The simple money habits
no one taught you.
School teaches calculus. It doesn't teach what to do with your first paycheck — or how a 401(k) actually works. Michael West Financials helps teens and young adults catch up, in plain English, at their own pace. One-on-one coaching, free comprehensive guides, no jargon, no sales pitch.
Your money has a whole life to live.
Most charts show a decade. This is the whole arc: from your first paycheck to what you pass on, drawn as a single line.
Illustrative — the shape of one steady saver's lifetime, not a projection. Your path will differ.
- 1 First paycheckthe habit begins
- 2 A homeroots go down
- 3 College for the kidsthe next generation
- 4 Retirementtomorrow money arrives
- 5 Living wellthe plan pays you back
- 6 Legacywhat you pass on
Three ways to learn it.
Lessons, guides, and calculators — all free, all in plain English. Start wherever your question is and follow it from there.
One idea at a time
Short, paced walkthroughs of five to seven minutes, each ending in one move worth making this week.
The full breakdown
One account or decision, taken all the way apart and explained in plain English.
See your own numbers
Free calculators that turn the ideas into dollars: employer match, paycheck, compound growth.
See what your match is worth.
An employer-plan match — 401(k), 403(b), TSP, or 457(b) — is part of your pay, and under-contributing means walking past it. Punch in your salary and contribution percentage; we'll show what the gap costs over a decade.
Slow-cooked advice in a fast-food world.
Plain English
Every term gets defined. No assumed knowledge.
Judgment-free
Bring your real numbers. Wherever you're starting is the right place to start.
No sales pitch
We don't sell products or take commissions.
Long horizon
Habits compound. So does the work we do together.
Comprehensive, no fluff.
Long-form, plain-English breakdowns of the retirement accounts most people meet at their first real job — and most people misunderstand for years.
Guide to First Paycheck
Walk away knowing exactly where every dollar of your first paycheck goes — what's withheld, what's yours, and where to put what's left.
Read the guide → Guide · 13 min readGuide to Money Order of Operations
Always know where your next dollar should go — a nine-step order covering the match, high-interest debt, the emergency fund, Roth, 15%, and goals beyond.
Read the guide →Bring a question.
Leave with a plan.
Sessions are friendly, judgment-free, and built around what you actually need. Send a quick message about what you'd like to cover and we'll find a time that works.