Workshop: The Misunderstood B-word—Budgeting

Saturday, 10/24/2026
3:15 - 4:45

Suitable for:

Adults

Budgeting has a reputation problem. People hear that b-word and think "no more fun!" But we’re going to flip that script and make “cents” of it all. Learn the foundations for building a budget, tips on organizing your money, and see how this often misunderstood b-word can actually empower you to fund what truly matters (including those fun things!).

This is a hybrid event. Registration is required for Zoom attendance. In-person attendance in Koret Auditorium does not require registration; seats available first come, first served.

Part of Financial Planning Day. See a full schedule here.

About the presenter: Serene Lau is the founder of Made Possible Financial LLC. As a money coach, she uses her past corporate experience in strategy, user research, and storytelling to fuel her longtime passion of helping people get smarter about money. Serene believes wealth can be built and financial anxieties can be smashed through personalized financial education, money management strategies, and maybe most importantly, joy.

Serene Lau graduated from UC Berkeley with a BS in Business Administration and a BA in Public Health. Serene is studying to become a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® and looks forward to sharing her growing expertise with the SFPL community.

Financial Planning Day

Discover valuable financial planning resources, including free, objective one-on-one counseling from CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professionals. Participate in presentations on investing, income taxes, property tax and intergenerational transfers, resources to strengthen your financial skills and budgeting.

Personal Finance

Get expert help in managing your finances and learn how to make well-informed financial decisions about spending, saving, taxes, investing, retirement, estate planning and more.

This program is sponsored by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.

Attending Programs

All programs are drop-in (no registration necessary) unless otherwise noted. All SFPL locations are wheelchair accessible. For accommodations (such as ASL), call (415) 557-4557 or contact accessibility@sfpl.org. Requesting at least 3 business days in advance will help ensure availability.

This program will be conducted in English unless otherwise noted.

Notice: This event may be filmed or photographed. By participating in this event, you consent to have your likeness used for the Library’s archival purposes and promotional materials. If you do not want to be photographed, please inform a staff person or the photographer. A sticker will be provided to help identify you so that we can avoid capturing your image.

Public Notice and Disclaimer

This program uses a third-party website link. By clicking on the third-party website link, you will leave SFPL's website and enter a website not operated by SFPL. This service may collect personally identifying information about you, such as name, username, email address, and password. This service will treat the information it collects about you pursuant to its own privacy policy. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of each third-party website or service that you visit or use, including those third parties with whom you interact through our Library services. For more information about these third-party links, please see the section of SFPL’s Privacy Policy describing Links to Other Sites.

The views and opinions expressed in programs presented by groups unaffiliated with SFPL do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SFPL or the City.