"Empower through Education"

 I grew up in a family of highly educated overachievers. I have 3 siblings in the medical field, a professor, an attorney and 3 engineers (including my Dad). When it was time to go to college, I chose the only career I could find that required no math: Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis on Public Relations. Then I got real and studied and became a Certified Financial Planner in 1985 and still practice today.

My point is, I was so blinded by what I didn’t want (math) that I almost missed out on the greatest career of all, helping others make good financial decisions and share their success.

My entire career has been built on education, both my continual learning and my teaching others to be empowered to make informed decisions. I watched my mother be taken advantage of because of her lack of knowledge. My father controlled the finances and never shared anything but some measly grocery money with her. There were no discussions about income or expenses or investments or real estate, yet he had all of those things. Mom struggled for independence and freedom from a controlling husband on nothing but an eighth-grade education. Her story is portrayed in her biography More Martha Than Mary that is coming soon.

Mother did teach all nine of her children that education was paramount. She was very smart and won a full ride scholarship to a private high school but had to turn it down when her mother, pregnant for the twelfth time, gave birth to twins. She wanted to make sure her children did not end up like she did, unable to stand her ground due to ignorance.

I am now working on a second book to make financial planning concepts adaptable for everyone, at any level of education. I also continue to educate through my monthly finance column in The Highlands Ranch Herald and other community newspapers. My goal is to provide enough data to allow people to seek more information to improve their situation.

Everyday topics like what employee benefits to choose, or how to start a college fund or a Roth IRA are covered. We live in a monetary society. These are survival tools that my mother did not have. In my next blog I will talk about the powers and evils of money, and how to use it for its intended purpose.