About
About Penny to Power
Hi, I’m Maya Collins, and I’m glad you found this corner of the internet.
Let’s be straightforward from the start. I’m not a certified financial planner, and I don’t have a Wall Street resume. “Maya Collins” is the name I write under here, built specifically for this site, not a franchise of my personal diary.

What I do bring is this: an actual research habit, and zero patience for the kind of advice that only works if you already have money to spare.
Here’s what that means in practice. If I tell you what the average household spends on housing, that number comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, not a guess. If I tell you a savings strategy is worth trying, I tell you honestly what it costs in time or money, and what it doesn’t fix. If a topic touches your taxes or your legal rights, I say so plainly and point you to someone qualified, because that’s not something a blog post should decide for you.
I started this site because most personal finance content falls into one of two camps: institutional and cold, written for someone who already has a financial advisor on speed dial, or personality-driven and thin on substance, long on vibes and short on real numbers. I wanted something in between. Real data, explained like a person, aimed at women who are doing the math themselves because nobody’s doing it for them.
If you’ve ever stood in a grocery store aisle running numbers in your head before you got to the register, you don’t need me to explain why a site like this matters. You already know.
So here’s what you’ll actually get from PennyToPower: numbers with a source attached, advice that names its own limits, and nobody pretending a $50 savings habit will change your life overnight. Progress, not a makeover.
Let’s get into it.
Contact: maya@pennytopower.com
The Money Archives
Everyone Waits Until November. That’s Exactly Why They Get the Worst Shifts
Most advice about seasonal holiday income treats November as the starting line. It isn’t. Retailers and event staffing agencies build their holiday teams in September…
50 Extreme Frugal Living Tips for Families Running on Less
The 2026 federal poverty line for a family of four is $32,150 a year, and the USDA’s own thrifty food plan assumes that same family…
You Don’t Need $5,500. You Need the Right $1,200
You Don’t Need $5,500. You Need the Right $1,200. Most women planning a wedding on a real budget hear “wedding planner” and picture a number…



