Do any of these resonate with you?
Feeling Stuck
You live in the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle, are recovering from a traumatic life event, feel like you'll never get out of debt, or don't know if you'll retire when you'd like.
Having Long-Term Goals
Inflation Woes
The rising costs of goods and services has you losing sleep at night, and you're worried you won't be able to stay afloat and will have to make difficult sacrifices.
Making Career Decisions
Your heart is set on buying a home, expanding your family size, starting a business, or other big dreams, but you don't see any way you could ever pay for these big-ticket items.
Lack of Clarity
You believe you make a decent income, but you're frustrated it never seems to be enough and don't know why the money seems to disappear after it hits your bank account.
Wanting to Give More
You want to go above-and-beyond for your family or give charitably more often, but extra giving beyond your day-to-day obligations doesn't ever seem feasible.
Maybe you lost your job and don't know your next steps. Or, perhaps you enjoy your current work but are wondering if you'll need to switch jobs to find something with higher pay.
Meet Your Coach
I'm Eric Hout, a committed husband, loyal friend, and knowledgeable coach. Family and friends would tell you I'm a compassionate listener👂, strong communicator📣, patient teacher📚, and willing helper🤝. When I'm not coaching, you might find me hiking, birdwatching, chasing my energetic Yorkiepoo pup, planning how to tackle a new home improvement project, or completing various community service projects. 🥾🐦⬛🐾🏠
Eric's Financial Journey
Growing up, I learned the value of saving and spending money wisely, and had managed to save a small stash of cash by the time I entered adulthood. Although I had learned about the need to save and spend wisely, I never assigned the dollars I had to specific priorities. Instead, I simply relied on the ever-changing balance of my bank account to tell me whether I could "afford" something. Relying on the account balance was better than nothing, but it didn't give me a concrete method for how to prioritize my spending and saving. 😰
As I progressed further into adulthood, the financial demands of life quickly began to accumulate, and my small cash cushion was rapidly depleting. I realized I needed a better way to manage my personal cash flow. In 2014, I began to budget using a methodology called "You Need a Budget" (or, YNAB for short), which quickly became a significant help in securing greater control, clarity, and composure in my financial life. 🎊
A few years later I began dating my (now) wife, but was concerned with the amount of debt we would carry into a marriage. Shortly after "tying the knot," we made a plan to pay off over $80,000 of our combined debt, and we did so within a couple of years of getting married with the help of our YNAB budget. YNAB gave us the clarity we needed to prioritize our debt payments while still prioritizing other areas of spending that were important to us. The freedom from debt has not only given us the ability to meet our daily needs and save for the future, but has also enabled us to be give to others around us as needs arise. 🎁
I have held several professional positions over the years as a teacher and tutor, and have always enjoyed sharing things I've learned with others. Since paying off our debts, I have guided others toward having more peace around their finances using YNAB's methodology. Now, as a budget and financial coach, it is my desire to help you have clarity around your spending so you also can serve your family and the world with the resources that have been placed into your care. With New Trajectories, I want to help you achieve an enjoyable, steady, and generous financial future! 💪
