Meet the season 14 Teams
Krystal& alisa
Krystal and Alisa are both currently in grad school for a Masters of Communication to advance their skill sets and future earning potential, while also working full-time jobs. They hope Project Money can help them offset these added college costs and create more effective, strategic savings habits.
Q: Why did you apply for Project Money?
A: Part of it was how inspired we were by previous participants and their stories. Project Money’s personal approach to financial tips is way different than reading fact sheets, and it also really destigmatizes debt and talking about money. Hopefully what we learn can help someone else too.
Q: What do you wish you'd learned sooner about finances?
A: What good debt is, and how to prioritize where to put extra income we have each month. Also, how to get the most of our money with debt calculators and different interest-rate options.
Q: What’s the value of getting to work with a Summit financial coach?
A: We still have separate debts except our house. We want to figure out the best way to reduce our own debts and use our combined income for what’s most beneficial to both of us. Coaching helps us know what that looks like in terms of next steps.
Q: What does financial freedom and financial confidence look like to you?
A: Not feeling guilty for wanting to take a trip or grab dinner or a Starbucks coffee for a little mental chi! Also having a safety net so we’re prepared for the unexpected and don’t feel stressed about our future.
Q: Fun fact about you?
A: We recently got engaged! We hope the knowledge we gain through Project Money will help us save for our wedding and start a family to join our 18-month-old pup, Chai.
We’re excited to see where you go from here, Krystal and Alisa!
Krystal and Alisa's Journey
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maiya
Maiya juggles a full-time job with two side hustles – pet groomer and pet sitter/walker. She loves being dog mom to her two Corgis, Olly and Finn, and hopes Project Money can help her set financial habits that let her enjoy more work/life balance.
Q: What does financial freedom and financial confidence look like to you?
A: I’d love to not feel compelled to work all the time. I want to be able to go on vacations, get a house and another dog and maybe a horse, and know I can retire comfortably when the time comes.
Q: What does financial freedom and financial confidence look like to you?
A: Everything. I took personal finance and learned how to write a paper check! It would’ve been more helpful to learn about taxes, and how to buy a house or invest. I didn’t grow up with a lot of financial literacy so trying to figure it out on my own has been tough.
Q: What’s the value of getting to work with a Summit financial coach?
A: My friends and I use each other as sounding boards, but we don’t know about money so we don’t get solutions out of it – it usually ends with “that’s just how it is.” With a coach who really knows me, I’ll get actionable next steps and priorities.
Q: What do you think will be most challenging about Project Money?
Breaking my impulsiveness or expenses of convenience. I work so much that when I finally have free time or get together with friends, I have a full-blown “treat yo’self” mentality!
Q: Fun fact about you?
A: I love competing in American Kennel Club trials and lifelong training with my dogs. But it doesn’t come cheap, so being able to plan for that through Project Money is important to me! I’m also training for a half marathon.
We’re excited to see what’s ahead, Maiya!
Maiya's Journey
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Short-term Goals
Megan & dom
Megan and Dom are balancing their full-time careers with two young sons, James and Arrow. They hope Project Money helps them create a healthy budget and financial habits that work for their family long-term.
Q: What would reducing debt and increasing savings help you accomplish?
A: We want to buy a home so our children have a place they can invite friends and play in the backyard together. We also want a strong safety net for emergencies to feel more prepared.
Q: What do you wish you'd learned sooner about finances?
A: It’s hard when you grow up seeing people close to you surviving, not thriving. We weren’t in an environment to learn savings habits and felt stuck in some of the same cycles. Knowing more about credit and credit scores also would’ve been helpful.
Q: What’s the value of getting to work with a Summit financial coach?
A: We’ve had many iterations of a budget but something always seems to come up. Having a coach will help us figure out what a feasible budget looks like for us and keep us accountable.
Q: What do you think will be most challenging about Project Money?
A: Cutting back where we’re “treating ourselves” too much. But it will also be great to talk with our older son about why we don’t have our craft coffee or Door Dash so he sees we’re on a journey to better ourselves – and learns from us too.
Q: What does financial freedom and financial confidence look like to you?
A: Having the weight of debt off our shoulders. But mostly, being able to build the financial stability that we never had so we can give that to our kids along with tools for their own financial freedom.
Q: Fun fact about you?
A: Our family includes four pets: a rescue dog (Theodore), a Bengal cat (Shuri), and two goldfish.
We’re excited to see all you accomplish, Megan and Dom!
Megan and Dom's Journey
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There is definitely an initial shock of joining this competition and feeling anxious, vulnerable, and even unsure. As the initial shock wore off, we began to feel an overwhelming sense of serious and intense conviction to get this right.
robin & evan
Robin and Evan recently bought a rental property and are thinking through how this affects their overall financial plans. They balance full-time careers with young children (Collette and Reid), and they hope Project Money will validate their financial decisions or redirect their next steps.
Q: What would reducing debt and increasing savings help you accomplish?
A: Short-term, Project Money will help us finish home renovations for our family’s growing needs, which we’d planned before the cost of materials and labor went up. Long-term, we’d plan more proactively for retirement.
Q: What’s the value of getting to work with a Summit financial coach?
A: We’re doing what we think is right for retirement and college savings, but we’re not sure we’re seeing the whole picture. We’re hoping our coach will help validate our decisions or open our eyes to better options. We think there’s a lot of people like us who’ve done some planning, but need tools and next steps for more confidence.
Q: What do you think will be most challenging about Project Money?
A: Tracking and managing our day-to-day expenses in fine detail. We’re pretty good at tracking monthly expenses, but it could be challenging to cut some of the miscellaneous expenses we’re used to once we identify them as “low-hanging fruit.”
Q: What does financial freedom and financial confidence look like to you?
A: Eventually being able to afford what we really want vs. always having to go with what’s cost-prudent. Knowing we’re on track to our goals and would build our financial confidence and help lead to that freedom.
Q: Fun fact about you?
A: We’d love to have a vacation or retirement property someday! Project Money will help us look at the real numbers behind this – where we sit with current debt and what sacrifices it will take to make that happen and when.
We’re excited to watch your journey, Robin and Evan!
Evan and Robin's Journey
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