My Story

I was born to goodly parents who, while modeled good financial practices, did not discuss them with us. I knew what I wanted my money life to look like, but I did not have the foundational pieces to build upon. As I struggled through debt, stress, and not feeling financially secure in my early young adult years, I wondered if that was a Brazilian culture thing. But after I moved to America, got married, had kids, and interacted daily with high schoolers as a Personal Finance teacher, I realized that financial illiteracy was widespread over cultural and country limits!

Accepting the beliefs of a debt-stricken culture, in only 5 years, we owned a house that we could not afford, were over our heads with student loans, and owed money to the in-laws, credit card companies, and auto dealerships. To compound, we had no savings. The stress was enormous! It affected my health and, most of all, my relationship with my husband. I kept spinning all day about our finances... Finally, we were one emergency away from a financial disaster. (Very dramatic!)

Then it happened. We could not afford to pay for daycare and the house payment.

But I leaned on my faith and kept looking for a solution, and the Lord was merciful to us.

Through my husband friend's referral (Shout out to Greg!), we learned about Dave Ramsey and how his financial teaching principles were based on what God had to say about money and common sense. As they say, I drank the kool-aid, and while we made a lot of financial progress, I was still not feeling well. I ran full force in one direction and dragged our family along while telling everyone, "We are on Dave's plan."  I did not want to see that WE were not "all in" until I found out about a hidden credit card debt.

At the same time, I felt undermined and crushed at work, my relationship with my teenage daughter was contentious, and dealing with my kids' quarreling questioned my effectiveness and worthiness as a mother. I believed these things and people created my unhappiness, physical (debilitating migraines), and mental health (severe depression).

I could not understand why I felt so hopeless until God led me to find a life coach.

By understanding how my thoughts were the ones creating my feelings and results, I was able to take control of my beliefs and how I perceived the circumstances around me and accept others as they were. It made me realize that there are three components of true financial peace: faith, applied knowledge, and mindset.

 I  have a Master's Degree in Education, am an FPU Graduate, Ramsey Certified Financial Coach, and a Certified Life Coach by Brooke Castillo's The Life Coach School. I have 18 years of experience in teaching personal finance at High Schools and am a lifelong learner.