“My drive to help people pursue financial freedom started at 6th grade”
As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, I help people each and every day. For some people it’s about saving money, for others it’s about receiving income for the rest of their lives, leaving a legacy for their heirs, or something entirely unique to them. With each scenario, my quest in helping them pursue financial freedom is at the forefront of what we do and is driven by motivation that started at a very early age.
Unfortunately, I grew up in a financially unstable home. At certain times of my childhood we had money and at other times we were broke. When I was in sixth grade, I remember a class field trip that required a payment from each student in order to attend. At the time, my family was struggling and I remember my dad saying “We’re not like all the rich families in your class. We don’t have the money for this.” I remember how embarrassed I was to tell my teacher and friends that I couldn’t join them because we had no money. As a kid, this scared me. At the time, I didn’t understand the depth of what was happening or why.
Eventually, my teacher was able to find “school money” to cover my cost for the field trip. Obviously, I was happy to join my friends, however, the negative experience created irreversible pain. I realized that I needed to become financially independent when I grew up. To better understand money and be able to help others, I knew that I had to learn a lot, study hard in college, and invest in myself. When I joined the financial services industry in late 1997, all I wanted to do was use those experiences to help others…financial freedom had become one of my core values.
Since that time, I remain very passionate about helping others work toward their goals of financial freedom. Knowing that I have an opportunity to help my clients in this way is what wakes me up every morning with a smile on my face.
