Hi! I’m Cally Ingebritson.

I don’t really want to throw shade, but let’s get an uncomfortable truth out of the way: The financial industry is overwhelmingly pale, male, and stale.

Ready for a fresh perspective?

LET'S GET STARTED!

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How I Got My Sh*t Together (Financially, That Is)

Alright, here’s the truth: my financial education growing up was non-existent. My parents didn’t teach me hardly anything about money, and school? Well, I spent more time learning how to dissect a frog than how to file my taxes. (Sooooo practical, amirite?)
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After college, I spent three years living in Spain, Mexico, and Colombia, studying Spanish, teaching English, and interning at Shakira's Barefoot Foundation in Bogotá—where, obviously, Shakira and I became BFFs (don’t worry, I’ll send you the selfie when it happens... just kidding, but we totally vibe).

During that time, I had a major epiphany: if I, a native English speaker, was struggling to navigate the U.S. financial system, how on earth do immigrants manage? It gave me a new level of compassion and a deep understanding of how overwhelming financial systems can be to navigate.

If you’re thinking, ‘Wow, Cally, that sounds like quite the eye-opening adventure,’ you’d be right. It was—and it’s what drives me to offer accessible, compassionate financial advice to everyone, no matter where they’re from or where they’re headed.
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I'm here for the people overlooked by the ‘fancy finance gurus’ with their complicated strategies and jargon.

My mission? Helping everyone, no matter where they’re coming from, feel like total rockstars when it comes to their cash!

Once I moved back home to Minneapolis, and saw I only had $3.17 in my savings account, I realized I needed to educate myself on finance. It was a slow process—admittedly a little boring, given that all I could find were old-school finance bros in suits—but eventually, I got my $$$ in order.

Not only did I crush my finances into submission, but I also knocked out my education debt (adiós, student loans), built a fully funded emergency fund (because life happens), and started saving for retirement before I was even 30 (I know, I’m an overachiever). Oh, and my credit score? It’s chilling in the 800s, thank you very much.

Then, I decided to give back. My professional journey started in 2009 in Minnesota (shoutout to the Anishinaabe and Dakota peoples), where I grew up and worked in personal finance for over 10 years. I helped open 4,728 savings accounts at a local credit union, helped 17 people in an hour, and, of course, got 42 papercuts from counting cash at the end of my shift. (Seriously, how do they sneak up on you?) Oh, and let’s not forget leading a tax season savings campaign that helped members stash away $1.9 million each year. (That’s a lot of change.)

Later, I dove into financial planning for Australian expats in the U.S., managing 150+ clients and learning how to simply complex money situations—a skill I now bring to every Chillax Finance session.

By 2014 I'd earned Financial Coach Certificates from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Central New Mexico Community College, learning how to guide clients toward their financial goals. I also completed the Financial Planning Certificate at the University of Minnesota, Mankato—1,273 hours of study, 91 practice exams, and more acronyms than I care to admit (spoiler: ‘IRA’ is just the tip of the iceberg). It wasn’t easy, but thanks to an army of vegan scones and enough oat milk chais to fuel a small coffee shop, I made it through. Those gray hairs? Totally worth it to become the money maverick I am today!

A Little About Me, In a Nutshell

Bilingual

¿Hablas español?
¡Yo también!

Bisexual

I put the B in LGBTQIA+

Bicyclist

Every April, I join a community of joyful riders in #30DaysofBiking

As I worked, I saw that people in the Twin Cities—especially the LGBTQIA+ community—were struggling to find financial info that actually made sense. So, I created Chillax Finance, with the goal of making money talk feel as chill as your eighth cold brew at 2:47 PM, while explaining how credit card points work to your 87 year-old grandma.

At first, my business was just me and my clients meeting in coffee shops, surrounded by 37 sticky notes. Together, we were diving into their budgets, brainstorming strategies, and taking the first steps to revamp their finances one latte at a time.
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Fast forward to 2018, I moved to the West Coast, and now I’m hanging my hat in sunny San Diego, California (unceded Kumeyaay territory). But don’t stress if you’re not in SoCal—I serve clients as Shakira would prefer—whenever, wherever. The beauty of the internet is that we can connect in 6,207 ways—including, maybe someday, with carrier pigeons (just kidding, but I’m open to ideas).

Oh, and here’s something that’s absolutely essential to know about me…

I am obsessed with Shakira.

So much so that I founded the very first podcast dedicated to Shakira's music—Shakipedia!

When it comes to describing my approach to financial coaching—and the experience I want you to have when we work together—I turn to my favorite lyric for inspiration.

In her song Te Dejo Madrid, Shak sings:

“Los gatos como yo caen de pie.”

For your finances, that translates to:

Cats Like Me Fall on Their Feet . . . and So Can You!