I woke up this morning at 4:30 just excited because I finally have had all the pieces click together to get to this moment. I lay awake thinking of clever, creative ways to announce my new focus and career path. I finally just got out of bed and decided to write. But when I got to my computer and wrote it all down it wasn't as funny or clever. It was just like a testimony, essentially. I wrote a second version and it was pretty much the same. So if you are reading this blog post it is probably because you like to read or you just like me. I have an idea for how to write the clever one, though, so if you are looking for more lighthearted, then check that one out. Either way, I hope that you are excited for me as I take on a new world.
Blog post #1
Ever since the housing market crash of 2008 - which we fully participated in by owning 3 fancy houses that we lost - I have tried to become more educated on finances. Prior to that time we were chasing easy money and wanted to be wealthy like our friends who seemed to be making plenty to spare. As always, our timing was wrong and we only ended up with debt that was like, I don't know, 20 times the amount of our annual income. If you aren't a numbers person, just know that this is bad. Very very bad. I'm still grateful we didn't end up in prison. In fact, we belonged in debtor's prison, however England ended that in 1869. But "debtor's prison" is a real place for many people.
Anyway, this hard-knocks education really turned me around into wanting to learn more about finances. I wanted to help people not be us - dumb and totally broke - maybe even less than broke.
Since that time, I have gotten my Bachelor's degree in Consumer and Family Finance, I have facilitated 6 or 7 Personal Finance Self Reliance courses (and 2 How to Start a Business courses) through our church and have gone into homes to try to help people set up a budget and become financially stable. In the meantime I have worked at random jobs - substitute teaching, admin work, accounting stuff, etc. but they are always temporary and not really fulfilling. Since we move so often it has been hard to find something that would fit my talents and let me relocate regularly. I have prayed for the last 3 years to find a career and not just a job.
I've asked God to just tell me what He wants me to do and I would do it. He doesn't do that apparently. He said something about it being my choice. Ugh! So I have searched and pondered and tried to figure out what my talents are - I like neatly organized spreadsheets, talking to people, and reading, - you know - really boring stuff to most people.
So now we have arrived in Texas. We move here during Covid, we have only made a few friends, my grandfather passes away, and my husband gets a last minute deployment assignment. The Lord and I have had some interesting conversations as of late. And I am still trying to find my place in the world. So I start networking, playing on LinkedIn, having zoom meetings with people I don't know, telling my kids not to bother me most of the day - My kids are thinking, "I don't think my mom works but she is on meetings as much as my dad, so I don't know..."
Anyway, after chasing one thing after another, I get connected with a financial advisor. I have a great meeting with him. Then someone tells me to connect with another financial advisor. And another. And soon I have met with a bunch of financial advisors and I come to realize that everything they are saying is what I want. I have spent the last 3 years educating people on finances, asking personal questions and trying to help them know what to do. This all borders on just being nosy because I have no official credentials and I usually say, "I'm a finance person" because I don't know how to describe my randomness of abilities.
So fast forward a bit. I have been flirting with 3 different companies. I have listened to their spiel, talked about it, thought about it, and prayed - of course. But today, after weeks and months and years of trying to find the "right" thing for me, I have finally found a home. I am going to be a financial advisor with New York Life! I know, I know, that is the most boring announcement that I could have made but I am actually so excited. I have a talent for talking to people, making them feel valued, understanding their needs and desires - financially, and honestly money doesn't motivate me so I just want to help people to not be us back in '08. I want to help people make better decisions, know what the plan is if someone passes away, and have someone to call when that kind of craziness happens, or if you have tax questions, or investment questions, etc. I want to be that person who you can go to for those things. I am smart. I am good at it. And my integrity is everything to me. I would never want to take advantage or put my friends into a situation that benefits me more than them.
I've asked Heavenly Father to help me with this. I hope that He will lead people to me who want or need my help. It sounds like because of Covid, this job is now something I can do because no one is meeting face to face so the industry has come to accept that tele-meetings are acceptable. This means that I can help anyone, anywhere. If I move, it won't matter because my people are still accessible via the internet. I really couldn't be more excited. I believe that God will lead people to me and that we will all benefit from this.
So I haven't even been hired by New York Life yet but I feel a great peace and excitement when I think about the knowledge I will learn and the people I will get to help. I don't want to be someone who nags my friends all the time so I hope that after I get the word out there, I might have people who know and trust me bring those who are seeking help my way. Obviously we have the military as our main job so this is just something I want to do. I want to help people and I want to use the same wisdom and guidance that I have been taught through my college classes, the church's curriculum on finances, and from my own experiences - which have been many.
So this isn't my typical post. It is more like a journal entry, but I am happy and finally feel like I might have this hobby of mine move into a career. So if you have read this not-very-funny blog post to this point, I hope that you will send people my way who want to have a good conversation, become educated on their own finances, and get to visit with a really fun person!
Blog post #2
So I found my life's purpose this week!
You weren't expecting that, were you?
I call myself a finance person but I haven't had official training in that capacity. So basically, I am just a nosy do-gooder who wants to help people in the financial arena. I do taxes for people, I create budget and teach classes, and will gladly engage in a conversation about all the dumb things we have done to not be wealthy. I have spent a lot of time trying to find the right fit for this obsession and interest but it has always seemed to elude me as we move so often and have to start over every other year or so.
Now that we have come to Texas and the world is upside down and Jeremy left on a deployment I have really struggled to figure out a purpose for myself and something that I can do with these strange talents I have. I have prayed and fasted and pondered and discussed and kept coming back to one thing. I am a finance person and I love serving others. I guess that's 2 things. But what can I do with that?
Back when I was facilitating some personal finance classes there came a point in the lessons where I was supposed to invite a financial advisor to come and be a guest speaker. Almost all of my classes would sit and brainstorm to see if we knew anyone who could come and speak. Only once did we get someone and he didn't even practice being an advisor anymore. This has stuck with me because I
know the value of having a financial advisor.
...I'm sure you can see where this is leading....
I've had a few life experiences that have led me into the finance industry.
So you've probably heard me talk about my sister. She died in a plane crash in 2009. This was a rough time, to say the least. She was totally broke, eating ramen noodles to live off of, and just struggling to survive, however, she had a life insurance policy that cost her less than $5 a month that she hadn't cancelled. When she died, our family had a little $25,000 policy that enabled us to take care of all the craziness and logistics of a funeral and all that comes with this kind of sudden death. If you knew the peace and assurance that came from having that money... oh my goodness.
Before we joined the military, we sat down with a financial advisor and talked about all things finances. We could hardly afford anything but we were able to make a plan and we knew what our long term goals were. Having a financial advisor enabled us to think and talk about things that you don't normally bring up while watching your favorite Netflix shows - "Honey, what is our plan if you don't make it back from the grocery store?" or "What can we do to make sure our kids can afford college?" These are all things you can openly discuss. It's like getting a check up from the doctor. If I was a health professional, I would probably try to diagnose all your ailments too. I just love to help people. I love to teach. I seek wisdom and learning all the time.
So I'm sure you have figured it out. I have decided to become a financial advisor. (I know you were hoping for something more exciting - we got Seaworld passes - Yay! Does that help?)
The funny thing is, I have not actually been hired on yet as I am being really picky about where I throw my hat in. If I am going to ask my friends if I can help them, then I want to stay with a good company that won't get bought out and I don't want to be forced to sell things my people don't need or want. In the end, I have chosen New York Life as the company I want to work for. They are the number one in life insurance in the industry. They are totally stable. I don't charge people to sit and talk to them. I get all the training I could possibly want. I have access to lawyers, accountants, and investment officers and can fully service anyone who God directs my way. I think that has been what has stuck with me as I have finally come to this conclusion - Heavenly Father has almost forced me this direction. There are easy jobs that I should have gotten by now - even temporary ones - but it's like those offers have been blocked by some spiritual phone filter. I think that He is trying to make this path clear because there are people He needs me to help.
I am actually really excited about this - which is surprising because it is kind of a marketing/sales job. But I believe that Heavenly Father has people who need what I can offer. I don't care about the money and I won't push things on people. My integrity matters more to me than almost anything and I feel like I am a good and honorable person. So I am hoping my friends and family will feel the same way. I will be able to offer anything financially - if you need help writing a budget, if you need to know if your spouse gets your pension when you die, if you want to invest but aren't sure how, if you want to talk about life insurance or kids college funds, I want to be your person. I am really excited about this although this might be my most boring blog post. But I hope that my friends and family will see me as a resource and will give me a shout when they are ready to have these conversations.
Please email, call write, text - even if I wasn't going to do this professionally, you could contact me and I would help - but now I will have knowledge! Knowledge! I'm so excited!
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