About Me
I've always wanted to help people since childhood - but for some reason I always thought that it meant I had to be in healthcare. I always enjoyed learning about health science, and have earned a Bachelor's of Science in Kinesiology, but I've never felt like health science (or anything for that matter) came naturally to me. I am still very interested in it, and I enjoy learning about it, but for some reason I don't have a passion for it. It wasn't until I was married and had a couple of years of experience handling our personal finances that I felt like something came naturally to me.
If you were to ask some of my closest friends what it is that I enjoy talking about for the fun of it, they'd tell you that I enjoy talking about budgeting, paying off debt, and saving money. I've spent time with friends comparing "budget binders" to see how they handled their money compared to how I handled ours. And yes, while I'm the one who primarily handles the finances in my marriage, it is definitely a team effort. My husband works diligently, listens to me patiently as I share with him for the millionth time my plans to give us a dreamy retirement, but most importantly we are communicative and cooperative with our finance plans. Even though personal financial management is what I love to do, he is actively involved, and because of that it's made our marriage better. I can't do this alone, we're a team, and I couldn't do this without him. He's a keeper, that's for sure!
My Background:
I was raised in a home, like many others, where finances weren't really talked about. Debt was normal, because it is normal, and student loans were the only way to get through college. So, naturally, I took out student loans to go to a private university. I opened two credit cards as soon as I could, to start building credit, even though I didn't have a job. My [then] boyfriend also opened a credit card to start building his credit. Fast forward... We got married 3 weeks after graduating with our bachelor degrees. Wohoo!...But we were broke newlyweds, so naturally, we took out more student loans for my new husband to go to graduate school. Not only did we enter marriage taking on more student loans, but we also got an auto loan to replace my beloved PT cruiser that kept breaking down on me. And then a year and a half after that, we took out another auto loan because we were both commuting and needed a second car.
Thankfully, my husband landed his dream job within a year after graduating from his masters program. However, I learned that I no longer wanted to go into the healthcare field with my very expensive Kinesiology degree. The good news is: we didn't rack up any more student loans for me to go to graduate school. The bad news is: I was clueless about what I wanted to do for a career. Timeline update: we moved to the Bay Area, in the middle of the pandemic, with only one income. And just to be clear, we are considered "low income" for Bay Area residents - so no, we don't have it easy by any means. While I'd already started learning how to get a good handle on managing our finances, our new situation required me to become quite skilled at budgeting... which is something I found I was naturally good at!
"Personal finance is
80% behavior and
20% head knowledge."
Overall, hindsight is 20-20 (no pun intended), and I've learned that I didn't need to go straight to a 4-year private university to get quality higher education. That's been an expensive lesson to learn. All of this is to say, that when I learned how to really take control of our finances, I also learned that our situation with student loans is pretty normal. Now, we're in our mid-twenties, but we're living life differently. The habits that we have developed let us tell our money where to go, rather than wondering where it went - and these are the same habits I would love to teach you!
While these habits were things that I developed over time (my husband is a natural saver), it's something that came naturally to me once I figured it out. I quickly learned that I was passionate about wise money management when I started talking to friends and family about personal money management habits... constantly... and started helping friends and family develop their own budgets. I soon started searching for where I could sharpen my skills, and I have since completed Financial Coach Master Training.
The important thing to remember though, is that it's not all about numbers. The reason why I coach is because every family and individual's situation is different. I've been trained to really listen and understand each unique situation, and then tailor an action plan to help each family and individual achieve their goals. Together, we will get a footing on where you're at now, and how you're going to get to where you want to go.
Personal finance is 20% math, and 80% behavior. With this in mind, we will not only look over the numbers in your personal situation, but we will also take a deeper dive into developing the habits that will help you succeed with your money.