in a stronger competitive position.

Clinical Trial Advancements

In 2024, artificial intelligence (or AI) and machine learning (a form of AI) are playing ever-larger roles in clinical trials. Decentralized clinical trials are also taking place more often. Together, these technological advancements can produce multiple benefits. Notably, more efficient clinical trials result in lower costs and generate higher-integrity data.

In addition, AI and machine learning algorithms can accurately analyze extremely large datasets. These analyses can help pinpoint patterns and trends that traditional data evaluation methods would overlook. In turn, the intensive data analysis opens the door to highly targeted (and often effective) treatment interventions. This can help drive better trial efficiencies and patient outcomes.

Diverse Patient Population Recruitment

Clinical trial managers have historically found it difficult to convince diverse patients to participate in clinical trials. Many minority and otherwise underserved patients say they have never been asked to participate in a trial. In a related issue, targeted patients often decline to participate. They say clinical trial management teams often don’t reflect real-life patient demographics.

By harnessing digital platforms and tools, trial sponsors are often able to target a wider patient range (including those in underserved groups). In addition, biomarkers highlight patients more likely to see benefits from a specific therapy. Therefore, trial sponsors can target populations more likely to see positive outcomes from targeted treatments.

What Investors Want to See

Finally, biotech clinical trial sponsors should understand that investors increasingly want to support companies known for their innovation. Maintaining a commitment to utilize the best available technology helps draw investors’ interest (and ideally their funding dollars).

Efficient Clinical Trial Capital Allocation

Biotech leaders should ensure that the clinical trial sponsor efficiently allocates capital during each trial phase. A well-planned trial structure, including optimal methodology and endpoint selection, helps reduce the chances of expensive delays. Good trial design also helps decrease the need for unexpected trial arm additions. Again, good planning increases the likelihood of quality data generation, a strong factor in regulatory approval.

Patient Recruitment and Retention

Clinical trial patient recruitment (and retention) also figure into efficient capital usage. When the trial sponsor utilizes targeted patient recruitment strategies, and takes steps to keep patients engaged throughout the trial duration, dropout rates will be reduced. In turn, this helps keep the trial on schedule and within a preset budget.

Finally, keeping the lines of patient communication open helps build patient trust and fosters a stronger commitment. This increases the trial’s efficiency and leads to more successful outcomes.

Optimal Clinical Trial Management

As with any longer-term venture, good clinical trial project management increases the chances of timeline and budgetary compliance. The clinical trial sponsor should implement rigorous project management practices designed to gauge ongoing progress. When issues arise, quickly identifying them can spur a timely resolution and optimal resource allocation.

What Investors Want to See

With intensive competition for investment dollars, investors expect successful candidates to show a favorable return on investment. Biotechs that aggressively integrate capital efficiency maximization strategies raise their chances of obtaining more investment dollars. Other investors may also take note of these successful outcomes.

Realization of CRO Partnership Investment Benefits

Biotechs often partner with contract research organizations (or CROs) that conduct clinical trials on the biotech’s behalf. Leen Kawas noted that a CRO partnership provides the biotech with three key benefits. These advantages can make the biotech a more desirable investment target.

First, the CRO partnership enables the biotech to access the CRO’s proven expertise and research capabilities. This makes the investment less risky, as investors can easily see how their funds will be utilized.

Next, a CRO partnership facilitates the development of a well-structured study and a robust implementation plan. Biotechs, especially early-stage companies, often find it difficult to accomplish these goals without expert guidance.

Finally, a productive CRO partnership can help decrease a clinical trial’s duration and cost. The CRO’s effective clinical trial operation, and avoidance of quality problems that could affect the trial’s outcome, are also key to a positive result. Together, these factors spur capital efficiencies and lead to an improved return on investment.

Why Effective Biotech Financial Leadership is Key

Optimal application of technology can help facilitate a successful clinical trial and a productive hiring campaign. Leen Kawas noted that prudent use of available resources, and effective project management modalities, can help accomplish the stated goal while satisfying return-focused investors.

Written in partnership with Tom White

November 14, 2024