A former Bankrate managing editor who spent a decade giving “perfect financial advice” that never changed anyone’s behavior has built a financial psychology practice after realizing conventional wisdom only addresses symptoms, not root causes.
Hanna Horvath, had published over 1,000 personal finance articles, become a Certified Financial Planner, and worked with hundreds of clients on their financial plans.
But despite growing up wealthy, receiving money education from her parents, and becoming a credentialed expert, she was checking her bank accounts before getting out of bed each morning, consumed by financial anxiety.
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“I realized my anxiety wasn’t about money – it was about control, worthiness, and using money to live someone else’s life,” the Brooklyn-based founder told Founder Insights.
“Traditional financial advice couldn’t help me because it only addressed the surface.”
The turning point came when a 29-year-old client earning £35,000 annually felt “irresponsible” because she couldn’t save.
When they examined the situation more closely, her rent had increased 40% in three years, she had £300 in overdraft fees from living paycheck-to-paycheck, and her job required a car but didn’t pay enough to maintain one.
“The system was bleeding her dry – then charging her extra for being broke,” Hanna said.
“And every piece of financial advice she read told her to ‘just budget better.’
“She wasn’t bad with money. The system was designed to make her fail. And then she blamed herself for systemic problems.
“That’s when I knew I needed to build something different.”
Three years ago, Hanna launched Your Brain on Money, developing what she calls Structural Financial Psychology – a framework addressing three forces simultaneously: internal money scripts inherited from childhood, social comparison driven by algorithmically-curated social media, and structural systems designed to exploit psychological vulnerabilities.
“For ten years, I watched the same pattern repeat,” she said.
“I’d give people perfect financial advice and nothing would change.
“They’d nod, take notes, promise to follow through. Then return six months later making the same decisions, feeling the same anxiety, carrying the same shame.
“We don’t have an information problem with money. We have a psychology problem.”
The business now serves clients through one-to-one financial planning, corporate consulting, a weekly newsletter reaching over 3,000 subscribers, and a paid community.
Her first revenue came from an unexpected partnership when fintech company Treasury approached her to create video content after seeing her social media posts about financial psychology – a $2,000-per-month retainer that continues today.
For individual clients, she simply announced three founding spots at $400 per month to her newsletter subscribers.
“I was terrified nobody would sign up,” Hanna said.
“But within a week, I had five inquiries.
“When you spend months helping people for free through your content, some of them want to go deeper.”
The journey has required balancing a full-time role at Bankrate with building the business – often working 50 to 60 hours weekly.
“There’s this voice in my head that says, ‘Real entrepreneurs take the leap. You’re playing it safe,'” she said.
“But I’ve also seen too many people bet everything and lose.
“I don’t want to trade one form of money stress for another.”
Her approach challenges industry norms by combining CFP credentials with critique of the financial system itself.
“I’m a CFP AND a critic of the financial industry,” Hanna said.
“I teach personal responsibility AND refuse to blame people for systemic problems.
“Most people in finance say: ‘Just take personal responsibility, work harder, save more.’ Most critics say: ‘The system is broken, individual action doesn’t matter.’
“I say: Both. Always both.”
The business has evolved significantly since launch. Initially, Hanna posted daily across TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter, chasing viral moments while making around $1,500 monthly.
“I had 40,000 followers and was exhausted,” she said.
“I had no real clients. I was just producing content into the void.
“The lesson: Audience size doesn’t equal business success.”
Now posting three to four times weekly instead of daily, she focuses on depth over breadth – with 50.5% of newsletter subscribers highly engaged, opening 80% or more of emails.
“Most newsletters celebrate 20-30% open rates,” Hanna said.
“Mine consistently hits 45-55%.
“That tells me I’m not just building an audience. I’m building a community of people who actually care about this work.”
Looking ahead, her goal is to become the definitive voice on financial psychology, combining one-to-one client transformation, corporate consulting work, and a published book.
“My north star is creating a world where people understand the three forces shaping their money decisions – internal scripts, social comparison, and structural exploitation, and have practical tools to navigate them,” she said.
“I want people to stop feeling shame about money struggles and start recognizing when they’re being hunted by systems designed against them.
“Then I want to give them the tools to protect themselves while advocating for systemic change.”
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