On her office wall hangs a poster with a Dave Ramsey quote that says, “A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.” For Angie, a huge part of what she does is to convince people that they can actually live like that. “My job is showing people their financial reality,” she says. “It’s kind of a pre-goal setting. You might think of it like triage as if you were at a hospital. Let’s see where you are right this moment and where you want to go from there.”

As a veteran who served in the Navy during the Vietnam era, Gordon had seen more than his fair share of life's difficulties over the years. After his service ended, for a time, his life started to go off track. Due to substance abuse issues, Gordon lost his job. He started to rack up debt. Eventually, he lost his home.