Crissi Cole is the Founder and CEO of Penny Finance, a financial education and money management platform now part of Array.
Ten years ago, I was working at Goldman Sachs in wealth management, surrounded by some of the most sophisticated financial resources in the world. But despite that access, I was living paycheck to paycheck. My student loans meant every penny was already spoken for before it hit my account.
The irony wasn’t lost on me. Here I was, advising high-net-worth clients on how to grow and protect their wealth, while I was burdened and held back by debt and expenses. And I wasn't alone. My friends and colleagues—smart, hardworking people—would constantly pull me aside asking for help with their finances. They wanted to pay off debt, start investing, and plan for retirement. They needed guidance, but traditional financial advisors wouldn’t take their calls because they didn’t have $100,000 or more sitting in the bank.
It was clear: the financial system wasn’t built for most people. It was built for the wealthy few.
The problem: financial planning is a privilege, not a right
Today, 66% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck.1 That means two-thirds of this country isn't saving or investing for their futures. Not because they don't want to. Not because they're irresponsible. But because the financial system offers them no real path forward.
The statistics tell the story:
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65% of Americans don't have a financial advisor2
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77% feel anxious about their money3
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74% don't feel on track for retirement4
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Women retire with half the wealth of their male counterparts5
I watched this play out in my own family. My grandmother worked until the day she passed at 75 years old. My mom worked 70-hour weeks and brought me to the office on weekends. They worked harder than anyone I knew, yet financial freedom always felt just out of reach.
I tried to break out of that cycle by going into investing. Without ever maxing out my 401(k), I found financial confidence and freedom—not by doing anything extreme, but by having a plan and steadily moving forward, one step at a time.
Building Penny: financial guidance without judgment or existing wealth
In 2020, I founded Penny Finance with a clear mission: make financial planning accessible to everyone who doesn’t have millions—or even hundreds—of dollars.
We started with a simple premise: people don’t need complex spreadsheets or intimidating jargon. They need practical tools that help them understand their spending, build savings, and plan for a future that feels possible. They need education delivered without judgment. They need to feel confident making financial decisions, not ashamed for not knowing where to start.
Penny was built around behavioral insights and everyday actions. We created interactive tools that meet people where they are—whether that’s managing day-to-day expenses, building an emergency fund, or starting to invest with whatever they can afford.
Over time, we’ve been honored to see the impact. Consumers using Penny develop healthier financial habits. They pay off debt. They start investing. They gain confidence in their financial future. And they do it all without feeling like they need to be wealthy to deserve financial guidance.
Why Array was the right partner
When we started conversations with Array, it became clear they understood something fundamental: consumers don’t experience their finances in silos.
Someone checking their credit score is also trying to figure out how to save for a down payment. Someone managing subscriptions is simultaneously trying to understand their spending patterns. Financial decisions don’t happen in isolation—they’re all connected.
Array had already built an embeddable platform that helps leading fintechs and financial institutions deliver financial, credit, identity, privacy, and debt management tools directly within experiences consumers already trust. What they didn’t have was the spending awareness, savings behavior, financial planning, and education layer that helps consumers make better decisions across all those areas.
That’s where Penny fits.
By joining Array, we’re helping create something bigger: a unified money platform that sees consumers as whole people, not fragmented use cases. One that can support the full financial journey—from understanding spending patterns to improving credit, from building savings to planning for retirement—all embedded in the brands consumers already rely on.
What this means for the mission
Penny has always been about more than just tools. It’s about access. It’s about making sure people who’ve been overlooked by the financial system receive the same level of thoughtful, high-quality guidance that wealth management clients get.
Joining Array means we can scale that mission in ways we couldn’t alone.
For consumers, it means financial education and planning tools embedded in the apps and institutions they already trust—not another separate app to download or account to manage.
For our financial institution and fintech partners, it means the ability to support consumers more holistically, with tools that drive real behavior change and measurable outcomes around spending, saving, and financial confidence.
Looking ahead
I started Penny because I believe financial security shouldn’t be a privilege reserved for those who already have wealth. It should be a right for everyone willing to put in the work.
That belief hasn’t changed. But our ability to act on it has just expanded dramatically.
My Nonna found her financial independence—then my mom, and now me—the old-school way.
With Array, we’re building the infrastructure for a financial system that actually works for everyone—not just the wealthy few. A system where having $500 to your name doesn’t disqualify you from quality financial guidance. A system where everyday people can build wealth, one decision at a time.
We're excited to build what comes next. And we’re grateful to every person who’s trusted Penny with their financial journey. This is just the beginning.
1 Consumer Affairs, 2025 ; 2 UpMetrics, 2026 ; 3 Capital One, 2020 ; 4 NIRS, 2024 ; 5Plan Sponsor, 2022
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