Episode Overview

Title: Doula Finances 101: How to Pay Yourself, Save for Taxes & Retire Right
Host: Darcy Sauers (Doula Darcy)
Date: December 29, 2025

In this episode, Darcy Sauers dives into the foundational aspects of financial sustainability for doulas. Drawing from personal experience and her passion for financial planning, Darcy unpacks practical steps doulas can take to pay themselves consistently, manage taxes stress-free, and prepare for retirement—all with an emphasis on sustainability and self-care in doula careers.

Main Theme

Darcy’s central message is clear: Financial planning is self-care, and essential for the long-term sustainability of your doula business. She breaks down how to approach business and personal finances so that being a doula can be a fulfilling, lasting career—rather than a path to burnout or financial stress.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Importance of Financial Self-Care for Doulas

• Context: Many doulas avoid or fear financial topics, but Darcy reframes financial management as a crucial element of self-care and sustainability.
• Quote:

  "Paying attention to your finances is self-care. Paying yourself well is self-care. Setting yourself up so that the tax bill isn't a stressor is self-care." – Darcy (02:29)

2. Reverse Engineering Your Doula Pay (Step 1: Know What You Need to Earn)

• Calculate Your Needs:
  • List out all your household expenses.
  • Determine the amount you personally need to cover bills, food, housing, etc.
  • Use this to identify the minimum amount you need to pay yourself each month.
• Reality Check:

  "Maybe this is the moment you look and realize, ooh, I need to raise my rates, or, ooh, I need to take more clients, because there’s a gap here… The math has to math." – Darcy (05:19)

• Insight: This exercise often leads doulas to realize they may need to adjust their rates or workload.

3. Automating Tax Savings (Step 2: Plan for Taxes)

• Strategy:
  • Look at previous tax bills and take the highest annual amount owed.
  • Divide by 52 (weeks), then automatically transfer that amount weekly to a dedicated tax account.
  • For new doulas: Save 30% of income for taxes each week.
• Automation Is Key:

  "Every Friday, I take what I owed in taxes last year, divide by 52, and that is automatically transferred every week into a separate bank account I have that's just called taxes. And this has been a game changer for me." – Darcy (07:10)

• Resource Mentioned: The book Profit First (Mike Michalowicz) influenced Darcy’s approach.

4. The Profit Account (Inspired by Profit First)

• Practice:
  • Take 5% of gross weekly revenue and put it in a separate 'profit' account.
  • This is a reward for business risk and effort, not to be used for bills, but rather something special for the owner.
• Celebration:

  "Your profit account is, like, your reward for all this—the risks you’ve taken, the way you live your life. This is your, like, reward." – Darcy (20:16)

5. Listing and Covering Business Expenses (Step 3)

• What Counts:
  • Certification/training fees, liability insurance, phone/internet, software and tools (e.g. Edula Biz, Quickbooks, Honeybook).
• Key Point:

  "You, my friend, are the first business expense. You are your salary, your payment every week, your paycheck every week is the first business expense." – Darcy (12:55)

6. Retirement Savings (Step 4: Sustainability for the Future)

• Call to Action:
  • Open an IRA or other retirement account, regardless of age.
  • Consult a financial planner.
  • Increase retirement savings annually if possible.
• Memorable Moment:

  "We are grown-ups, okay? And we are grown-up business owners. And if you are not saving for your retirement, get on that now, please." – Darcy (14:45)

7. The Value and Compensation of Doula Work

• Reframe Your Worth:
  • Remind yourself that doula work is essential, skilled, and deserves proper compensation.
  • Recognize the emotional, energetic, and lifestyle investment.
• Quote:

  "You deserve to be compensated for the hard work that goes along with that—living on call, going to 30 hour births, holding a mom’s hand as she cries... The energy and compassion and lifestyle it takes to be a doula—you deserve to be compensated for that." – Darcy (16:16)

8. Energy Exchange and Boundaries

• Powerful Reminder:

  "Every yes is a no. Every yes you say to something in your doula business is a no to something else." – Darcy (17:17)

• Implication: Encourage doulas to set boundaries and recognize the cost of their time and choices.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Automating Finances:

  "If you can set this up as an auto transfer, then it’s just not on your mind anymore... It’s done. Brain space not taken up." – Darcy (10:14)

• On Doula Community Struggles:

  "Raise your hand if you’re saving for retirement. And no one raised their hand." – Darcy (13:58)

• On the Profit Account:

  "Last year, I bought myself new skis. Every time I ride the lift, I look down at them, I'm like, my business bought me these." – Darcy (20:50)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:43] – Darcy’s personal financial background and why financial wellness matters for doulas
• [03:06] – The four major financial focuses for doulas
• [05:19] – Calculating your personal financial needs
• [07:10] – Automating and planning for taxes
• [10:14] – Using auto transfers for financial self-care
• [12:55] – Listing and calculating business expenses
• [13:58] – Retirement savings gap in the doula community
• [16:16] – The importance of fair compensation for doulas
• [17:17] – Energy exchange and saying “no”
• [20:16] – The purpose of the profit account and rewarding yourself
• [20:50] – Personal story: The ski purchase from profits

Summary & Takeaways

Darcy empowers doulas to:

• Calculate what they need to pay themselves, factoring in both bills and personal sustainability.
• Automate saving for taxes to eliminate stress.
• List and plan for all business expenses, including their own salary.
• Prioritize retirement planning, regardless of age or career stage.
• Enjoy and celebrate profits as a reward for the courage and labor of running a service-based business.

The recurring theme: Financial structure is self-care—and the foundation for a long, joyful career as a doula.

Resources Mentioned

• Profit First by Mike Michalowicz – For rethinking how businesses approach profit and compensation.
• Edula Biz – Software recommended for doula business operations.

For more in-depth support, Darcy encourages listeners to join her Doula Village membership, where she offers additional training and live challenges on financial planning for doulas.

If you’re a doula (or any one-person service business owner), this episode gives you a clear, compassionate foundation for building a sustainable, satisfying career—one where the math “maths,” as Darcy says, and your needs are never left an afterthought.