Creating wealth as a first gen investor?

This week I did something I never thought I would be able to do. After nearly a 10yr journey of going to school to get a Bachelors in Accounting, a Masters in Tax, and one YEAR of CPA exams… I finally applied to become a CPA!

This, almost official, CPA is hosting a free beginner investing class with a first financial advisor that is also on a mission to get our people creating wealth! It’s our 10th free class, and the next one won’t be for a few months since I work in tax and get really busy for the next few months. Like I said, it’s free but capacity is limited, so if you want to secure your spot - sign up here today!

Imagine waking up one day, knowing you don’t have to work a single day again, and still having enough to cover your living expenses and retire with a very comfortable life. Well, what if you didn’t have to imagine? What if that was just… your life?

If you follow me on my socials, you know that I plan on retiring in the next decade. But if we’re being honest, I give myself a hard time that it has to be that long from now. Because if I had learned what I know now, back when I was a fresh 18 year old adult just entering the workforce, I could have been retired by now.

You see, creating wealth in the stock market is a little more about how often you invest and how long your money is invested, not quite so much how much money you invest. I’m the daughter of Mexican immigrants and money wasn’t exactly an appropriate thing to talk about in our house - like EVER! So of course I didn’t learn financial literacy growing up.

In fact, I didn’t learn it in school either. Most of this finance stuff you see me post about has all been picked up from YouTube, books, or podcasts. The tax and business stuff has all been formal education, I have a Bachelor’s in Accounting, a Master’s in Tax, and, as soon as my application is processed, a CPA license.

While it’s not possible for me to go back in time and teach myself this stuff, it is possible for me to help teach others everything I wish I could. If you’re here, you’ve already got the ball rolling on getting financial literacy. You are seeking the knowledge!

I believe the next step is to figure out your current situation and what your goals are. Here’s how:

Do you know exactly how much money is coming in and going out every month? Is there more money coming in than going out or vice versa? If there’s more money going in than going out, do you put the extra to work? Or does it sit in a checking account earning next to nothing?

Is there a lot of high interest debt you’re paying? Generally, an interest rate gets considered high if it’s above 5%. It’s usually a good idea to tackle this debt first, otherwise, you have interest working against you!

Do you have an emergency fund? Do you want one? If so, how many months of expenses would give you peace of mind? Once you know that number calculate what your expenses for 1 month are and multiply it by the number of months you want the emergency fund to cover! Personally, I would worry about building at least a small emergency fund before starting to invest.

What are the goals you are working towards? Consider every goal from short term (vacations), to mid term (new car), to long term (retirement). Are there goals that you have for you kids? Like setting up an account to pay for college or so you can help with a down payment on a house. I think it’s important to know what your objectives are before you can begin your journey there!

Understanding what your goals are, and your current situation, will help determine what the best course of action is. Start with the end in mind and work backwards! My class on Monday can help you get your plan in motion and get you started creating wealth for you and for family. If you want to sign up while there’s still availability, you can do that here.

See you next week!

-Neyra