Savvy Financial Latina is a 20-something personal finance blogger learning to manage her money, life and career in Dallas, Texas.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in global business, a master’s in supply chain management and an MBA – all without any debt. She now works for a Global 500 company as a sourcing analyst.
In this exclusive interview, Savvy Financial Latina shares her journey to financial independence.
1. What inspired you to start writing at Savvy Financial Latina?
Savvy Financial Latina started when I was in graduate school. I needed an outlet outside of academia and the blog was born.
I wanted to share my ideas on finance and career. I also wanted to interact with the personal finance community to learn even more.
2. Did you have a background in finance or business?
I did have a background in finance. My undergraduate degree had a focus on finance.
My master’s happened to be in supply chain management, but school doesn’t teach you the basics of personal finance.
3. What sparked your interest in the financial field?
When I was in high school, I worked for a nonprofit. I was the assistant to the executive director and founder.
He taught be about finance. He helped me open a checking and savings account, bought me Quicken and helped me start investing in mutual funds.
In college, I decided I wanted to go in a business direction. I remember talking about Warren Buffett with a friend. We both wanted to be him and learn how he was so successful.
4. What are some financial obstacles you have overcome?
My biggest financial obstacle was figuring out how I was going to fund college.
As a high school student, I shuttered to think about how I was going to attend college. It cost more than $22,000 per year for tuition and room and board.
My parents could not afford to send me to college, so I worked really hard and ended up graduating as my high school district’s first Hispanic valedictorian. My academic and extracurricular excellence helped me earn scholarships so I could afford college.
“If you set high goals, you will
work twice as hard to reach them.”
5. What advice would you give about overcoming such obstacles?
Financial obstacles seem impossible to overcome, but I think you can overcome financial obstacles if you make a plan.
Set your goal and figure out the plan on how you are going to accomplish the goal.
Do you want to go on a vacation? Establish your budget, figure out how much you need to save and then plan your budget-friendly vacation.
6. Why is it important for people to set financial goals?
I think it’s important for people to set financial goals because it keeps them on track.
It’s so easy to lose track of money because life just happens. Most of us are too busy to realize the $3 charges add up, especially when people have multiple credit cards, checking accounts and investment accounts.
7. What are some of your long-term financial goals?
My husband and I are working toward financial independence. We understand we need a diverse passive income portfolio to accomplish this.
In the next year, we are going to max out our retirement accounts, create a taxable brokerage account and start saving up for a second property.
8. Which financial topic do you like to write about the most?
I love writing about investing. There is still so much for me to learn.
I like to write about investing because it encourages people to start investing, too. It can seem pretty scary, especially since it seems like gambling.
My second favorite topic is anything related to my career. It keeps me sane to write about my career musings. I hope by sharing my stories I can help people negotiate their salary at the beginning and thrive in the workplace, among other things.
9. What is one piece of advice you have learned from experience?
Set your financial goals high. It’s easy to set your goals low so you don’t get disappointed, but if you set them high, you will work twice as hard to reach them.
For example, if you want to buy a house, then determine how much you need to save and start saving aggressively.
Don’t wait to see how much you have leftover at the end of the month and decide to save only that much.
Connect with Savvy Financial Latina on Twitter for more personal finance tips.
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