Budget Planning Foundations
Most people dive into spreadsheets without understanding why their money seems to vanish each month. We changed that approach entirely.
This program walks you through the actual mechanics of household finances—not just theory, but the kind of practical knowledge you'll use every single week. Our autumn 2025 cohort starts in September, giving you time to gather your financial documents and prepare for real change.
How We Actually Teach This
Financial education in Vietnam often skips the fundamentals. We built this program around the questions people actually ask when their budget falls apart mid-month.
Real Scenarios
You'll work through actual household situations—dealing with fluctuating income, unexpected expenses, and the cultural expectations around family financial support that textbooks ignore.
Small Groups
Classes cap at twelve participants. This isn't a lecture hall. Everyone shares their current budget challenges, and we solve them together during sessions.
Weekly Practice
Between sessions, you'll track your actual spending using methods we develop together. No generic apps—just tools that fit how you really handle money.
What You'll Learn
The curriculum evolved from five years of teaching budget planning in Da Lat. We cut everything that sounded good on paper but didn't help people manage their actual finances.
Foundation Phase
First month focuses on understanding where your money actually goes. Not where you think it goes—where it really goes.
- Building a tracking system you'll actually use
- Identifying spending patterns you didn't notice
- Creating categories that match your life
- Setting up a realistic emergency fund timeline
Planning Phase
Second month transitions from tracking to active planning. This is where theory meets your actual bank account.
- Building flexible budgets that survive reality
- Handling irregular income sources
- Planning for known future expenses
- Adjusting when your initial plan doesn't work
Optimization Phase
Final month addresses what comes after basic stability—making your budget work harder for you.
- Finding savings opportunities in fixed expenses
- Building simple investment foundations
- Planning major purchases without derailing progress
- Creating systems that require minimal maintenance
Who Teaches This
Our instructors work in financial planning and education full-time. They've seen every budget mistake imaginable—and made plenty themselves.
Kiet Pham
Kiet spent fifteen years in corporate finance before realizing most people needed help with basics, not complex investment strategies. He redesigned our curriculum based on actual student questions from 2023-2024.
Lam Tran
Lam handles the one-on-one sessions where students bring their real budgets. He's blunt about what's working and what isn't—students appreciate the direct feedback more than polite encouragement.
Hanh Nguyen
Hanh joined us in 2024 after completing her research on spending psychology in Vietnamese households. She teaches the sections on why we make irrational financial decisions—and how to catch ourselves doing it. Her work on family financial dynamics particularly resonates with participants navigating multi-generational household budgets.
Applications Open June 2025
We accept applications two months before each cohort starts. Space is limited because we maintain small class sizes. If you're serious about understanding your finances, reach out before the rush.
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