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A couple weeks ago, my boys asked me to take them to Target. They wanted to use their own money to buy small plush Pokémon balls. After school one day, I finally took them. They ran over, excitedly grabbed the toys, and scanned them—$8 each. But instead of the excitement I expected, they both just stood there, looking at the Poké balls. After a few moments, my 10 year old put his back, saying he didn’t want it anymore. A couple minutes later, my 7 year old did the same. I even tried to convince them to get the toys. But they both refused. What?!? We left Target with nothing. In the car, my 10 year old apologized, "I'm sorry you took us all the way to Target for nothing. I really wanted it before we got here. Then I saw it, and I didn’t want it anymore. It’s $8, well, $8.80 with tax. It’s not worth it. I don’t know, I’m just over it. It’s weird because I actually wanted it really badly, but now I don’t." Without realizing it, my boys learned the value of their money. I consider that a win!

A Roth IRA is not an investment. It is an ACCOUNT that can hold investments but it can also hold cash. If your money is in: • SPAXX • VMFXX • 5 letters ending in "XX" That money is sitting in a cash or money market position and is not invested. You need to BUY investments with the money in your Roth IRA so it will grow. Otherwise your cash will just sit there, earning nothing (it may earn something now, but rates won't always be here). Same thing applies to your: • 401K • 403B • 457B • Brokerage account Make sure your money is working for you, invest it!

I am a financial educator. But I started as a trader, banker, and math teacher. Here's a snippet of my story: Money was tight growing up. My mom was a single mom caring for two kids and her parents. I started working in 7th grade and worked through all of high school and most of college. As a young child, I saw how stressful it was not having a lot of money. I wanted to do whatever I could to make sure I would never have to worry about having enough. I went to UCLA and got my degree in mechanical engineering. After graduating college, I moved to New York and worked on Wall Street on a MBS trading desk. A couple years later, I took a job managing a $500+ million investment portfolio at a bank in San Diego. I was promoted to a senior executive role at the bank and worked closely with the CEO. Working as a Wall Street trader and a bank executive gave me experience and knowledge of finance at the highest level. But years of working long, stressful hours in finance helped me realize there was more to life than making a lot of money. Because of a long-held desire to teach and help others, I quit the bank in 2012 and began teaching math at an inner-city high school in downtown Los Angeles. Teaching students who lived in poverty was a life-changing experience. Even though it was the hardest job I’ve ever had, it felt good knowing all the long hours I worked was helping others achieve their goals. I taught math until my second son was born at the end of 2016. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of staying home and raising my three kids. I'm a teacher at heart and I love empowering others to do what they don't think is possible. Over the years, many of my friends have asked me for help with their money. It became clear I could have a positive impact by teaching the knowledge and skills I learned in finance. So, I started formally coaching people with their money at the beginning of 2022. Later that year, I also started voluntarily teaching a financial education class at a local nonprofit here in Pasadena. Teaching financial education has become my life's mission. Being financially literate is a must but unfortunately our education system does not equip people to know how to handle their money. I want to address this problem by empowering others to build wealth by mastering the fundamentals of personal finance.

Keep your money organized with 5 spreadsheets: • Master list of finances • Net worth tracker • Cash flow plan • Debt elimination plan • Other tracking Let's check them out:

Money impacts all areas of our lives. Yet most don't understand the fundamentals. Here's 12 posts with visuals to help you level up your money game. 🧵

Buying a car? Verify everything in writing. Negotiating a car deal can feel overwhelming. But one rule always applies: verify everything. Verify these 6 things before buying:

Money balances to aim for in the beginning: • Debt (non-mortgage): $0 • Savings (emergencies): 3-6 months of living expenses • Investments (long-term): 25 times annual expenses • Checking account (buffer): A round number (like $500) You don't need a perfect plan to start saving, investing, and crushing debt. Start now, adjust as you go.

I get to witness financial transformation every week. I teach personal finance for a job training and reintegration program for formerly incarcerated individuals. Every week, we share money wins. Here are some recent wins: • Bought an Accord for $500 cash using cash saved in the program. • I got my driver’s license. • Been smoking less. Was buying a pack a day, but now I’m down to buying a pack every other day. • Saved the stipends I’ve gotten from program. I put them in my savings account and don’t touch them. • Got promoted and paid off 2 debts completely. One medical bill and one I owed for taxes. • Took my son to an amusement park to celebrate his birthday. • Been separating my money between saving and variable spending now. I bought movie tickets for $20 and took my girl out. I knew I had the money because I separated it, so I didn’t even feel bad about it. • Cancelled PlayStation and Xbox subscriptions. • Bought a motorcycle with cash for transportation. • Paid all my bills on time this month. • Fixed my car myself. I just had to buy the part. • I work an 8 hour shift at a warehouse, and applied to get a second job at AutoZone. • Opened a checking account. • Opened a Roth IRA and put $100 in there. • Got $50 in birthday money gifts. I saved some. • Been saving $100 a week to buy a car with cash after we graduate. These are real wins from real people doing the work. They’re proof that it’s never too late to take control of your money and your life. Keep going. Every win adds up. 💪

Upgrade to a high yield savings account. You want to open a high yield savings account. But you've never heard of the banks offering them, so you don't trust them. Confirm a bank is FDIC insured (link below). Then finally open a high yield savings account. Here are three options:

I recently paid my kids. Here’s how much they earned and how they split it: 11 year old: Give: $15 Invest (Fidelity): $70 Save (Chase): $51.75 Spend (Wallet): $10 Total: $146.75 He's saving for Christmas (he *loves* buying gifts for others). 8 year old: Give: $24 Invest (Fidelity): $58 Save (Chase): $38 Spend (Wallet): $18 Total: $138 He's saving for our summer trip so he can have his own spending money. 4 year old: Give (jar): $7 Save (jar): $7 + $8.92 interest ($15.92 total) Spend (jar): $7 Earned & gifted: $21 Interest on savings: $8.92 She's saving for a pack of head bands. She also “transferred" $10 from her savings jar to her Fidelity account to invest in FSKAX (because her brothers do). All three are learning to give, save, invest, and spend with intention. Money habits don’t start with big paychecks. They start with small, repeated actions.

Notice the small wins that fly under the rader: • Saving $10, even when money's tight • Investing $15, even when it feels small • Hiding credit cards to stop racking up debt And don't overlook: • Bringing a sandwich to work for lunch • Passing up Chipotle on your drive home • Pausing before buying those Nikes you spotted • Celebrating your birthday at home with your daughter Notice them. Celebrate them. String them together. Stack small wins, and build momentum. What are your money wins this week?

How to automate investing with Fidelity Instead of trying to time the market, set up recurring transfers to keep investing consistently, regardless of market conditions. Easily auto-invest in index funds, target date index funds, or ETFs in your Fidelity account. Here's how: 1. Go to www. fidelity .com 2. Log into your account 3. Click on "Transfer" 4. Click on "Manage recurring transfers" 5. Click on "Create new activity" 6. Select "Investment" 7. Select/input info to set up auto-investing (see below) 8. Click "Preview" 9. Review the details, then click "Confirm" Select/input info (step 7): SECURITY TYPE: Select "Mutual funds" to buy index funds or target date index funds, or "Stocks/ETFs" for ETFs. ACCOUNTS: Select your Fidelity account to auto-invest in. SYMBOL: Enter the ticker symbol for the fund you want to buy. You can also add multiple funds. AMOUNT: Enter the dollar amount to auto-buy for each fund. FREQUENCY: Select how often you want to auto-buy the funds (weekly, every 2 weeks, or monthly). DAY: Select the day of the month or week you want the auto-buying to occur. START AND END DATE: Pick a start date and an end date if you want (optional). USE A LINKED BANK ACCOUNT: Toggle this on to set up auto-transfers of money from your external bank to Fidelity to fund these transactions. Do you automate investing?

Take control of your money by automating. Get 4 accounts in place: • Roth IRA for investing • High yield savings account for saving • Checking account #1 for fixed expenses • Checking account #2 for variable spending Then, automate your finances: • Direct deposit paycheck to checking #1 • Auto-transfer & auto-invest money in Roth IRA • Auto-transfer money into buckets in savings account • Auto-pay bills from checking #1 • Auto-transfer spending money to checking #2 Other details: • Swipe to spend from checking #2 only • Put debit card for checking #1 away • Put credit cards away

Want to invest, but don't know how? Look no further. Here's everything you need to open a Fidelity account, invest your first $10, and set up automatic investing so you can build wealth on auto-pilot. Let's get started! 🧵

Organize Your Finances: Master List Of Accounts Before you calculate net worth, make a cash flow plan or automate your money, it's important to know where everything is located. Make a master list of all your finances. Let's start with accounts. Step 1: Open a new spreadsheet. Use your own spreadsheet. Or use the template from my class (linked below). It's nothing special, but if you don't want to start from scratch, use the template. Save spreadsheet using a naming convention: [name of file] [version #] [date] Example: Master List of Finances v1 20240624 Step 2: Make a list of every account you own. Include every open account: • Saving accounts • Checking accounts • Brokerage accounts • Prepaid cards (reloadable) • Money apps (e.g. cash app) • HSAs (health savings accounts) • IRAs (Roth, traditional, SEP, self-directed) • 401Ks (401(k), 403(b), 457(b), rollover 401(k), Solo) • Crypto wallets • Etc Don't worry about cleaning up accounts you don't use yet. Focus on making a complete list now. Close accounts you don't need later. Step 3: Gather information for each account. Suggested info to include (make a column for each): • Account Nickname • Account Type • Account Owner(s) • Beneficiary • Financial Institution • Website URL We also include columns for username and a password hint (but you don't have to). When you're getting started, simpler is better so you don't quit. Note - You're not capturing *balances* at this point. The goal is to create a master list of your accounts. Here's an example: Step 4: Save. Save the spreadsheet, and you're done! We'll add lists for credit cards, bills, debt, and insurance to this spreadsheet in the coming days so remember where you saved it. Feel free to ask questions below or send me a DM. Let's get organized! Do you have a master list of accounts?

Compound interest is powerful, but it has 2 sides: • Earn it by investing and grow wealth. • Pay it by borrowing on credit cards and burn money. Make sure you're on the right side.

How do you decide whether you can afford a purchase/expense you didn't plan for? For example, your good friend is suddenly having a destination wedding next week. All in, it will cost $3,000 for you to attend. • How do you know whether you can afford it? • And how do you decide whether you go?

A couple weeks ago, my boys asked me to take them to Target. They wanted to use their own money to buy small plush Pokémon balls. After school one day, I finally took them. They ran over, excitedly grabbed the toys, and scanned them—$8 each. But instead of the excitement I expected, they both just stood there, looking at the Poké balls. After a few moments, my 10 year old put his back, saying he didn’t want it anymore. A couple minutes later, my 7 year old did the same. I even tried to convince them to get the toys. But they both refused. What?!? We left Target with nothing. In the car, my 10 year old apologized, "I'm sorry you took us all the way to Target for nothing. I really wanted it before we got here. Then I saw it, and I didn’t want it anymore. It’s $8, well, $8.80 with tax. It’s not worth it. I don’t know, I’m just over it. It’s weird because I actually wanted it really badly, but now I don’t." Without realizing it, my boys learned the value of their money. I consider that a win!

A Roth IRA is not an investment. It is an ACCOUNT that can hold investments but it can also hold cash. If your money is in: • SPAXX • VMFXX • 5 letters ending in "XX" That money is sitting in a cash or money market position and is not invested. You need to BUY investments with the money in your Roth IRA so it will grow. Otherwise your cash will just sit there, earning nothing (it may earn something now, but rates won't always be here). Same thing applies to your: • 401K • 403B • 457B • Brokerage account Make sure your money is working for you, invest it!

What are your 3 largest expenses? In my community, I tend to see: • Car • Rent • Food or debt (these battle for a top 3 position) Do you know yours?

I am a financial educator. But I started as a trader, banker, and math teacher. Here's a snippet of my story: Money was tight growing up. My mom was a single mom caring for two kids and her parents. I started working in 7th grade and worked through all of high school and most of college. As a young child, I saw how stressful it was not having a lot of money. I wanted to do whatever I could to make sure I would never have to worry about having enough. I went to UCLA and got my degree in mechanical engineering. After graduating college, I moved to New York and worked on Wall Street on a MBS trading desk. A couple years later, I took a job managing a $500+ million investment portfolio at a bank in San Diego. I was promoted to a senior executive role at the bank and worked closely with the CEO. Working as a Wall Street trader and a bank executive gave me experience and knowledge of finance at the highest level. But years of working long, stressful hours in finance helped me realize there was more to life than making a lot of money. Because of a long-held desire to teach and help others, I quit the bank in 2012 and began teaching math at an inner-city high school in downtown Los Angeles. Teaching students who lived in poverty was a life-changing experience. Even though it was the hardest job I’ve ever had, it felt good knowing all the long hours I worked was helping others achieve their goals. I taught math until my second son was born at the end of 2016. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of staying home and raising my three kids. I'm a teacher at heart and I love empowering others to do what they don't think is possible. Over the years, many of my friends have asked me for help with their money. It became clear I could have a positive impact by teaching the knowledge and skills I learned in finance. So, I started formally coaching people with their money at the beginning of 2022. Later that year, I also started voluntarily teaching a financial education class at a local nonprofit here in Pasadena. Teaching financial education has become my life's mission. Being financially literate is a must but unfortunately our education system does not equip people to know how to handle their money. I want to address this problem by empowering others to build wealth by mastering the fundamentals of personal finance.

Our last meal at Jack in the Box cost over $60 for our family of 5! It made me wonder what others spend on food. For those willing to share, how much does your household spend on food every month? Bonus points if you break down groceries vs eating out!

One way car dealerships get you to pay more. Lenders can decrease your monthly payment while also increasing the total amount you pay. How? By increasing the loan term. Base Scenario: 4 year loan • Loan amount: $30,000 • Loan term: 48 months • Interest rate: 8% • Monthly payment: $732 <--- • Total interest paid: $5,155 <--- • Total cost: $35,155 We'll use this as the base case. Dealerships use this scenario to anchor you higher when you tell them how much you can pay each month. It will be higher than the monthly amount you give them. Scenario: 5 year loan • Loan amount: $30,000 • Loan term: 60 months • Interest rate: 8% • Monthly payment: $608 <--- • Total interest paid: $6,498 <--- • Total cost: $36,498 Extending the loan by a year decreases the monthly payment by $124, but *increases* the interest you pay (and total cost) by $1,343. Scenario: 6 year loan • Loan amount: $30,000 • Loan term: 72 months • Interest rate: 8% • Monthly payment: $526 <--- • Total interest paid: $7,872 <--- • Total cost: $37,872 Extending the loan by 2 years decreases the monthly payment by $206, but *increases* the interest you pay (and total cost) by $2,717. Conclusion: Extending the term on a car loan decreases your monthly payment. But it increases the number of months you make that payment. So you pay more interest and increase the total cost.

Compound interest is powerful, but it has 2 sides: • Earn it by investing and grow wealth. • Pay it by borrowing on credit cards and burn money. Make sure you're on the right side.

Upgrade to a high yield savings account. You want to open a high yield savings account. But you've never heard of the banks offering them, so you don't trust them. Confirm a bank is FDIC insured (link below). Then finally open a high yield savings account. Here are three options:

Notice the small wins that fly under the rader: • Saving $10, even when money's tight • Investing $15, even when it feels small • Hiding credit cards to stop racking up debt And don't overlook: • Bringing a sandwich to work for lunch • Passing up Chipotle on your drive home • Pausing before buying those Nikes you spotted • Celebrating your birthday at home with your daughter Notice them. Celebrate them. String them together. Stack small wins, and build momentum. What are your money wins this week?

I teach personal finance to adults as part of a job training and reintegration program. Next week a new cohort starts. My goal for the class is every person will: • Get accounts in place. • Establish a savings habit. • Buy their first investment. • Make a plan to eliminate debt. • Create a cash flow plan (using income of $18 per hour). I want the class to learn the fundamentals of personal finance by taking action. Anyone else teach a personal finance class?

Automate paying bills Paying bills on time is an important habit. But juggling all the due dates and remembering to make payments on time can be stressful. Auto-pay lets you pay bills automatically every month. Here's two ways to set it up. Method 1: Setup auto-pay through billing company. • Gather checking account info. • Login to online account for the bill. • Navigate to "Billing" or "Payment Information." • Follow steps to setup auto-payments for your bill. • Use your checking account as the source of payment. Method 2: Setup auto-pay using Bill Pay feature in checking account. • Gather bill info. • Login to checking account. • Navigate to "Payments" or "Pay and Transfer." • Navigate to "Pay bills and send money" or "Bill Pay." • Follow instructions to add a new recipient or payee. • Follow steps to setup a recurring payment to recipient. TIPS FOR AUTO-PAYING BILLS Tip 1: Be mindful of dates. Keep in mind when: • Bills are due • You receive your paychecks • You schedule auto-payments to occur • You schedule auto-transfers for saving and investing The timing of your cash flow (when money comes in and goes out) is important. Make sure there's enough cash in your checking to cover the scheduled auto-payments. Especially when you first start automating your finances. You can also call and ask companies to change the due date of your bills. Some companies allow you to do this through your account online. Tip 2: Keep a buffer in your checking account. Keep a cash buffer in your checking account: • Pick a round, easy number to remember. • Treat the buffer as your new "zero" balance. • The balance shouldn't dip below this amount. • Use part of your Emergency Fund for buffer. The benefits of keeping a buffer: • Having a cushion provides peace of mind. • Indicates whether there's enough cash for the timing. • Prevents overdraft fees, especially when you first start. Tip 3: Auto-pay the minimum on credit cards to start. If you're hesitant to auto-pay your credit card in full, start by auto-paying the minimum amount due. Then manually pay the remaining balance. After you're comfortable with the process, then you can auto-pay the entire balance. If you're executing a plan to crush your debt, start by auto-paying the minimum amount due for every card. Then manually pay the extra amount each month. Most auto-payments send a notification of the payment amount before it's paid. So you can stop the payment if you need to (in case you don't have enough cash in your checking). Do you auto-pay all your bills?

People keep savings in different places: • Savings account • Envelope under mattress • High yield savings account • Money market in brokerage • Savings account with "buckets" • Multiple savings accounts (regular and/or HYSA) Where do you keep your savings? Do you separate your emergency fund from other savings goals?

Want to break free from money's control? Give it away. Being frugal can help build wealth. But guarding every penny can make you stingy, and leads to feeling like there's never enough. You can be frugal without being stingy. The antidote to stinginess is generosity. With just $10, you can help others by: • Giving to a nonprofit • Helping family or friends • Buying Girl Scout cookies • Buying a meal for someone • Tipping someone serving you • Contributing to your kid's school • Supporting a cause you believe in • Donating to a community organization • Buying supplies on a teacher's wish list • Offering a gift card to someone on the street Small acts of kindness weave generosity into your life. Practice generosity every day, and you'll be rich in the things that matter most. Most of all, money's grip won't feel as strong.

Credit card companies make money multiple ways: • Interest paid by cardholders • Other fees paid by cardholders • Transaction fees paid by retailers Even if you avoid paying interest and fees, they still earn money every time you swipe, which is why they can afford to offer rewards.

Relationships are the ultimate wealth: • They increase joy • They give a sense of purpose • They provide support and belonging • They can't be taken away from you Strong relationships are worth far more than anything money can buy.