I was raised by a single father who gave everything he had to make sure his three kids were taken care of. We didn't have much. And from a young age, watching him struggle with money left a mark on me — not bitterness, but a quiet resolve. I didn't want that for him. I didn't want it for my family. I didn't want it for myself.

The problem wasn't that my dad didn't care about finances. It's that no one ever taught him. And that's true for most people. Most of us were never handed a roadmap — for budgeting, for insurance, for retirement. We were just expected to figure it out on our own, and many people assume their workplace benefits and retirement plans will be enough. Sometimes they are. Often, there are gaps that don't become obvious until years later.

Before this work, I spent years in service-oriented roles:

Those fields taught me discipline, observation, and how to stay calm when the stakes are high. I've carried those habits into this work. I came to this field because I wanted to be the person who actually understands money — not just reads about it, but lives it, and then helps others make more informed decisions. That's what drives me. Not the transaction. The transformation.