I do this for fun :)

But sometimes it's nice to hear that people care about the resources I'm creating. It would mean the world to me if you did one of the following:

1. Subscribe to my newsletter (no spam, I promise)
2. Share this website with 3 friends who would benefit
3. Write me a check for 10% of all the money you saved because of me 😉 
4. Buy me a coffee with the link below because that ^ would be absurd 😂 

About Hanson

Nice to meet you, for those who don't know me already :) 

Ever since starting my business, Think Board, it's been imperative to maintain a level of understanding and clarity on both the company's finances and my own. The more I understood what I needed to live on, save, and invest, the more I could prioritize keeping money in the business to help it grow. 

Example: How much should a founder pay themselves? "Eh, 50-60k is probably enough, right?" said all of my friends.

In 2016, when I graduated from colleges, I was paying myself $1,800 per month.
$800 on expenses
$700 on rent
$250 on student loans
$50 for savings/investing

In 2017, I was paying myself $2,600 per month.
$900 on expenses
$700 on rent
$250 on student loans
$750 for savings/investing

And in 2018, I got up to paying myself $4,000 per month.
$900 on expenses
$700 on rent
$250 on student loans
$2,150 for savings/investing

Notice I didn't change my behavior too much? Most people do what is called lifestyle inflation. They get a raise and move into a nicer place. Switch jobs, which comes with another raise, and decide to eat out more because they deserve it. Some people actually start inflating their lives in anticipation of a pay raise, which usually leads to a couple thousand dollars in credit card debt and the "I'll be able to pay that off once the bonus comes" mentality. 

Anyways, this wasn't supposed to be Personal Finance 101. It was supposed to explain to you why you can trust me as a resource, and also why I spent so much time and energy trying to figure this all out. It all comes down to living and spending intentionally. 

Without intention, I would not have been able to mindfully assign my money a place each month. I knew my happiness wouldn't increase with a nicer place or fancier food, and so I just kept putting money into the market. When we needed to move out of The Thinkubator, a 9 person entrepreneur house that 2 friends and I created, to a new place, I thought about what making this move with intention would look like. I ended up picking a place that was $300 below the new budget I set, and instead of spending that on something else, I turned on an auto-transfer into a savings account called Future Travel. $300/mo = $1,200 every 4 months. Pair that with an abundance of credit card points (learn more here), and I had myself a nice remote month working somewhere outside of Boston, a couple times per year. 

I hate that to convince people you're worthy of listening to you need to post a picture of you with your fancy car, or all of your travel pictures and say "look at me, you can live like this if you buy this course." So I do my best to avoid that all. 

So here's my humble brag that might convince you. I started my own business in 2014. My hours went from 80/week, to 60, to 40, to 30, and now about 20. And if you do the math on how I've been able to save/invest, it shows you that I've created a freedom around time and money to allow me to do what I get excited about doing. I've been helping those around me work towards creating a healthier relationship to money and better understanding of where it all goes. And now, with this website, I hope that I can broaden my reach of people who I can help understand their finances to a new level. 

The Goal? A stress-free approach to money. Which includes clarity in where your money is going each month, confidence in your efforts towards investing/retirement, and intention in all other aspects of your money-spending decisions. 

Side note: if you read this far, you're amazing. And I'm considering doing some 1-on-1 Money Coaching. Shoot me a message and we can have a virtual coffee and chat. hansongrant1 (at) gmail