Know about me
I became passionate about personal finance after returning from the landlocked country of Zambia where I served in the Peace Corps. I was posted in the small agrarian community of Mufubushi where I worked with families in building and managing their own aquaculture systems; then assisted men and women in operating the systems as small business enterprises. In that role I had the privilege to collaborate with the Zambia Ministry of Agriculture and Department of Fisheries on national strategic initiatives.
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I was filled with admiration at how much pride and grit the families exhibited, even in the face of chronic challenges. After living side-by-side with my community with neither indoor plumbing nor electricity, I became immersed in the financial climate of the community and the money matters of my neighbors.
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Most people in the community had their own attitudes and knowledge about the decisions they made when managing money. If someone needed a loan it was quite normal to borrow money from the nearest neighbor or several neighbors knowing it would take months to pay the person back. In the States, items are charged on credit cards instead of frequently asking others for a loan. ​
The importance of financial power is not just a millennial problem or a baby boomer problem - it’s a national problem. Most people talk at you instead of with you and say things like, “l will make you rich in one year,” or “Work with me and you’ll have no debt in two months.” Yet, none take the time to understand you and your financial history. My approach is a customized module that allows us both to understand your financial history, allowing me to generate an individualized plan to help you reach your goals.
" My mission is to increase financial well-being for others by using a blending of behavior, attitude, and knowledge that best fits the circumstances in ones life to make capable money management decisions. "
One of my last discussion topics before I left Zambia surrounded money and finances in the household. A topic quite often on the surface of my daily life in Mufubushi. Everyone had a financial life and there were needs and wants just like the must-haves and wants in the United States. For example, rural families in Zambia were struggling how to make a few hundred dollars from the harvest of their crops last for an entire year to paying for their child’s school fees each quarter. Although I had given the money talk to families before, this discussion presented a renewed awareness in me as mumbles of an economic crisis was gathering a voice across the Atlantic Ocean.
Over the years after returning to the U.S., I became a personal finance fanatic learning everything from how upbringing affects one’s choices with money to the generation and culture mindsets that influences our interaction with finances. Speaking with groups on budgeting to creating wealth is a rewarding experience.
