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A six month old baby sits in a highchair as their parent feeds them baby food.
For Individuals & Households:

Financial
Counseling

Are you feeling stuck paying off debt without making a dent in what you owe and want to make a plan to move forward with your life?

Do you have steady income but find yourself playing catch up at the end of the month, wondering where all your money went?

Do you have dreams such as buying a house, saving for your kids’ education, or creating a work optional life and don’t know how to make it happen?

Fully Funded Financial Counseling is for people who are ready to pay down debt, make a savings & spending plan, and start investing to create financial freedom.

Book a Call Now
Jennifer Mayer the founder of Fully Funded x 40 Weeks looking into the distance.

Hi! I’m Jen

I'm a Brooklyn based mom of two, a financial counselor, a former doula, and I’ve been self-employed my entire adult life. My passion is working with parents and self-employed people to implement financial strategies so they can live with financial confidence, less stress, and meet their lifelong goals.

I've trained with the Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education in financial counseling. I help clients with a variety of financial projects anywhere from debt management, to creating monthly financial routines, to building their first $100K in assets.

Together we create an actionable plan, so you can work step by step toward your financial visions. It's my sincere hope that we can all live with strong financial foundations, so we can dedicate our lives fully to the many causes we believe in.

A mother who's a freelancer holds her baby up to her face smiling, and the baby looks at the camera.

Financial Counseling is for you whether you're...

  • A millennial who’s accumulated student loan and/or credit card debt who isn’t anywhere close to paying it off. You need an actionable plan in order to move on with your life and start saving for your long term aspirations.
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  • In a partnership and want to combine finances with your spouse and create a joint financial organization system that works with your combined incomes and expenses.
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  • Welcoming a child or children into your family and want to recalibrate your personal finances to align with your growing family’s needs.
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  • Starting to think about your long term savings goals and planning for retirement but want to make sure that you honor your values while building a financial foundation for years to come.

How Does It Work?

Identifying Your Financial Values and Goals
While we do focus on finances, that’s only the tip of the iceberg. I want to learn about your values as a person first because I believe that true financial success is achieved when your finances are in alignment with your values. I’m here to help you define what’s important to you and create a life that supports your priorities.

Assessing Your Current Financial Landscape
This is all about mapping out a clear picture of your financial habits. We start by identifying three things: what comes in, what goes out, and what’s left over. In looking at these numbers we can identify areas of improvement and start to think about new strategies to implement that work for you.

Creating an Actionable Financial Plan
This is where we get to put our heads together and collaborate on an actionable plan that covers your short term, intermediate, and long term goals for you to start using. I’m there to provide education, support, and guidance, and you’re there to make sure that this plan is in alignment with your values and goals.

Financial counseling rooted in values offers a refreshing alternative to traditional money advice. Rather than handing over a generic budget template, a thoughtful counselor begins by exploring what truly matters to each client, from family priorities to long-held aspirations. Once those values are clearly articulated, spending and saving decisions start to feel more intentional. The process feels less like number crunching and more like life design, helping individuals and households build routines that reflect who they are. This values-first foundation often makes the rest of the financial journey feel more meaningful and sustainable.

Taking stock of current financial habits can feel intimidating, but it is one of the most empowering first steps. A counselor guides clients through a calm, non-judgmental review of income, expenses, and what remains after both are accounted for. This clear-sighted snapshot reveals patterns that may have grown unnoticed over time, from small recurring subscriptions to larger lifestyle trends. With that visibility comes choice, because it is far easier to adjust a habit once it has been honestly named. The exercise is rarely about restriction and almost always about reclaiming a sense of control and clarity.

Parental leave planning is a specialized area where financial counseling can ease enormous stress. Expecting and new parents face a swirl of decisions about income continuity, benefit navigation, and shifting household needs during a period of sleep deprivation and adjustment. A counselor who understands self-employment and modern employment structures can help anticipate the financial ripple effects of leave before the baby arrives. Planning ahead transforms parental leave from a source of financial anxiety into a protected, well-prepared chapter of family life that allows new parents to focus on bonding and recovery.

Self-employed individuals carry a distinctive set of financial considerations that traditional workplace resources rarely address. Variable income, self-paid benefits, retirement contributions outside employer plans, and quarterly tax obligations each require their own strategy. Financial counseling tailored to freelancers, consultants, and small business owners acknowledges these realities rather than glossing over them. Sessions can focus on stabilizing cash flow, building reserves for lean months, and structuring long-term savings in a way that matches the rhythms of nontraditional work. The result is a financial plan as flexible and adaptive as the career that inspired it.

A safe, judgment-free environment is often what makes financial counseling finally click for clients who have felt shame around money for years. Conversations led with empathy allow people to speak openly about debt, spending fears, family money trauma, or simply feeling overwhelmed. Without lecture or pretense, clients are invited to bring their whole financial story to the table and explore it honestly. Over time, that openness replaces avoidance with curiosity, and stress with confidence. Counseling becomes not just a path to stronger finances but also to a more peaceful relationship with money itself.

All meetings with Jenny are held virtually over
Zoom.

Session notes, resources,
and actions steps provided.

Email access between sessions for quick questions.

Let's chat
Schedule your free 30 minute introductory call!

Strategy Session:
Here's What's Included...

  • A comprehensive overview of your current finances and future ambitions
  • A customized financial road map with a clear trajectory toward accomplishing your goals
  • Creation of actionable steps for you to implement short and long term
  • Session notes, resources, templates, and recommendations
  • Email support for any questions that might come up
  • Investment: $497

Topics We Can Cover

  • Paying off Debt: Student loan strategies, credit card debt, consumer debt
  • Financial Foundations: Learning and implementing financial systems
  • Planning: Monthly budgets spending & savings plans, savings accounts
  • Retirement: Learning options & strategy for retirement savings & investing
  • Family Financial Planning: What to have in place after having kids
  • Investing: Learning the basics of investing in the stock market
  • Maternity Leave: Financial planning for maternity and parental leave
  • Self-Employed People: How to manage variable income, set up your own benefits, and more.
Book a Call Now

what others are saying

“I have always found budgeting stressful, and starting up a new business has felt overwhelming at times! But you made it so easy to put together a financial plan, and I feel more confident in my ability to make it happen too. It’s the first time I enjoyed budgeting, it’s going to be so useful going forward knowing how much I need to make and having a clear spreadsheet I can put all of my spending into. I can’t express how valuable our session has been to me.” - Catherine
“I am so grateful for my financial planning session with Jenny! I am one semester into a three-year graduate school program and with Jenny's help I feel very well positioned to manage my student loans. She helped me reflect on my goals and outline clear action steps. It was just the motivation I needed to get organized with my finances!” - Annie
“I absolutely loved my session with Jen and felt so much more clear and confident after. I am someone with a lot of insecurity around money management and while I felt a bit vulnerable going into the session, it quickly went away. Jen provides a completely non-judgemental space for discussing a very sensitive topic and had plenty of solutions for each of my financial worries and questions. I walked away with a clear plan of action and was actually excited about managing my money after. Thanks Jen!” - Janice

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is a Financial Counselor?

    Financial Counselors are trained professionals who educate clients in sound financial principles. We assist clients in the process of overcoming their financial indebtedness, help clients identify and modify ineffective money management behaviors and guide clients in developing successful strategies to achieve their unique financial goals.

  • What is your training and background?

    I have trained with and I'm in the process of accreditation with the Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education (AFCPE®). AFCPE® is the nationally recognized leader in financial counseling, coaching and education. Bringing together research, education and practice, they support the profession through comprehensive training, professional development and high-quality resources to help improve the economic well-being of individuals and families worldwide.

  • Do you sell any financial products?

    Nope! I am a fee-only financial advisor. I don't earn commissions by selling financial products. Clients pay a fee to enlist my services. That way I only work for you, and have your best interest in mind.

  • Can I still work with a financial counselor if I’m in a lower income bracket?

    Absolutely! Financial counseling is great for folks who have less than $250K-$500K in assets and are looking to grow their wealth over time. If you make under $50K annually, feel free to email me for additional resources and recommendations.

  • Do you invest money for clients?

    No, I don't manage any client assets or investments directly. I provide education, clarification, and guidance to clients so they understand their investment options. I have a variety of referrals available for clients depending on their investment needs.

  • If I have a spouse or partner should they attend the sessions too?

    If you're married or in a partnership it's often very helpful if both partners can attend the financial counseling sessions. That being said, every partnership is different, so if one spouse wishes to attend, that is okay too.

  • Do you offer sliding scale or discounted rates?

    Yes! I offer sliding scale rates for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ folks, people with disabilities, single parents, and anyone who expresses need. Please email me if you’re interested in working together on a sliding scale.

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Hi there!

Are you looking to create a strong financial foundation and are ready for guidance on your next steps? We help parents, self-employed people, and W-2 workers just like you with a variety of financial projects like: debt management, student loans, spending and savings plans, separating business and personal expenses, planning a parental leave, savings for retirement, learning about investments, and more.