Hi there, I’m Caryn!

I’m a Mom, Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI), Certified Financial Literacy Professional (CFLP), and Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC) Candidate. I have an engineering background (Stanford & Augsburg) and have been working in tech, consulting, & government for 15 years.

I created Finlittle to give littles ages 3-9 and their grownups engaging, empowering and effective tools for financial literacy. This is a critical age for many reasons - one of them being that it’s when kids’ initial money memories, mindsets and habits are formed (meanwhile they begin navigating thousands of advertisements!)

To be honest, I didn’t really get my act together on personal finance until turning nearly 40 and sure wish that when I was growing up, my family, friends, school and broader community had a better ways of engaging on this topic (that didn’t end with shame, confusion, or guilt).

Listen, I know most people are doing the best they can with the tools they have. No one is perfect. And yet, as a parent now, I’ve found myself hungry for quality, empowering finlit tools for my daughter. More concerning, I’m noticing how little we talk about money as grownups and how many parents freeze up, especially women, when I bring up the word “money”. Whether we like it or not, our kids observe that body language & lack of space we hold for the topic as grown-ups; I’m concerned what that says to kids, especially to our little girls.

I want to share what I’ve learned in my journey: successfully reparenting myself on money, paying down undergrad & grad student loans as well as credit card debt, investing, home ownership, retirement planning, healthily managing household finances with my husband (+ make it a point of connection), all while teaching my young daughter what money can and can’t do as she expresses curiosity about it.

I want to help parents and kids cultivate positive emotional connections and a growth mindset foundation with respect to money… pride in learning, peace with making informed choices, confidence in talking about money, and clarity about money as a tool.

I believe it’s never too early and never too late to engage with financial literacy. I’d be honored if Finlittle can be part of you and your family’s journey.

xoxo Caryn