The Bank Boost Method

A 4-week program that will help you get ahead –
earn more money, keep more money, and still enjoy your life (Yes, even now.)

You know you earn ‘enough’ but all the little expenses add up and you can’t seem to get ahead.

You wish you had more saved so you’d feel less nervous about those impending car repairs, medical bills, and that recession we keep hearing about.

It feels like every single day there’s some expense, some purchase that you have to make – your friend’s birthday drinks, a doctor’s appointment, new brakes for your bike, braces for your kid. It all adds up to juuust making ends meet and you can never get ahead.

You hear the clang of the doorbell and know you’ll have to buy Girl Scout cookies from your neighbor. That burning smell coming from under the hood of your car will probably cost hundreds of dollars. And you can feel the heels of your boots wearing down, which means $$ to replace or repair them.

And these purchases you have to make or feel obligated to make aren’t even fun ways to spend money! You deserve a treat! So you buy one. And then another one.

Do you find yourself wondering…

  • Where does all my money go?
  • When am I going to stop feeling broke?
  • Will I ever be able to retire?

Picture this: You check your bank account balance and feel 100% calm. You check your bank account balance and grin at the screen because you’re so proud of the number you see there.

You have the peace that comes with a healthy bank account + knowing that whatever happens, you can make money fast, if you need it.

Imagine being able to:

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Bring in extra money with quick wins using skills and stuff you already have

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Look at your bank account and feel proud + calm

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Leave Target without any oh-but-it’s-cute-and-it’s-on-sale purchases

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Treat yourself to things that truly improve your life - a cleaning service, therapy, new running shoes - without guilt and without going broke

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Stand up for yourself + your bank account when you negotiate your bills down. Not today, Comcast!

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Talk about money without feeling like you’re going to puke / cry / yell

I’m Sarah Von Bargen and I can’t wait to help you finally get ahead + get your money figured out.

Who am I to be teaching these things? I’m a former school teacher who used the exact methods I teach in Bank Boost to pay off $50,000 of debt … while making $16 an hour.

And after I paid off that debt, I saved enough money to quit my job and travel for 11 months!

I know what it’s like to struggle financially.

I also know how good it feels to make that final loan payment.

If I can do it, so can you. Promise!

Bank Boost was created after 10 years of answering people’s questions about how I could afford to travel internationally and live in a great neighborhood on a teacher’s salary.

I’ve spent 10 years teaching people how to spend less + earn more and go from ‘just making ends meet’ to financial peace.

In the last decade, what I realized is this: Personal finance is personal. All those budgeting apps and spreadsheets fail to consider our unique spending triggers, the families we were raised in, our individual financial goals, our unique spending habits, and our personal hang ups. Bank Boost is different.

A 4-week program that helps you spend less, earn more, and still enjoy your life while doing it. 

This program will help you stop spending mindlessly… beyond the 4 weeks the program will run.

I’ll teach you to rescue your wayward money, ignite an Earning Spree, and create a Fun Budget to spend on the things that really, truly make you happy.

Are you ready to build that nest egg that will make you feel safe, secure, and smug?

Here’s what you’ll learn in Bank Boost:

Week 1: How to set up your Bank Boost

  • Learn the 3 Bank Boost techniques: Choose which ones you want to use + which apply to your life
  • Decide on a financial goal that toes the line between realistic + thrillingly challenging
  • Choose a Bank Boost timeline that will help you get results, but won’t burn you out
  • 5 tricks to stay committed and motivated to your Bank Boost (even when your friends invite you to join them for a shopping spree + an expensive meal)
  • Use your goal-setting skills in every area of your life – not just money

Week 2: Choose a Fun Budget that feels fun, not deprivational

  • Figure out what makes you happy so you can budget time + money for that (instead of buying random shit on Wayfair or numbing out with Netflix)
  • Learn the formula to set your personal Fun Budget. It’s different for everyone!
  • How to dramatically reduce your regrettable spending without feeling deprived
  • Learn why we need to (literally!) schedule happiness into our lives + how to do it
  • Fill your calendar with things you’ll actually look forward to, so you feel happier and you’re less likely to self-medicate with shopping / food / tv / alcohol

Week 3: Rescue your wayward money

  • Finally figure out where all your money is going + plug the leaks in your money boat
  • Scripts for exactly what to say to negotiate your bills down, especially during COVID-19
  • 4 sneaky places your money is hiding
  • Learn how to advocate for yourself + apply that skill to every area of your life
  • Know that all your money is in the right place – there are no leaks, all your expenses are the right ones. You’re spending this money on purpose

Week 4: Bring in more money by getting out of your comfort zone

  • 50+ ways to bring in extra money, no matter your professional skill set, geographical location, or season of life
  • Navigate the many, many programs + grants available due to COVID-19
  • Why you need to get uncomfortable to bring in extra money + exactly how to do that
  • How to use our 20 Uncomfortable Things chart to track your progress
  • Why we should track our efforts rather than our outcomes

You’ll also get:

Weekly emails with specific next steps to that will helps you stay on track
Weekly worksheets + journaling prompts to guide you
Terrifyingly effective accountability challenges (optional!)
I almost didn’t sign up for Bank Boost. How would it be different than self-study materials? Would it be helpful to me since I don’t have a side-hustle? Would I actually participate?

Well, I paid off $3,341 of debt and learned a lot about my spending triggers and which purchases actually make me happy. Totally recommended.”

– Kimberly B

We’re so sure you’ll love Bank Boost we guarantee it!

Guarantee: if you take all the steps we teach and don’t recoup the cost of the course, we’ll double your money back!

Yes. For real.

We’re so sure that you’re going to get the results you want, that all we do is ask you to send proof that you implemented the work in the program (your worksheets are usually enough).

“I’ve used these methods for six months and I’ve paid off $10,760 worth of debt. My student loans are completely paid off. My credit cards are on track to be taken care of by June 2018 and my car should be paid off by December 2018.

For the first time in years, I feel like I’m in control of my finances. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. And the fun purchases that I make are much more intentional and meaningful – I’m happier with these $30 a week purchases than I was with the much more expensive “fun” purchases I was financing.”

– Diana R.

If you’re determined to get ahead of your bills, this program is going to help you do that.

I love Mint, YNAB, and spreadsheets as much as the next Virgo, but there’s so much more to money than that. In Bank Boost we look into the purchases that actually make us happy. We learn to advocate for ourselves, negotiate prices, and find ways to self-soothe without shopping.

We get out of our comfort zones to bring in more money, to hustle (if we want to), and get honest with ourselves about where we’re spending and why.

(Your budgeting app doesn’t do that.)

 

You’ll love this program if:

  • You want to build up a nest egg to buy a house, take that dream trip, or start a family
  • You want to (finally) pay off your credit cards, your car, or your school debt
  • You know you have spending issues and you’re ready to deal with them
  • You want to build an emergency fund so you can stop panicking every time you get an unexpected bill
  • You make plenty of money but don’t know where it all goes
  • You want to model good money habits for the kids in your life

What if you could be happy with your bank account balance by this time next year?

“This course will change you, no matter where you are in your financial awareness and journey. I highly recommend it! Discussions from this class also permanently changed how I talk about money with my 3 kids, which means its influence will benefit the next generation, too. Go for it!”

– Sarah S.

“At the end of five weeks, there were $4,696.87 extra dollars in my savings account!

Just as importantly, I felt energized and gained confidence by taking care of myself in this way; I was empowered. I gained the confidence to use my savings to pay off my debt completely!”

– Katherine A.

4 weeks from now, you’ll be able to:

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Live on a budget and still enjoy your life

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Fill your calendar with activities you like with activities you love (rather than numbing out to Netflix and Amazon every night)

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Spend + purchase with intention instead of on auto-pilot

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Say "no" to expensive obligations you didn't want to do in the first place

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Negotiate all your bills down

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Find a way to bring in extra income (if that's what you want to do)

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Get out of your comfort zone to promote your side hustle + ask for what you want

“I’ve always heard people using the phrase “money mindset” and honestly kind of rolled my eyes, but going through Bank Boost truly changed my money mindset because it made me start engaging with my money regularly.

I finally opened my Roth IRA this week, we’ve opened multiple savings accounts (each with their own goal and purpose), and I’ve almost doubled my income thanks to the groundwork you helped me lay during Bank Boost!

– Chelsea Cole

Frequently Asked Questions

How does this work?
As soon as you purchase the program, you have access to all the lessons, videos, and worksheets inside Teachable, our online learning portal. You can start as soon as you want!

I’ll also be sending you an email every Monday for a month to help you stay on track, but you can move through the lessons at whatever pace you’d like.

When does Bank Boost start and end?
This version is self-paced so it starts and ends whenever you’d like! I also periodically run live versions of Bank Boost which include a private Facebook group and group coaching calls.
Will this work if I'm not in the U.S.?
About 70% of the content we cover applies to anyone in any time zone or any culture. We’ve had very successful Bank Boosters from England, Australia, Canada, and various European countries.

The other 30% of our content is most applicable to people living in North America or the western world. If you live somewhere the gig economy doesn’t exist, bills are never negotiable, and sales or second-hand aren’t part of the culture, this might not be the program for you.

What's the weekly time commitment?
It depends on you and how much money you want to add to your bank account! We teach three techniques in Bank Boost and you can choose how many of them you want to use. The more techniques you use, the larger your time commitment.

If you just use the Fun Budget technique, Bank Boost will take maybe 20 minutes of your time each week. Using the Rescue Money technique will require a larger time commitment; doing an Earning Spree will also take more time.

Just like anything in life, your results correspond pretty directly to the amount of effort you put in. Having said that, there are Bank Boosters who have used just one of the approaches we teach and added thousands of dollars to their bank accounts!

What if this doesn't work for me?
If you complete all the steps we teach and you don’t at least recoup the cost of the program, we’ll double your money back!
Will this work for me if I'm already on a tight budget?
Everyone’s definition of “tight budget” is different, so I can’t necessarily weigh in on your specific situation. But I can share Hannah’s experience from Bank Boost:

“I work at a nonprofit so I don’t earn a ton. I was worried I wouldn’t have enough “left over” to effectively save because I’m generally pretty thrifty anyway. Even on my tight budget and relatively low income, Bank Boost helped me add more than $1,000 to my bank account in five weeks!”

What if I don't want to get a second job or a side hustle?
That’s totally fine! Two of the three techniques we teach in Bank Boost don’t require longer work days or a side hustle. Here’s what Allison said:

“I already had two jobs when I did Bank Boost, so I couldn’t take on any more work. Even without taking on more work I added $1,000 to my bank account and paid off two credit cards!”

Will this teach me how to make a budget?
Surprisingly, no. We’ll help you figure out where your money is going + plug the leaks in your money boat. Bank Boost is a short sprint program that will look at the emotional, psychological aspects of money. It goes much deeper than a budget spreadsheet.

If you’re looking for help with setting up a budget, try Mint or YNAB!

How is this different than Mint or YNAB?
This isn’t just about budgets and spreadsheets – it’s also about why you’re spending in the first place, learning how to live a happy, fulfilling life at almost any income level, advocating for yourself, and getting outside of your comfort zone.

Also? We have a money-back guarantee. If you do all the steps we teach and you don’t at least recoup the cost of your enrollment, we’ll refund you. Simple as that!

Bank Boost gave me the nudge I needed to negotiate a $12,000 Euro raise at my new job! Now I feel like I have a totally sustainable way to approach money and savings. I’ll definitely do this course again – this time with my husband!”

– Jen B.

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