Based on society’s standards, boy have I made MANY financial missteps! I remember back in 2000 when my children were 8 and 4; One of my colleagues was talking about how he was putting $200k into an account to pay for college for his kids. I remember being so jealous…feeling like “what the hell am I doing wrong that I can’t just put $200k in an account for my kids’ future?” Well, needless to say, that feeling lasted all the way until both my children entered college. I had saved, but I hadn’t saved enough for TWO out of state, private colleges so I wound up borrowing LOTS of money and now I owe Navient two lifetime’s worth of student loans. It’s situations like this one that can give us pause and make us feel defeated at times, but we mustn’t give up. Live and learn and celebrate the wins.

A big part of our financial journey comes from our money story. So what is a Money Story? In short, it’s our relationship with our money over the course of our life. The good, the bad and the ugly. The highs, the lows. What we observed and absorbed from our parents and/or others around us and the positive or negative affect it’s had on us and our financial situation. I have learned that I cannot go through life trying to gauge my financial success around the decisions and circumstances of others. Mainly because comparison kills progress, but also because we all have different money stories. I have come to learn that my decisions are just that – MINE. They are for me and only me. I have fallen and gotten back up more times than I care to admit, but It’s OK! I have to forgive myself for the things I didn’t know back then and take steps to unlearn the things that no longer serve me. Just because I am in finance does not mean that I have all the answers, but my experiences have taught me valuable lessons about money and my relationship with it and have molded me into the woman I am today. They are what ignite this intense fire within my soul to empower women around all things money.