THE MISSION

The Aesthetic Dollar strives to introduce a simple aesthetic using minimal, clean designs to support the budgeting community in achieving their financial goals.

Our organizing and budgeting systems are designed to identify and resolve common barriers.

We believe that having luxurious, clean budgeting supplies should be available for anyone who has the desire to create their own unique aesthetic.

WELL, HELLO!

Welcome to my little corner of the internet! My name is Emily and I am the founder of The Aesthetic Dollar, Inc. I am so excited that you've found yourself here! I am passionate about inspiring others to take control of their finances + develop a love for budgeting by making it fun and, you guessed it, aesthetic!

I bet you're wondering how I got here . . .

HOW IT ALL STARTED

It all started back in 1982 when my parents met - just kidding - we don't need to go back that far! Let's start the story in 2017 when my husband (Chris) and I were broke as a joke and barely keeping our heads above water (financially . . . not literally). We had been married for 4 years and just had our 2nd baby. We made enough money to live comfortably but couldn't figure out why we never had any money and were constantly over-drafting our checking account.

We continued to brush our debt under the rug, and we aren't just talking a little bit of debt, here, we are talking about $100K+ of debt which included everything: car loans, credit cards, student loans, personal loans and medical debt.

Here's where it gets interesting. I am very outspoken about my faith (Jesus is legit my best friend) and we found out that our church was hosting a Financial Peace University class and we knew we had to go.

What we didn't know, was that one decision would change our lives forever.

SIX THINGS WE DID

I am going to share with you the exact steps we followed to get where we are today:

1. WE MADE A BUDGET

It was rough at first, we messed up a lot and it felt like we wouldn't ever get the hang of it but after about 3 months we did!

2. BYE-BYE CREDIT CARDS

We cut up our credit cards because we realized we were using credit cards as a crutch for buying things we didn't have money for.

And no, we don't feel like we're missing out on the "reward points"

3. STARTED CASH STUFFING

We chose 10 categories that we tend to overspend in and pulled cash out of the bank to fund those categories. We kept the money in white paper envelopes and when the money in an envelope was gone, we stopped spending in that category.

4. COMMUNICATION

Chris and I are both like to spend money (we aren't natural savers) so we had to work really hard to get on the same page and not spend beyond what we budgeted for.

We did a weekly check in with each other to go over the budget.

5. CONSISTENCY

Doing our weekly check in became something we both looked forward to because we got to spend time together and dream about our future.

We would often make a fun snack (chocolate covered strawberries is where it's at) and enjoy it while we talked about the budget.

6. WE CELEBRATED

We chose to follow Dave Ramsey's baby steps and celebrated each milestone we completed - whether that was completing our starter emergency fund or paying off a debt or even saying "no" to a purchase one of us really wanted to make. We celebrated everything together.

WHERE WE ARE NOW

Fast-forward to 2022, we had drifted away from cash stuffing (but were still diligent in our budgeting). Chris came to me and told me he was quitting his construction job to focus on his own construction company and become completely self-employed. This meant no more steady paycheck, no more health insurance, no more predictability. And to be honest, I panicked (I didn't tell him that though - I told him to DO IT!)

So with fear causing me to spiral, I decided we needed to start cash stuffing again. I was also self-employed which I don't think I have mentioned yet. Anyway, I searched the entire internet for custom cash envelope options that were minimal and aesthetic but couldn't find anything that really got me excited about cash stuffing. So I got out my laminator, some printer paper, and my paper cutter and fashioned together what would be my first cash envelopes.

THE AESTHETIC DOLLAR IS BORN

I personally loved watching other cash stuffers on YouTube, but there weren't a lot of self-employed people who were cash stuffing at the time so I decided to start my own YouTube channel as a way to stay accountable and share our journey as a self-employed family.

This is where I gush over the fact that God had a plan all along, I just had to be brave enough to step into it. My first video blew up and I remember feeling so embarrassed because 10K people had watched my first video in the first week of me posting it and I almost took it down. But I took a deep breath and decided to keep going.

So many people were asking where I got all my materials and I was like "I don't know, I just made it and printed it?!" And then when people started suggesting that I open a shop I figured, why not!

And the rest is history.

I have legit tears in my eyes as I type this because God is just so good. I am so grateful for every single person I have met and you all feel like family to me. I had no idea our community would grow into what it is today, but I am SO GRATEFUL.

As of 2024, we are officially debt free! Budgeting and cash stuffing has completely transformed our lives and has fueled my passion for inspiring others to do the same.

I am always rooting for you!

xoxo,

Emily Franks

Owner + Founder