Beth Crittenden
Financial Guide
Hello! I'm Beth Crittenden and I help people bring clarity, calm, and confidence to their finances - without shame, judgment, or overwhelm. Numbers are only part of the story - emotions, values, and life context matter just as much.
Whether you want help to develop a realistic budget/spending plan, strengthen how you and your partner talk about money, deepen your financial maturity, and/or learn how to do your own bookkeeping, I bring care, humor, and organization to our work together.
If you don't see something here that feels like your exact situation, please do ask me about it - I'm happy to explore how I can support you.
Life will throw unforeseen challenges our way. People often arrive at this work after a financial transition or discovery. Divorce, career change, death of a loved one, starting a business, health events, or even just a big tax bill or other challenges. Those times of life where it will hurt worse to NOT seek change can be a great time to take action.
I am recovering from years of the "no pain, no gain" approach, myself. There is a different style to financial wellness that many of us are finding so much more effective than suffering, self-imposed restriction, and shame-based budgeting.
As your Financial Guide I can serve as a combination teacher/coach/counselor/project consultant. Imagine a financial trail guide with maps... while I can't do the walk for you, I'm happy to walk with you in terrain I have explored already. My work supports clearer, calmer financial decision-making so money becomes something you can engage with peacefully, rather than something you avoid and/or stress over.
Many thoughtful, capable people get stuck not because they lack intelligence, but because financial decisions can feel emotionally loaded, confusing, or overwhelming.
People work with me when they are ready to:
move from overwhelm to clarity with their finances
get traction on making decisions they have been avoiding
manage money with confidence, leaving fears behind
resolve financial tension and misunderstandings with their partner(s)
build systems that work well for them
Beth Crittenden (email beth@bethcrittenden.com)
Beth Crittenden - I blend teaching, coaching, and practical consulting with emotional intelligence. Let's meet where you are, not where society thinks you "should" be.
About Beth Crittenden
I help thoughtful, capable people move from financial overwhelm, avoidance, or confusion into clarity and confidence, especially when money has been a difficult topic to navigate. (Based in Novato/Marin County, CA, serving clients by Zoom and/or phone.)
My approach blends practical financial skills with emotional awareness so people can face money without fear and make their best decisions with clarity and care.
Before becoming a Financial Guide, I worked in nonprofit fundraising, career management/workplace wellbeing, and outpatient medical administrative management. These roles were great for learning about systems, databases, and human communications.
I then studied Somatic Psychology at CIIS in San Francisco, where I learned how our bodies and nervous systems shape the ways we approach finances, relationships, and taking risks. Financial decisions are rarely just about the numbers...they're about meaning, values, identity, purpose, joy, and sense of safety in our nervous systems.
My own journey with money has not been easy. I've had to learn financial clarity the hard way - with surrender, vulnerability, accountability, and admitting I need and want support and cannot do this alone.
Since 2010 I have worked with individuals, couples, and business owners across a wide range of income levels and life stages. We proceed without shame or judgment, creating a safe environment in which to learn and grow.
You can read more in the newsletter archive if you like:
https://us1.campaign-archive.com/home/?u=8af40d15ad33147eaf0126f1b&id=7b72b68dbf
Outside of work I love:
- tennis
- partner dancing (primarily salsa and swing)
- volunteering at San Quentin
- functional strength training
- time with dogs (wonderful teachers!)
- visiting my brother, 2 fantastic nephews, and my also-tennis-playing sister-in-law, who live in the greater Atlanta area
- studying and practicing Buddhist meditation and mindfulness
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethcrittenden/
Instagram:
QuickBooks Online is what I use for my clients' books.
I use YNAB (You Need A Budget) for my own personal and business bookkeeping.
My cherished small business clients are listed below. Services I provide for them can include but are not limited to -
- Bookkeeping
- Accounts Payable
- Accounts Receivable
- Financial meeting facilitation
- Annual filings
- Computing/ filing quarterly income taxes
- Payroll administration (currently with Gusto and ADP)
- Recommending cashflow strategies
- Tracking budget vs actual numbers.
It has been a joy to witness so much business growth and support my clients to maintain healthy life balance as well!