MT
Marisa T.
Austin, TX
Went from avoiding her bank app entirely to building a full balance sheet and automating investments in under a year.
−$18.4K
Debt eliminated
USA Today National Bestseller · CPA · Host of Money On My Mind
Face it. Finances are hard.
We'll make it easy.
Brennan Schlagbaum built Budgetdog around the exact framework he used to pay off six figures of debt and grow his own net worth — and now he's handing it to you, line by line.
2,317+Students trained
4.9/5Trustpilot rating
#1USA Today bestseller
Personal LedgerThis Month
Income — Salary+$6,240
Debt Payoff — Card 2−$420
Auto-Invest — Index Fund−$800
Emergency Fund−$300
Net Worth Change+$4,720
GOAL ON TRACK +18% vs. last quarter
As Featured In
USA TodayNational Bestseller List
Trustpilot4.9 average rating
SpotifyMoney On My Mind Podcast
YouTubeStudent results playlist
2,317+
Students trained
$4.2M+
Combined debt paid down
150+
Podcast episodes released
4.9/5
Average Trustpilot review
The Money Maze
Nobody handed you
a financial manual.
School taught you calculus, not compound interest. So most people are left piecing together their money strategy from group chats, comment sections, and guesswork — and it shows.
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✕
Your paycheck disappears before the month does
Money moves fast enough that you can't tell if you're actually getting ahead or just staying afloat.
-
✕
Debt compounds faster than your savings
Interest is working against you before it ever gets the chance to work for you.
-
✕
"Financial advice" online is a wall of contradictions
Every creator has a different rule, a different app, and a different definition of "rich."
-
✕
You want to invest — you just don't know where to start
So the money sits in checking, doing nothing, while the calendar keeps moving.
The Budgetdog Framework
One system. Three moves.
Track it, grow it, protect it.
The same three-part framework Brennan used to build his own wealth — now the backbone of everything we teach.
01 / Track
Track your money
Every person needs three financial statements working together — once they do, your finances become exponentially clearer.
- A working budget
- A personal balance sheet
- An amortization schedule
02 / Grow
Grow your money
Once you know where your money goes, the next move is turning active income into passive income.
- Automated investing
- Compound interest on autopilot
- A plan built for your timeline
03 / Protect
Protect your money
Growth brings risk. The last move is insuring what you've built so a single bad year can't undo it.
- The right insurance products
- Risk-matched financial tools
- A truly bulletproof plan
How It Works
From overwhelmed to on-track in four steps.
01
Join the Academy
Get instant access to the courses, templates, and community behind the Budgetdog Framework.
02
Learn the framework
Work through Track, Grow, Protect at your own pace — no finance degree required.
03
Build your plan
Turn the lessons into your own budget, balance sheet, and investing schedule.
04
Track your progress
Check in monthly, adjust as life changes, and watch your net worth move the right direction.
Results
The numbers behind the framework.
0Students trained inside the Academy
0Combined student debt paid off
0Average time to becoming debt-free
0Average Trustpilot rating
What Our Students Are Saying
2,317+ students. Real numbers, real change.
"I finally understood where my money was actually going. Six months in, we paid off both cars and started investing for the first time."
Marisa T.
Academy Student
−$18.4K debt
"The Track, Grow, Protect breakdown made investing feel like a checklist instead of a mystery. I opened my first brokerage account that same week."
Devon R.
Academy Student
+$31K net worth
"We used the balance sheet template to have the money conversation we'd avoided for years. It changed how my husband and I talk about our future."
Priya & Sam K.
Academy Students
Debt-free in 14 mo
What's Inside
Everything you need, nothing you don't.
Budget & balance sheet templates
The exact spreadsheets Brennan uses personally, ready to copy and customize.
Self-paced investing course
Video lessons on brokerage accounts, index funds, and building a plan for your timeline.
Monthly live coaching calls
Bring your real numbers and get direct answers on your specific situation.
Private student community
2,317+ students trading wins, questions, and accountability in one place.
Money On My Mind podcast library
150+ episodes on debt, investing, and building a life bigger than money.
Insurance & protection guide
A plain-English breakdown of which products actually fit your stage of life.
Success Stories
A few pages from their ledgers.
DR
Devon R.
Columbus, OH
Opened his first brokerage account in week one of the Academy and hasn't missed a monthly contribution since.
+$31K
Net worth gained
PK
Priya & Sam K.
Seattle, WA
Used the Track, Grow, Protect framework to align on a shared plan for the first time in their marriage.
14 mo
To debt-free
BS
— Brennan Schlagbaum, CPA
Founder Story
"I didn't build Budgetdog because I'm a natural with money. I built it because I wasn't — and I wrote down every step it took to fix that."
Brennan started his career the way most CPAs do: buried in other people's numbers, ignoring his own. It took a hard look at his personal finances — and a real plan to fix them — before he understood how much of personal finance is just not being taught.
Budgetdog started as a way to document that process publicly: the budget he built, the debt he paid down, the investments he started. What began as a personal project became a framework, then a book, then an Academy that's now walked 2,317+ students through the same three moves.
Today, through the Academy, the Money On My Mind podcast, and his USA Today bestselling book, Brennan's mission stays the same — hand people the exact tools he used, and let them build their own version of financial freedom.
CPALicensed Certified Public Accountant
USA Today BestsellerNational bestselling author
Money On My MindPodcast host, 150+ episodes
Frequently Asked
Questions before you start.
Do I need any finance background to join?+
None at all. The Academy is built for people starting from zero — every lesson assumes no prior experience with budgeting, investing, or accounting.
How much time does the framework take each week?+
Most students spend 1–2 hours in the first few weeks setting up their budget and balance sheet, then 20–30 minutes a month keeping it current.
Is this the same framework from the book?+
Yes. The Academy builds directly on the Track, Grow, Protect framework from Brennan's USA Today bestselling book, with templates and coaching layered on top.
What if I'm still paying off debt?+
That's exactly where most students start. The Track phase is built to work alongside an active debt payoff plan, not after it.
Can I go through this with a partner?+
Absolutely — many students go through the Academy as a couple, using the shared balance sheet template to get on the same page financially.
What happens after I sign up?+
You'll get instant access to the Academy, the templates, and the private student community, plus your first coaching call date.
Start Today
Your financial freedom starts with one page of the ledger.
Join 2,317+ students who stopped guessing and started tracking, growing, and protecting their money.
No spam. Cancel anytime. Built by a CPA, not a marketer.