Financial liberation for all became my life's mission. It still is.So, I have spent the last couple of weeks reflecting on what that means. Now, I am going to put myself on blast. I am an expert in this field. I have worked in the financial wellness and career development fields over the last 5+ years.

I come with so much wisdom from my ancestors. This month is Filipinx American History Month. It is no accident that this is the month I unraveled something entirely new about my ancestors, specifically my Lola Nanay (translated as grandmother).

I have been having quite a bit of complex conversations about making money, having money, not having money, and the economic systems we coexist in. I asked myself the following questions and I invite you to ask them to yourselves as well:

Are you afraid of not having money?

Or, are you really afraid of having money?

I had a lot on my mind this morning, mostly reflecting on the word “need” and what that means to people. To our culture. To society. To our world.

If I haven't mentioned this before, I am currently obtaining my facilitator license to officially be a trauma-informed financial educator. 🎉In our class this week, we discussed the many disparities QTBIPOC face when it comes to their financial wellbeing. From slavery to redlining, predatory loans, subprime mortgages, and sadly the list goes on…there is a lot of work to do.

I have to admit, I have not been moving into my days slowly as I usually do. This last week, my morning ritual has been neglected but I am receiving myself as I am and trying not to put any pressure on myself to be anywhere but here.

Has your employer ever prioritized your right to rest? I don't mean just offering PTO or saying that you should take a vacation. I mean, do they prioritize your right to rest every single day?

Since I quit my job at a start up, and start ups are NOTORIOUS for that work grind hustle let me tell you, I reexamined my relationship (or more so lack there of) to rest.

I have been thinking a lot about receiving. The pandemic has been a time where I had to learn to really receive. When the pandemic first hit, my partner was laid off from his job and I was asked to take a pretty substantial pay cut. I remember feeling so anxious about the unknown.

I want to share a conversation I had this week with a soul friend of mine, Gaby of Joy Pursuit. We have been friends since 2014 and since then, we've never experienced “small talk” between us. We dove deep since Day One. 

I promise, this is a money love letter. But before I dive in, I want to give a trigger warning as this love letter will talk about grief and death.

Full disclosure: I am in debt. I have been in/out of debt since my father unexpectedly passed in 2015. I got my first credit card when I was 18 and always managed to pay it off. The advice I received was from my Mom which was to “always pay a little bit more than the minimum.”

It's good to be back. Last Friday, I was feeling super overwhelmed and decided to take the day off to rest. Rest is such a beautiful thing that often times is taken for granted.

Science says money does buy happiness. #moneyoptimism

Thank you for being in community, with me, here in this loving newsletter.Today I meet you with uplifted spirits. It has been difficult to feel optimistic in a world like this.