We started because money stress looked fixable
Too many people making good money were still stressed about bills. The answers weren't complicated, they just needed to be taught in ways that actually stick.
How we got here
I spent seven years running a financial counseling office in Denver. Same patterns every week: people earning decent incomes, drowning in spreadsheets they never opened, avoiding bank accounts because seeing the numbers felt worse than not knowing.
The problem wasn't intelligence or discipline. It was that nobody had shown them a budgeting system they could actually maintain. Most personal finance advice assumes you have extra time and energy to track everything perfectly. Real life doesn't work that way.
We launched Woqarnes in 2023 with one specific goal: teach household budgeting in live webinars where you can ask questions about your actual situation. Not theoretical examples. Your rent amount, your irregular income, your specific grocery budget challenge.
Our instructors are former counselors and accountants who've seen hundreds of real budgets. They know which tracking methods people actually use six months later, and which ones get abandoned by week three. That practical knowledge shapes every webinar we run.
What guides our approach
These aren't mission statement words. They're practical choices we make every time we design a webinar.
Real examples only
Every budget scenario we use comes from actual participants. We don't teach with invented perfect situations.
Ask during class
All webinars have live Q&A. If something doesn't make sense for your situation, you say so and we adjust the explanation.
Tools you'll use
We provide spreadsheet templates and tracking methods that people actually maintain. Nothing complicated enough to require a tutorial.
Building this step by step
We didn't start with a complete platform. Each piece got added because participants told us what they needed next.
First webinar series
Launched with one instructor and a basic budgeting course. Sixteen people joined the first session. Twelve showed up for session two, which told us the content was working.
Added irregular income modules
Freelancers and gig workers kept asking how to budget without a steady paycheck. We built a separate course just for variable income situations.
Expanded instructor team
Brought on two more financial counselors to handle different time zones and specialized topics like debt payoff sequencing and savings automation.
Regional access expansion
Started offering webinars at multiple times to accommodate participants from different regions across the country. Same content, more scheduling flexibility.
The people who teach
Our instructors have worked directly with hundreds of household budgets. That practical experience shows up in every session.
Helena Grunwald
Director of Financial Education
Spent nine years as a credit counselor before starting Woqarnes. Specialized in helping people rebuild budgets after job loss or medical expenses.
Odin Tvedt
Senior Budget Instructor
Former small business accountant who switched to individual financial education. Teaches the irregular income and self-employment budgeting courses.
Siobhan Kearney
Debt Strategy Specialist
Worked in bankruptcy law for six years before joining our team. Focuses on debt payoff sequencing and negotiation strategies in her webinars.
Anouk Dubois
Family Finance Instructor
Previously ran financial workshops for a family services nonprofit. Teaches budgeting for households with multiple income sources and childcare costs.
See how webinars actually work
Check our current schedule or read more about what makes our approach different.