Her Dinero Matters

When was the last time that things didn’t go according to plan? If you’re anything like me, “quite often” is probably your answer (and there’s nothing wrong with that). The reason is simple: even the best thought and carefully weighted plans cannot keep life from happening, sometimes in the most random ways. In fact, although eliminating the unexpected from your life is almost impossible, no one ever teaches you how to react to life when things massively deviate from your original plan. This is why, in today’s episode, I’ll share with you five things you have to practice if you want to make your peace with the unexpected.

We’ve all had a moment (or two) when we swore a plan or project would turn out alright. Maybe the whole thing was a low-stakes, low-pressure project where virtually nothing could go wrong, or maybe this plan was just replicating something you had already done in the past with a decent amount of success. In any case, the expectations were low, and your confidence soared. 

This is why, when things didn’t turn out as expected, all you could do was stare at the facts in disbelief. Did you forget an important point? Were you not prepared enough? It may sound a tad irritating, but the answer is far simpler: unexpected circumstances usually happen… well, when you least expect it! And in no other sector is this as true as in finance.

In this HDM episode, I’ll be sharing a personal story that shows how life’s curveballs don’t have to derail you from your path. 

In this episode you will learn: 

• What does the unexpected have to do with your financial life?
• Reasons why unexpected situations can be so overwhelming.
• The 5 key lessons that you can take away from unexpected life disruptions. 

Imagine waking up one regular Monday morning as you usually do… only to find out that all your income, close support network, and, in general, your regular financial support sources are forever gone, and now you’re back to square one (which, by the way, probably feels like square -1000). It may sound like a hard stretch, but for so many women, this nightmarish scenario highlights a common and real fear: the possibility of losing their stability in life because they don’t have their own money. And while this might sound scary, this week’s guests and dear friends will share how this lingering sense of insecurity pushed them to seek financial independence and, simultaneously, turned them into an inspiration to us all.  

Some people say the biggest lessons in life come whenever you least expect them, and today I’ll have to agree with the popular lore. In today’s episode, I’m having a conversation with two friends and fellow Accredited Financial Counselors®, Weslia Echols and Willa Williams who learned through their lived experiences why being financially independent is so important.

Weslia and Willa’s unique mission is to assist Christian women in embracing their STEWARD Identity™. They aim to help women discover their unique path to creating wealth and achieving financial fulfillment. Through their company, Trinity Financial Coaching, and their weekly podcast, Wealth and Wisdom Together™, they have created a safe space for women to learn and discuss money while trusting God, trusting themselves, and trusting the process.

In this episode you will learn: 

• Why financial independence should be a top priority in everyone’s life list.
• A core characteristic of financial fulfillment that everyone should be aiming to have. 
• Willa and Weslia’s take on what’s the biggest financial barrier that most people face.

Intuitively, we all know that leaving your home country for good is a challenging experience. Adapting to a new place, language, culture, job market, AND financial system is anything but an easy feat. However, knowing that it’s hard and listening to the first-person account of someone who not only survived the experience but also managed to thrive and build a meaningful career is truly inspiring. In today’s episode, we are having an empowering conversation with Jhoanna Astudillo, the Hispanic segment leader in BOK Financial’s Consumer Division. Jhoanna will share with us her biggest money realizations and how they came to be.

When was the last time you had a hard time cashing a check at your local bank? Or the last time you had to wait one hour for someone to help you do a simple money transfer? If the answer to those questions is some variation of “I’m not sure”, today’s episode will surely surprise you. 

Like many immigrants, today’s guest had to re-start from scratch. From having to learn the language to figure out the U.S. financial system and, while on it, uncovering her limiting money story, Jhoanna’s journey will inspire you as much as it has inspired me. 

Jhoanna Astudillo is the Hispanic segment leader in BOK Financial’s Consumer Division, and the first Hispanic person to serve in this position. She has worked in the financial industry since 2007. Previously, she served in the U.S. Army and has a Bachelor’s Degree in International Business and Marketing from Illinois State University.

In this episode you will learn: 

• Jhoanna’s story and why she was referred to as a “ghost”. 
• The steps Jhoanna has taken to improve her relationship with money. 
• How the financial industry is adapting to better service the Latino community and Jhoanna’s role in that.

Have you ever walked into a bank to request information about a product or service only to hear a long-winded and hard-to-understand explanation that, instead of providing answers, only creates more questions? This is an experience that almost everyone in the Latino community has experienced at least once in their lives. Not because financial concepts, in and by themselves, are too complex or impossible to understand. Not at all. Sometimes, it’s just because the ones giving all the explanations lack a foundational core element that, in an ideal world, every financial educator should have: cultural humility. In this week’s episode, Dr. Melinda Jimenez Perez will share with us what cultural humility is and why this not-so-obvious concept is essential when teaching (and learning!) about all things money. 

Let’s be honest: money and finances may not be as complex or abstract of a topic as calculus or some good old geometry, but still, that doesn’t mean everyone will be able to understand the basic tenets at once.  The way you think and interact with money can be completely different from the way I see it, and that doesn’t make any of us right or wrong. It’s just different. 

According to Dr. Melinda Jimenez, understanding how our own culture impacts the way we see finances and what we can do to improve our situation (even when we might lack “basic” financial knowledge) is the essential working definition of cultural humility. In today’s episode, we will learn why cultural humility is essential for improving financial literacy in the Latino community. 

In this episode you will learn: 

• What cultural humility is and why it’s essential in financial education.
• The power of representation in financial education.
• The rise of financial resource centers and why they matter.

When you are a parent, you all know sending your kids off to college and out of the house (aka, empty-nesting) will happen eventually, but no one really prepares you for it. And, like everything in this life, different people react to it in different ways. Since that moment in my parenting life is fast approaching, in this week’s episode I want to share a few empty-nesting hidden financial considerations that I’ve discovered along the way and why they matter.

If you’ve already shipped your kids off to college and into the beginning stages of their adult lives, you know this is not an easy step. Not only are you effectively reducing your number of household members (#gasp), but, in a way, you’re finally putting to a test all those years of upbringing. Will your children be able to make the right life and financial decisions? You don’t really know, and everyone keeps saying you can only hope for the best.

But, is that accurate? Does your financial involvement in your kids' lives effectively end on the day they leave for college or have things changed since your own college days? I feel that’s the big question every parent needs to start figuring out now. 

This is why, in today’s HDM episode, I’ll walk you through five (important) financial considerations that are starting to take shape in my planning process. I’ll share with you why these things are important for my journey and what are some key takeaways to consider.

In this episode you will learn: 

• Storytime: why has empty-nesting been on my mind lately?
• The positives: a couple of great things I’m actually looking forward to.
• Five financial considerations that I hadn’t thought about before.