Technology
Phones, accounts, passwords, scams, and the tools that actually save you time — including using AI to help with paperwork, job applications, and a small business, instead of worrying it’ll replace you.
Free workshops · Seattle & online
The money and tech education we weren’t handed.
Credit, loans, grants, paying for school, starting a business, and keeping what you build in the family. We explain it in plain language, then help with the actual paperwork. Built for Black and urban communities. No upsells, and nobody judging you for asking.
Bring your questions. And your paperwork.
Always free
In person & online
Why we exist
Most of the gap is information and access — not effort.
Our families worked. What a lot of us didn’t get was the quiet, boring stuff other families pass down at the kitchen table — how credit really works, how to apply for a loan, why you put agreements in writing. Policy shut some of those doors. Nobody explaining the paperwork shut the rest.
What the name stands for
Technology. Education. Community.
Education
How school gets paid for and whether it pays off: FAFSA, grants vs. loans, apprenticeships, certifications, and how to tell a real credential from a debt trap.
Community
Money lasts longer when it’s handled together. Family conversations, agreements put in writing, banking local, and people in your corner after the workshop ends.
What we teach
Start with whatever’s been bugging you.
Six topics, any order. Each one is a workshop plus a written guide you keep. Bring your questions — most sessions turn into real paperwork help by the second half.
Money basics
The paperwork nobody walks you through.
Plain, up-to-date information on the money stuff that comes up again and again: borrowing, grants, starting a business, and making your paycheck go further. We teach how it works and where to find the official answer. For your specific situation, we’ll help you find the right professional.
Applying for a loan
What lenders actually look at before they say yes.
- Credit, income, and how much you already owe
- Pre-qualified vs. pre-approved, and why it matters
- Interest rate vs. APR, and reading the total cost
- Red flags: upfront fees, pressure to sign today
Official help: consumerfinance.gov
Finding grants
Grants are money you don’t pay back — if you know where real ones come from.
- Federal, state, city, school, and foundation grants
- What a strong application includes
- Deadlines, eligibility, and reporting after you win
- Red flag: anyone charging you to “get” a grant
Official help: grants.gov · studentaid.gov
Starting a business
Turning a side hustle into something official.
- Sole proprietor vs. LLC, in plain English
- Registering with your state and getting a business license
- Getting your free business ID number (EIN)
- Separate bank account, simple records, and getting funded
Official help: sba.gov
Budgeting & saving
Making your paycheck stretch, and keeping some of it.
- A simple budget you’ll actually stick with
- Building an emergency fund, even a small one
- Where to keep savings so fees don’t eat it
- Getting ahead of debt instead of just paying minimums
Official help: mymoney.gov
This is general education, not legal or financial advice. We’re not attorneys or financial advisors. Rules and programs change, so we keep this current and always point you to the official source.
What’s coming
You pick what runs first.
Tell us which ones you’d actually show up for. Whatever people ask for most gets scheduled first.
Money Night Workshop · 90 min
Banking that works for you instead of against you: dodging overdraft fees, credit unions vs. big banks, how credit scores really get calculated, and how to build one from scratch or climb out of a hole.
Pay for School Without Selling Your Future Clinic
The FAFSA, line by line. Grants and work-study before loans. Repayment options and Public Service Loan Forgiveness. How to read a for-profit school’s fine print before you sign. Covers grad school and trade school too.
Start & Fund Your Business Series
Making it official: LLC basics, registering with the state, and getting an EIN. Then the money: grants, SBA loans in plain English, microloans and community lenders (CDFIs), what a personal guarantee really puts on the line, equipment vs. working capital, lines of credit, and the paperwork lenders want before they’ll even look at your idea.
Generational Wealth Mechanics Series
How owning vs. renting plays out over time, how home equity can become your kids’ down payment, wills and beneficiaries, trusts without the mystery, life insurance as a tool (not a sales pitch), and putting family money agreements in writing.
Tech That Pulls Its Weight Workshop
The phone and computer skills that actually matter: keeping email and documents organized, password managers, spotting the scams aimed at our neighborhoods, free cloud tools, and using AI to draft, summarize, and double-check real paperwork.
One-on-One Money Hours By appointment
Sit down with someone from our team and your actual documents — a loan offer, a bank statement, a lease, a collection letter. We’ll read it with you and lay out your options. No charge, and we never sign anything for you.
Straight answers
Questions people ask before they trust us.
Stay connected
Join the list. Tell us what you need.
This list decides what we teach first, where we hold it, and who hears about it. One form per person. Want off the list? Email info@rathetec.com any time.
Know someone who needs this?
Send them this page. It’s free, it’s in plain language, and nobody’s going to make them feel dumb for asking.