The Good Conversation · Sharing children's costs after separation
The money conversation you've been dreading: done once, done well.
Right now, when a new cost lands, it lands on you. Quietly, without a decision, every time. This program gets you to the other side of that: your children's real costs on one page where they can't be waved away, a reason for every line, more than one fair way to share them, and an agreed process for every expense that comes after.
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Built for a busy parent. High-impact tools with on-point messages from me.
Private: nobody knows you're preparing. Two live sessions with camera off.
Works even if you're the only one preparing.
Your child's teacher suggests tutoring. Gymnastics just became Nationals. The school shoes won't be making it past Term 3.
You don't need to look up what it costs. You already know, and your stomach has already done the calculation.
If I raise this, there'll be a fight, and if I don't raise it, I'll be paying for it myself.
So you pay for it yourself. And the arrangement gets a little more permanent.
You already know what it costs. Now they will too.
Your spending stops being invisible.
You could recite half these costs from memory. The other parent has never seen them in one place, and that's what lets each one get waved away as an extra. The budget you'll build puts the real cost of childhood on a single page, by child and by category, so it reads as what it is: the running of your children's lives.
Every line gets a reason that's about your child, not about you.
Swimming lessons stop being money you're owed and become "we both want her confident and safe in the water." When expenses are tied to what you both hope for your children, dismissing the cost means dismissing the child, and nobody wants to be the parent who does that.
You'll run the conversation instead of surviving it.
Several fair ways the costs could be shared, rather than one demand to accept or refuse. The words to open the conversation and keep it moving when it stalls. A clear head about what happens if you don't agree, which is what lets you stay calm and stay firm. And a written process for every new expense that comes up afterwards, so the same fight doesn't return every term.
Short videos get you moving. Two live sessions get it done.
- The Build Clinic:
When your budget and proposal are half-built, and the questions are real. Bring yours as far as you've got it. I'll work through the sticking points, the categories everyone forgets and what a finished proposal looks like
- The Walkthrough:
Before you have the conversation, watch me have it. I'll pressure-test proposals the way the other parent might, show you what "we'll see" sounds like and how to answer it, and walk through the moments when conversations stall.
Both sessions are attend-only, if you wish: camera off, first name only, questions submitted anonymously in advance. Nobody is ever asked to share their situation. If you can't make it, the teaching is recorded for you to watch later.
Why join the waitlist now
Founding members get:
- First access when doors open in September 2026
- Founding pricing: $375 for the first intake only; payment plan available
- Both live sessions included: The Build Clinic and The Walkthrough
- A say in what's inside: I'll ask waitlist members a few short questions while I build, and the answers will shape the program
You'll be the prepared party in the conversation. Their answer is still theirs. Everything that improves the odds of a "yes" is yours.
From Marnie
FAMILY DISPUTE RESOLUTION PRACTITIONER · MEDIATOR
I'm Marnie Cooper, owner of The Upspring, where I mediate parenting arrangements and property settlements.
When we're preparing for parenting mediation, there's usually a parent who knows what everything costs because they've been quietly managing and paying for all of it, and who dreads the money conversation because it always turns into a fight.
The parents who do well in that conversation are prepared. They have the numbers, the rationale, real options to put on the table, and a clear head for negotiating a solid plan. I'm building this program to teach you that preparation so you can do it yourself and get on with enjoying your children.
If that's you, put your name down. I'd love to build this with you in mind.
I'll talk to you soon, Marnie
FAQs
CAN I DO THIS ON MY OWN WITHOUT THE OTHER PARENT?
I ALREADY TRACK EVERY CENT. DO I NEED THE BUDGET PART?
Do I have to speak at the live sessions?
BUT WHAT ABOUT WHEN THE OTHER PARENT SAYS CHILD SUPPORT COVERS EVERYTHING ALREADY?
Is this legal advice?
jOIN ME IN HERE
Your children shouldn't lose out on the things they love doing because their parents couldn't talk about money.
And you shouldn't have to fund a whole childhood alone to avoid a fight.
There will be another activity on a Tuesday night. There will be a teacher with a suggestion, or a form in a school bag, or a pair of boots that don't fit any more.
You can meet it the way you met the last one. Or you can meet it with a number, a reason and a good conversation.
See you soon,
Marnie
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