5 things about me.

I am from originally from New England but I’ve traveled to over 40 countries, lived in Singapore for a year, and worked on cruise ships for 3 years after college (yes, it was wild…happy to share stories).
I can’t live without potatoes…chips, fries, mashed, I like it all.
I love the outdoors and on the weekends you’ll find me rock climbing and hiking.
Good Will Hunting is my favorite movie but it’s also a toss up between Top Gun (the new one is freaking amazing btw) and Nightmare Before Christmas.
I wasn’t always a successful investor and made a lot of mistakes in my early twenties. Mistakes that I can help you avoid, or at least rectify.

I’ve been investing in real estate, the stock market, and businesses for over 10 years. While I’m a successful investor now, I made a few big mistakes that cost me thousands and created a lot of shame in my life.

I am not shy about sharing my big investing mistakes, mainly because they are easily avoidable with a little bit of knowledge.

I don’t want anyone to go through what I went through.

I also want people to know that if you’re struggling to understand what you should be doing financially it’s perfectly reasonable. We never receive a proper education on this information and that’s something I want to change.

The short version of my story is that investing decisions made on my behalf by a certified financial planner (CFP) cost me at least $80,000 from unnecessary mutual fund and trading fees, and a bad financial product (an annuity) that was certainly not in my best interest. I found out later that this annuity was a better fit for someone in their 50’s and 60’s…hardly appropriate for someone in their 20’s who had plenty of time to prepare for retirement.

That money I lost doesn’t include what that $80,000 would’ve grown to over the next 30 years (I don’t even want to think about how much money I left on the table.)

The most frustrating part about the mistakes I made? They were completely avoidable with a basic financial education..

Most of the biggest investing mistakes I see 30 and 40 somethings make are easily avoidable with some knowledge. That said, not everyone has the same access to learn what they need to know and not everyone starts at the same place.

If you want to start learning and avoiding mistakes, check out my latest blog post to see the top 7 investing mistakes I see 30 and 40 somethings make.

One of the biggest misconceptions about investing is that it’s complicated and this belief prevented me from trying to learn how to invest for a long time.

These days, I barely check my investments and I use a very simple set it and forget it strategy.

Now that I have increased my net worth by $500,000 over the last 5 years using simple investment strategies that anyone can do, I know that it’s way easier than we all think.

Between the realization that women+ need better financial resources and my determination to make sure other folks don’t make the same mistakes I did, I realized that I have a moral obligation to help others build wealth the simple way.

The best investors I know aren’t the ones with fancy strategies.

They are people, just like you and me, that automate their investing.

You can build wealth through investing too.

Ready to take control of your finances? Don’t miss my next free beginner invest workshop happening right here.

While you might already know that on average, women earn just 82 cents per dollar earned by men (for black women this number drops to only 63 cents), you might not know that there is also a gender investing gap.

When women+ have lower salaries than men, and then invest less, our proportional net worth takes a massive hit.

Only 46% of millennial women (1980 to 1995) feel confident in their investing abilities
71% of women choose to keep their assets in cash compared to 60 percent of men.
61% of millennial women report that worry about money has caused them to be emotionally or mentally unwell

What frustrates me more than all of those statistics however, are articles targeted at women telling them if they saved more by spending less money on latte’s and makeup that they’d be wealthier. Let’s call this what it is….gaslighting and it’s not helping anyone. There’s a better way to wealth and I’m here to share it with you.

I often hear people say they are “bad at money” or “afraid of doing it wrong”. But personal finance and investing are just skills that can be learned…just like yoga, needlepoint, or riding a bike.

Thoughtful investing changed my life for the better. It has given me the confidence to know that I can retire comfortably (and early), the power to make decisions independently and the freedom to switch careers multiple times in my life.

I’m here to help to take control of your finances by teaching you the non-negotiable boxes you need to check before investing, keys to making money in the stock market, and exactly how to get started with an easy investment strategy so that you can take your power back and live the life of your dreams.

Happiness, Health, Wisdom, and Wealth,

Tess