On this episode of Financially Naked: Stories from The Financial Gym, two of our Certified Financial Trainers, Victoria and Yenny discuss familial expectations around financial support and how to plan for it in your budget! Depending on your family dynamic, this may apply to you in different ways. We love our families and want to help them as much as we can, which is why it is important to fold it into the budget to ensure our own finances are taken care of. Yenny takes us through her personal experience supporting her family financially and how that has evolved over time.
Podcast Notes
- In the 1980s, Yenny’s parents immigrated from El Salvador and she is deeply passionate about helping other first-generation Americans starting out on their personal finance journeys. She aims to help her community build knowledge and wealth. Because she has first-hand experience growing up in an immigrant family, this work is personal for her.
- Yenny’s parents' main focus was the day-to-day, so they didn’t have much experience planning for retirement. It’s hard to plan for the future when you’re in a cycle of making ends meet. She has heard similar stories from her clients.
- She wanted to learn everything she could and get a bigger picture. She started researching and reading blogs and loved seeing all the different personal finance perspectives.
- She reflected on her own situation and got clear on the financial goals she wanted to achieve. She wanted to ensure she was carving her own path.
- In 2015, Yenny purchased a home, which was one of her goals. She shared that experience with her family, and other members purchased their own homes within the next couple of years. Sometimes seeing someone close to you accomplish a goal shows you it’s more attainable than you may have thought.
- Victoria asks Yenny to share more about the expectations there were in regards to supporting her family financially when she was growing up.
- There are a lot of feelings that come with supporting your family. They have sacrificed so much, there’s a sense of obligation to pay it back to them, even though you truly never can. There’s also an excitement in being able to share wealth and knowledge with them. When she was in college, she would try to do small things for her parents. As she made more money, the expectation became greater.
- There was a point in time when Yenny was living paycheck to paycheck even though she was making more money than ever before. It made her pause and reflect on what she was spending and how much financial support she was providing to her parents.
- She had to sit down and do the math before it really clicked for her. She’d been giving without a budget, and a lot of their bills had become intertwined; like the insurance and cell phone plan. She had to reframe these expenses in her mind and remember this was part of the overall contribution.
- She also helps them find support and discounts in other ways that are available to them now that they are retired and on a fixed income. She is transparent with her family about her goals, and they are very understanding.
- Her family has a sense of collaboration, like a shared Costo card and strategic bulk buying. It is lovely to see everyone take care of each other and grow financially.
- If you want a Certified Financial Trainer to help plan a budget so you can support your family financially, schedule a free warm-up call today!
Meet The Trainers
Meet Victoria Sechrist, Level 2 Certified Financial Trainer
Meet Yenny Urquilla, Level 2 Certified Financial Trainer
