My parents used to joke that my inheritance was what was in the change compartment in the car. Even though I wasn’t born with a silver spoon I do owe a lot of my success to them. My father has been self-employed my entire life. I joke that Bruce Springsteen was the only “boss” he ever listened to. There didn’t need to be a perfect job opportunity or important connections to be able to go out and make money. I’ve seen him transform his business several times to meet the needs that were out there. This helped me realize that my brain and time were more important assets than money or real estate.

My mother kept us going. During all those times that my Dad’s business was going through a rough patch or transformation she would be the one grinding. Even though she worked in minimum wage jobs her paycheck kept us safe and fed. She also is a great negotiator. When we struggled to pay the bills, she would be the one calling utility companies to keep the lights on or get what we needed. No matter how stressed out she was she never showed it and was always friendly. I don’t know anyone that doesn’t like her. Those skills are not taught in school.

What my parents never did was invest for the future. This has led to decades of financial stress. I want more people to understand you don’t have to be rich or an “expert” to invest. My favorite story outside of my own family is about Ronald Read who was a janitor that built an 8-million-dollar portfolio by buying and holding stocks on a modest income. There are plenty of very average people who have built wealth over time. We don't hear about it very often but these stories can inspire people to take action instead of waiting for a lottery or inheritance that may never materialize.

Money always fascinated me growing up. My father's business was successful in the 1980's but things took a turn in the 90's and never recovered. I started working when I was about 14 and wanted to figure out how to do more with it than just work and pay bills. I think I read every single book that had “rich” in the title that I could get my hands on. I didn’t know anyone personally that invested or felt good about money. During college I waited tables and bartended at a country club over the summers. A few of the women that would golf on Wednesday nights were successful businesswomen. One was an Insurance Agent and she worked her way up from the mailroom to one of the top sales agents at the company. I got a lot of free advice in that job. I studied Political Science at UConn but decided not to go to law school. I began working in Insurance and Financial Services soon after I graduated in 2002 and never looked back.