Why I Joined Your Money Line

It all started with a rusty bucket. 

Well, The Rusty Bucket to be precise. When I walked into this bustling restaurant in the northwest corner of Indianapolis to meet the infamous Pete the Planner®, I honestly didn’t expect to walk out knowing what I wanted to do next. But after a sublime buffalo chicken sandwich and a couple of hours to meet the real-life Peter Dunn and hear about his vision for Your Money Line—I was hooked. Today, I’m excited to announce that I get to serve as our new VP of Marketing.

Here are four reasons I’m ecstatic to join the team:

Massive problem & opportunity

Money stress is real, and it’s a drag on the health and happiness of millions of people. Whether dealing with debt, student loans, budgeting, retirement, buying a car or house—the complications and worries accompanying all things money impact almost all of us. And this financial stress isn’t just a drag on our home lives, it leaves us less productive and engaged at work. 

This is where Your Money Line comes in. Our software, education, and live 1:1 coaching help people tackle their thorniest financial questions or problems—and stress less as a result. More and more employers are adding financial wellness benefits like YML to promote whole-person wellness, address retention challenges, and combat distraction/disengagement, not just because it’s the right thing to do for their employees but because it’s the responsible thing to do as a business. This growing recognition of the importance of financial wellness means a huge market for the company and a real, meaningful opportunity to make an impact.

Built-in mission

Speaking of real & meaningful impact, Your Money Line also sports an ambitious and thoughtful mission: Creating financial stability and confidence for all. 

There are many great software companies out there, but too few truly improve their users' lives at work and home. YML is one of those companies. In just a few days, I’ve seen scores of thank-you notes and calls from YML participants sharing how their lives have been changed. When people find financial stability (your situation IS good) and financial confidence (your situation FEELS good), it unlocks so much peace. It’s quite the pick-me-up to listen to the joy of someone who has received loan forgiveness, will be able to buy a house, or realizes that they will, indeed, get to retire someday.

But my favorite two words of the new mission statement? For all. Too often, financial coaching is only accessible to those with far above-average net worth. YML allows anyone to get this life-altering level of financial care and intentionality. That’s a mission I can show up excited about.

People-first culture 

We all know those companies that put a word salad of values on the wall, and they don’t impact the real culture or day-to-day behavior. From the moment Pete handed me a printout (yes, a printout in 2022, he’s thoughtful like that) of Your Money Line’s company values, it felt different. 

The four values are (with the tiniest bit of additional color):

• Lead with empathy - “People don’t need to be judged, they need to be heard.”
• Support the team - “You deserve a dependable community.”
• Embrace growth - “Increase your capacity to thrive.”
• Take care of yourself - “Succeed intact.”

I could do a whole separate blog post to unpack why I love each of these (and maybe I will someday). But taken together, I sensed from the get-go that people at YML treated each other with humanity over everything. I crash-tested this during my first week of work when my partner and kids all were hit with sickness. While I kept putting pressure on myself to not miss a beat, the team prodded me to go be with my family, flexed with my schedule, and kept me on a strong diet of encouraging Slack messages. Empathy, support, embrace, and taking care indeed. 

Phenomenal team

Last, but certainly not least, I get to show up every day and work aside an amazing team. Lencioni talks about the ideal team player being humble, hungry, and (people) smart—and this company is full of them. From the executive team to the HQ crew to the certified financial guides scattered across the country, this is a team I’m proud to be a part of. 

YML has nearly tripled in employee count over the last year—and there’s more growing to do. If you think you might be interested in joining our team, I’d love to hear from you. Please, connect on LinkedIn and drop me a note. And maybe, just maybe, if we’re really lucky, we’ll grab a meal at the Rusty Bucket and see where it takes us.