Meet Our Founder

Hi, there! My name is Stephanie Vaught. I am a financial coach and the Founder of Social Money Finance, LLC.

I became a financial coach because I realized there was a gap in the marketplace, specifically among GenXers. No one was talking to us about our money! Many GenXers want to build wealth and legacy for themselves and their families. 

I specialize in money management because it is a necessary component to building and sustaining wealth. I help my clients realize that their current lifestyle is a direct reflection of their money mindset and money habits.  Any changes you wish to make must start with the way you think about and treat your money. 

I also help you understand the importance of tracking your income and expenses so you can start with the facts about where you are and set real, attainable goals to get to where you want to be. Lastly, I empower my Gen X clients to create spending plans that hold them accountable to managing their day to day expenses, paying off debt, and allocating money to wealth building vehicles, like savings and investments. 

You can make all the money in the world, but if you haven’t learned basic money management principles, poor money habits can eventually sabotage your progress.  

MY BACK STORY:

Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, I attended Detroit Public Schools, received a B.A. in Political Science Pre-law from Michigan State University in 2000, and earned a Juris Doctor from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 2007. My career and background is in legal research and writing, contract construction, and advocating on behalf of communities. 

In 2009, while still in the legal field, I became profoundly interested in personal finance – mostly because I wanted to learn how to manage my money and never feel broke again! So, I read everything I could and taught myself budgeting, money management, and optimal money mindset principles. 

In 2015, I got an opportunity to honor my new passion and work in the personal finance industry. I trained to become a certified financial counselor and, through a nonprofit, provided financial counseling and education to thousands of people across the country for more than 4 years.  

Also, through hundreds of discussions with my Gen X peers, I realized that many of us didn't learn financial literacy growing up. As a result, we may have unknowingly made unwise financial decisions. Now, we tend to find ourselves working hard to recover from those choices while feeling stressed and uncertain about our financial future!

Therefore, in 2018, I founded Social Money Finance to help alleviate the uncertainty and provide a road map of personal finance principles to help GenXers expand their financial knowledge, improve money habits, and fulfill their financial goals. 

My goals is to help you to lean into your power, put your financial future front and center, and build a life you love.  

"When you learn better, you do better. You make more confident decisions with your money and position yourself for long term success." - Stephanie Vaught, J.D.