We started byteonnet in early 2019 because we saw too many people drowning in money stress. Not from lack of income, but from chaotic spending habits nobody taught them to fix.
The inspiration came from watching friends work good jobs yet panic every month before payday. Smart people who somehow couldn't make their money last.
Three of us were sitting in a coffee shop in District 7 one afternoon in February 2019. My friend had just gotten another overdraft notice despite earning well above average. She wasn't reckless. Just never learned proper budgeting.
That conversation lasted four hours. We mapped out everything wrong with how people handle daily finances. Most workshops were either too academic or pushed expensive software nobody would actually use.
We wanted something practical. Something you could implement on Monday morning with just a notebook and basic spreadsheet.
These aren't company values we printed on a poster. They're the actual principles we argue about in meetings when deciding what to teach next.
Every technique we teach comes from watching real people struggle with real money problems. We don't pull methods from finance textbooks written for different economies.
Most financial advice fails because people get excited for two weeks then quit. We build six-month relationships with participants, checking in when motivation dips.
Budgeting won't solve everything. We're upfront about what it can and can't fix. Some problems need higher income, not better tracking.
Small team. Everyone teaches workshops directly. No theoretical advisors who've never sat through a two-hour budgeting session with someone near tears.
Lead Financial Educator
Linh spent seven years working retail banking before getting frustrated with how banks never actually taught people to manage money. Left in 2018 to figure out better approaches.
She runs our core budgeting workshops and handles most of the one-on-one sessions when people need extra support. Her background means she understands both the technical side and the emotional mess money creates.
Started developing our current curriculum in mid-2019 after testing twelve different workshop formats. Most failed. What we teach now survived because it actually helped people change their habits.
Four phases that take about six months total. Not because learning budgeting is complicated, but because building new habits takes time and most people stumble twice before it sticks.
Three-hour workshop where we track every expense for the past month. Most people discover they have no idea where 30-40% of their money goes. Coffee adds up faster than rent sometimes.
We help you set up whatever tracking method matches how your brain works. Some people love apps. Others need physical envelopes. The best system is whichever you'll actually use in month three.
Around week six, everyone hits a wall. Something breaks the system. We expect this. Monthly check-ins help you adjust the approach rather than abandon it completely when life gets messy.
After four months, the habits start becoming automatic. We shift focus to optimization and handling irregular expenses that wreck budgets. Most people stay connected through our quarterly refresher sessions.
These are participants we've stayed in touch with for over a year. Not just "took our workshop and vanished" situations. Real ongoing relationships where we see what sticks long-term.
Workshop: March 2023 | Follow-up: January 2025
Marketing coordinator who started our program with negative balance. Took her nine months to build a buffer that covers half a year of expenses. She still uses the same tracking spreadsheet from week two.
Workshop: July 2023 | Follow-up: February 2025
Cafe owner who couldn't separate business and personal spending. Now runs tight monthly reviews and actually knows which menu items make money. Revenue didn't change much but stress dropped dramatically.
Workshop: October 2024 | Follow-up: March 2025
PhD student with minimal stipend who joined our specialized session for low-income situations. Five months in, she's handling irregular expenses without panic and even started a tiny emergency fund.
We're scheduling workshops for October 2025 through February 2026. Small groups only because we do actual hands-on work, not lecture-hall presentations.
If you're tired of stressing about money despite having decent income, we should probably talk.
