About Beyond Money Financial Coaching
Hi! I’m Kate Grayson, a Chicago-based Financial Coach
Welcome to Beyond Money, the antithesis of everything you’re used to in the financial world.
I started Beyond Money simply because I believe that with accessible guidance and transparency about finances, you can create — and most importantly, live — the life that you want. No matter what stage you’re at in your money journey and what your goals might be, it’s never been more important to discover how to spend and save wisely — so that your money can take you where you want to go.
HOW THIS ALL CAME TO BE
I’ve seen firsthand how alienating, unkind, and inhumane most of the financial service industry is.
Like most of us, my money’s gone through ups and downs over the years. I’ve gone from earning a good salary as an expat in Singapore to being unable to work for years due to health issues, and from working corporate to starting my own business. At various inflection points, I’d try to seek out financial help from the so-called experts, but without fail they made me feel worse.
I’d either leave the conversation feeling small and insignificant, or stuck in a fear and shame spiral – like I was so uniquely dumb and bad at money that my life would be destined for failure if I didn’t work with them. I felt very unseen and uncared for, and I created Beyond Money as an antidote for this experience.
I know just how much financial anxiety can eat away at your well-being, and as I became more interested in personal finance I began to see how many loved ones were also plagued by financial stress and uncertainty – even (or especially) people with on-paper financially “successful” lives.
Underneath it all, they overwhelmingly felt like they had nowhere to turn for honest, trustworthy guidance, and were stuck in the financial shame spirals thinking that they were uniquely bad at money. It broke my heart to realize how many kind, intelligent, competent people I knew were struggling in silence with such an important, foundational area of life. So like a typical Virgo, I figured “how hard can it be? I can help people with this!” And here we are, all these years later! (Post a lot of training, education, and certification, promise.)
I’VE BUILT BEYOND MONEY FOR YOU
Beyond Money was born from the desire to create a space of inclusivity, safety, and transformation around money. As a single, queer woman I know all too well that most of the advice out there is just not it. It lacks nuance, is not grounded in the realities of the post-pandemic costs and salaries, and doesn’t take into account anybody whose life doesn’t fit into the cookie cutter two kids and a white picket fence.
And call me crazy, but I believe that the rest of us deserve a financial home too. So welcome to Beyond Money, the place where you can rewrite your financial story. Get that debt paid off, build up your savings, create the life that you dream of, regardless of whether or not that fits into somebody else’s vision of a happy life. If we work together, it’ll never be about me as the “money person” telling you what to do. Rather, it’s about uncovering what you most value and desire, and co-creating a financial plan that will best support the actualization of your dreams.
What we believe…
YOU BELONG.
We support and celebrate your identity, including ethnicity, race, gender, LQBTQ+, age, nationality, religion, and abilities.
MONEY IS PERSONAL.
You are your own person, with your own history and your own dreams. You will always be treated as an individual, and never given one-size fits all solutions.
IT’S ALL ABOUT BALANCE.
You don’t have to sacrifice enjoyment of life in order to achieve financial health. We can make room in your budget for whatever’s most important to you — shopping, vacations, and all.
YOUR PROBLEMS ARE REAL.
The financial stress you’re feeling is real — even if you feel like you shouldn't have these problems at your income.
INTEGRITY MATTERS.
The financial industry is full of bad-actors and financial scams. To be clear: I never take commissions or referral bonuses, and always operate with your best interest at heart.
MONEY IS EMOTIONAL.
It’s about more than financial education and budgeting. You simply can’t heal your relationship with money without addressing the emotional or psychological components.
ADVICE NEEDS TO BE RELEVANT.
Traditional budgeting advice simply doesn’t work in our hyper-inflationary, late-stage capitalist reality.
MONEY CAN BE GENTILE.
Judgment has no place. My highest mission is to always be a safe place for my clients, so you can explore your money in a compassionate, shame-free container.
THE SYSTEM IS SETTING YOU UP FOR FAILURE.
The economic system is designed to keep you in debt and spending money. You haven’t done anything wrong by getting here and none of this is your fault. But, that doesn’t mean we can’t create anew and build a new future.
More About Kate
I am a Chicago-based financial coach, but you already know that! I spent most of my 20s living in Asia (India and Singapore), and am happy to be back in Chicago, where I’m from, right now. There’s no other place like it!
I’ve been doing financial coaching since 2018, and have worked with 115+ people at my latest count. I’m a Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI), and am currently pursuing a long-awaited certification as a Financial Therapist (CFT-1). More about that soon, once I pass the test – I am so excited! It’s the best representation of the work I really do.
When I’m not thinking about money, you can probably find me doing one of my many hobbies. Heavy in rotation right now are: hand-weaving, hydroponic gardening, open water swimming, and studying Hindi.
To explore working together, let’s start with a commitment-free intro call. If you’d like to get in touch for any other reason, you can email me at hello@beyondmoney.co or give me a call at 773-490-1277.