My Personal Story and the Financial Lessons I’ve Learned

For Non-Signers: Here’s a written version of what I’m sharing in the video. (My apologies for no captions on screen):

From my recent poll, it seems readers want me to talk more about business, entrepreneurship, and my journey as a mother to a KODA daughter—so here it goes!

Since I’ll be discussing personal finance, business, and my daughter’s short films, I thought it would be helpful to share my personal experiences with money and the lessons I’ve learned along the way.

Early Lessons in Money Management

Let’s start with my childhood. My parents were excellent role models when it came to managing money. I often saw my mom using coupons, and our family rarely dined out unless it was a special occasion like an anniversary or a birthday. My siblings and I received an allowance, but it came with rules. My mom would take us to the bank, where we had to deposit most of our allowance into our savings accounts. I still have the bankbooks from when I was younger, and many deposits were for just $5.00. We could buy something small with the remainder or choose to save it.

As a little entrepreneur, I loved saving my money. In the 1980s, I went around my neighborhood selling stickers from my collection, making a return on my investment (haha). Once a year, we used our saved money to buy Savings Bonds, which I later used towards university expenses along with earnings from part-time jobs as a teenager.

Lesson Learned: With patience, money grows, and even small amounts (like $5.00) are worth saving.

University Years and Early Career

During my first two summers at university, I worked at Claire’s, managing earrings and jewelry. As an Assistant Manager, I worked a lot of overtime. It was tough, but it paid well. I did three things with the money I earned: paid for my university apartment and food without taking on student loans (thanks also to DVRS, which I mentioned in another blog post), started planning my business, and eventually opened it a few years later.

Lesson Learned: You’re never too young to start investing and planning for your future. The best time to start is when you’re young.

Building a Financially Stable Life

I often read blogs about people struggling with debt and chronicling their journey out of it. That’s not my story because I’ve never had consumer debt or credit cards. My husband had some debt when we started dating, and I helped him pay it off by crafting a financial plan and budgeting when we got married. As a full-time mother, I stopped earning money, but it was crucial to me to be with someone who shares our financial goals. Money issues are among the top reasons relationships fail. We’re still together, budgeting, and working towards financial freedom.

Lesson Learned: Choose a partner who shares your financial goals. It’s important to be with someone who values money management as much as you do.

Entrepreneurship and Nonprofit Work

As the Founder and Artistic Director of ImaginASL Performing Arts, I’ve learned a lot about managing finances in a nonprofit organization. One of the biggest lessons is not to spend more money than you make. This seems simple, but it’s challenging for many, especially in a society that often judges you by what you have.

Lesson Learned: Don’t spend more money than you make, especially in a nonprofit. It’s a simple rule but crucial for long-term success.

Final Thoughts

I’m not a financial expert, but through managing my life as a full-time mother, blogger, and career woman, I’ve learned a few things that I believe can help others. I’ll be sharing more about my journey, including Ember’s short films, “Ember At…,” which has 20 episodes from 2019 to 2020.

I encourage you to share your stories in the comments below, and I welcome guest posts as well. By openly discussing our finances and motherhood, we can help each other make better decisions and live more fulfilling lives.

Thank you for reading!