Empowering First Gen Wealth Builders: Gigi’s Financial Roadmap to Success | Ep. 311
In this episode, Tiffany Grant sits down with the inspiring Giovanna “GiGi” Gonzalez, a first-generation wealth builder and the author of “Cultura and Cash.” Giovanna shares her personal journey of breaking free from the cycle of poverty and navigating the challenges of managing finances and cultural expectations.
From her experience as the daughter of Mexican immigrants to becoming a pro bono financial educator, Giovanna offers invaluable insights and practical tips for first-generation wealth builders.
Join us as we learn about the “First Gen Five” pillars of personal finance and how Giovanna's book is empowering individuals to take control of their financial future. Get ready to be informed and inspired by this enriching conversation.
About Our Guest
Giovanna “Gigi” Gonzalez is a TikTok influencer, financial educator, and author of Cultura and Cash. During The Great Resignation, she quit her 10-year corporate career to pursue her true passion: teaching financial literacy to young adults.
Gigi teaches personal finance and career navigation for First Gen at various organizations and on her TikTok account @thefirstgenmentor. She was named 40 under 40 by the Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement, “Latinx to Watch” by Hispanic Executive Magazine, and Top 25 Creator by Fast Company.
Connect with GiGi
Instagram: @gigithefirstgenmentor
Get the book: Cultura & Cash (Amazon)
Connect with Tiffany
Website: https://www.moneytalkwitht.com
Facebook: Money Talk With Tiff
Twitter: @moneytalkwitht
Instagram: @moneytalkwitht
LinkedIn: Tiffany Grant
YouTube: Money Talk With Tiff
Pinterest: @moneytalkwitht
TikTok: @moneytalkwitht
Timestamps
[00:00] Chose economics for employability; enjoyed math. Joined insurance company.
[05:18] Seeking and sharing financial knowledge through volunteering.
[07:27] Entering adult world with financial challenges and responsibilities.
[11:49] Identifying pillars for first generation wealth builders.
Key Takeaways
- First Generation Wealth Building – Breaking the cycle of poverty
- Financial Literacy – Learning as you go
- Immigrant Experience – Pressure to succeed
- Family Financial Obligations – Balancing giving and personal goals
- Book Release – “Cultura and Cash” provides financial guidance
- First Gen Five – Focus on emergency fund, budgeting, debt payoff, credit, and investing
- Resources – Access book and connect with Giovanna Gonzalez
Copyright 2024 Tiffany Grant
Transcript
You know what it is. That's right. It's time to talk money with your
Speaker:money nerd and financial coach. Now, tighten those purse
Speaker:strings and open those ears. It's the money talk with Tiff
Speaker:podcast. Hey, everyone. I
Speaker:am so excited because I have Gigi here on the line. So
Speaker:Gigi is known as the first gen mentor, and she's here
Speaker:to talk to us about what it looks like as a first generation wealth builder.
Speaker:So, hey, Gigi, how are you? Hey, Tiffany. Thanks for having me on the
Speaker:podcast. Hi, everybody. Yes. I'm so honored to
Speaker:have you. So let's just hop right in. First of all, what is
Speaker:a first generation wealth builder if people are listening and have no idea what we're
Speaker:talking about? Yeah. For anybody who's not familiar with the term,
Speaker:it would be the first person in their family
Speaker:to escape the cycle of poverty. So instead of
Speaker:just living paycheck to paycheck, they actually have the financial means
Speaker:to build wealth. So that's wealth
Speaker:that they can pass on to others, to future generations, and to
Speaker:make their lives easier. From my
Speaker:background, coming from immigrant roots, my parents
Speaker:and my grandparents and great grandparents before
Speaker:that, they lived paycheck to paycheck cycle. So, really,
Speaker:I was the first that got the privilege to go to college
Speaker:and be able to earn a higher salary. But since I never learned
Speaker:how to manage money or build wealth, because, again, my family was
Speaker:never fortunate enough to have the privilege to have it,
Speaker:it's something that I've had to learn, and I'm sharing this knowledge with
Speaker:others. Got you. So you've pretty much, like, learn as you
Speaker:go, and I'm a share as I learn. Yeah, totally. Oh, yeah. I'm
Speaker:like, I'm learning, and let's bring others with me. Got you. So let's
Speaker:dive a little bit deeper into your story. So, what did that journey look
Speaker:like for you? How did you decide? Okay, I want to go to college. This
Speaker:is the life I want. This is what I choose to do. Take
Speaker:me through that. Yeah. So, as a daughter of mexican
Speaker:immigrants, my whole childhood, I always heard,
Speaker:you have to go to college. You have to go to college to have a
Speaker:better life than we did. Because both my parents work low paying
Speaker:jobs, so my mom has worked in retail her whole
Speaker:life. My dad, he does own a small business, but it's like
Speaker:one person show. He rents party rentals and
Speaker:supplies. So it's a small business
Speaker:owner. And, yeah, I took that to heart
Speaker:because that's what I heard growing up to get good grades and go to college
Speaker:didn't really have much direction beyond that from my parents because they
Speaker:had never navigated academia or anything like that. So
Speaker:I had heard you should get a major in a major that
Speaker:sets employable what they call it, I
Speaker:say, because, again, as a daughter of immigrants, I didn't have a
Speaker:safety net, so I really had to pick a major that made sense and
Speaker:I'd be able to get a job right away. So I decided on economics,
Speaker:which I enjoyed. I enjoyed learning econ, and I was good at
Speaker:math, so that came naturally to me. So I went to school at UC Santa
Speaker:Barbara. I was a transfer student. So after two years, I community college, then I
Speaker:transferred to UC Santa Barbara, major in economics, and then
Speaker:I got my first big girl job working at an insurance
Speaker:company doing auto claims. So totally not using my econ
Speaker:degree at all. But it was a fun job, and I met a lot of
Speaker:cool people, and actually, some of my best friends are still from that
Speaker:job. So that was a purpose for sure of me working that
Speaker:role. And then after about three and a half
Speaker:years, I didn't feel professionally fulfilled
Speaker:from my insurance job. I didn't feel that I was see my econ degree. So
Speaker:I pivoted. I pivoted to investment consulting
Speaker:and then investment management towards the end of my corporate
Speaker:career. Throughout my tenure,
Speaker:corporate career, I struggled with money, which I was very
Speaker:confused by because I felt that I had done what I was told to do,
Speaker:and that was to go to college and get an office job. And I had
Speaker:that. I had checked those boxes, but I still found myself struggling
Speaker:with money, and I didn't realize why. So it wasn't
Speaker:after several financial hardships that it hit me. It's
Speaker:like, oh, it's because I'm not managing the money that I am earning
Speaker:well because I was never taught this at school or by my
Speaker:immigrant parents. That is so real. I always tell
Speaker:people, you cannot out earn poor
Speaker:spending habits. And it sounds like you learned that firsthand for
Speaker:sure. Now, getting into that, when did you
Speaker:decide? Okay, Gigi, you kind of have this down pack. Let's
Speaker:start teaching people about this. What was the thought process behind
Speaker:that? Yeah. So first it looked like, okay,
Speaker:I cannot keep going through financial emergencies. I had a lot
Speaker:of bad boyfriends that I was stuck living with
Speaker:or toxic bosses, these crazy
Speaker:Craigslist roommates that I could not escape from. Just a lot of
Speaker:situations that I felt trapped in because of lack of money. So
Speaker:I said, this has to end. This has to end, and I'm going to teach
Speaker:myself how money works. So I read
Speaker:over 50 personal finance books. Once I started, I just couldn't
Speaker:stop. And once I felt that I had mastered the knowledge, I'm like,
Speaker:okay, cool. Now I have a plan for myself of what steps I'm going to
Speaker:take to get myself into a better financial position.
Speaker:But I also felt a bit angry that I
Speaker:didn't have this knowledge, knowing that some other people did have the privilege of
Speaker:getting some basics taught by their parents. So I said, how can I
Speaker:share this new knowledge with other women, specifically women of
Speaker:color? So I literally googled how to teach
Speaker:financial literacy to others, and I came across a nonprofit called the
Speaker:YWCA. I was living in Phoenix at the time,
Speaker:and they were accepting applications for volunteer financial
Speaker:educators. All that they asked were that you worked in
Speaker:the financial sector, which. So that's how I did that
Speaker:for almost two years. That was my life very much working my nine to five
Speaker:job and then on the side volunteering in my community as
Speaker:a pro bono financial educator. That's awesome. That's awesome.
Speaker:And I'm learning so much about you as well as the audience,
Speaker:so it's good to hear your story. Now, let's dive a little
Speaker:deeper into the first generation wealth builders thing. Do you find
Speaker:that there's quite a bit of people going through this, and if so,
Speaker:if someone's listening, that's like, this sounds like me.
Speaker:What are some things you would tell them? Let's say one
Speaker:thing, because it seems like it would be a
Speaker:lot of pressure. Yeah, it's definitely a lot of pressure, because,
Speaker:again, some people say
Speaker:that we start at zero. I would argue that we start in the negative,
Speaker:because a lot of us do have to take out student
Speaker:debt to be able to even be able to go up
Speaker:the economic ladder. Right. And to gain economic
Speaker:prosperity. When I graduated from college, I
Speaker:graduated. How long ago is this? 20, 11,
Speaker:13 years ago. So I graduated with
Speaker:$50,000 in debt. About 35 of that was
Speaker:my student loans, and then the rest was credit card
Speaker:debt as well as my car notes.
Speaker:So I entered adult world
Speaker:with no money skills, this new salary, and a ton of
Speaker:debt, and no plan on how to pay it off. So I think it's a
Speaker:very common experience for a lot of
Speaker:firsts. So whether you're the first in your family to go to college, the first
Speaker:in your family to be in corporate spaces, the first to
Speaker:be the first generation wealth builder and have that ability
Speaker:to build wealth and get out of the paycheck to paycheck cycle, it's
Speaker:a lot. It's a lot to learn, because financial literacy
Speaker:can seem like a foreign topic to many. There's a lot of
Speaker:jargon that somebody has to learn to really feel
Speaker:comfortable with the language of money. And on top
Speaker:of that, a lot of first generation wealth builders like myself, we have
Speaker:financial obligations to our extended family.
Speaker:So, for example, my family very much views me as the
Speaker:one who has, quote unquote, made it, because I went to
Speaker:college and I got a degree, and they never got that privilege. So
Speaker:that comes with the expectation that if they ever need money, I'm
Speaker:the one that gets tapped on the shoulder. So whether they need money for a
Speaker:medical expense or the roof caved in or whatever the emergency
Speaker:is, I'm the one that's looked to. And
Speaker:at first, when I was younger, it was an honor. I'm like, yeah, this is
Speaker:why I went to college, to be able to help my family. But I quickly
Speaker:learned that just giving and giving and giving without any
Speaker:sort of boundaries or any goals for myself was just
Speaker:digging me in a hole. And I started resenting my family, to be
Speaker:honest. So I learned that I had to learn how to
Speaker:balance wanting to give back, but also taking care of my finances
Speaker:first. As you were talking, I was thinking about asking
Speaker:you, have you ever been in a situation where your family needed or
Speaker:wanted money from you, but you didn't have it to give? So how would those
Speaker:situations play out previously? Oh,
Speaker:absolutely. And this has been more than once. It's
Speaker:funny because I found in my work very much this is divided in half.
Speaker:I'm a TikToker, so half of my followers are like, oh, my parents or family
Speaker:never asked me for a dime, so if they ever need anything, I'd give them
Speaker:the shirt off my back. And the other half, which is the half that I
Speaker:can relate to, is like, oh, yeah, my parents, I'm the first person they hit
Speaker:up, because, again, I'm the one that's viewed as the one who made it. So,
Speaker:yeah, I definitely have been put in that situation where I've been asked
Speaker:for, I think it was $7,000 for a surgery
Speaker:bill that I did not have. I did not have. And they're like,
Speaker:well, you have a credit card. Your credit card has a $10,000
Speaker:line. You can charge it there. And that was a whole
Speaker:issue because they thought, well, okay, you
Speaker:don't have cash, but you have a credit line. We don't have a credit line.
Speaker:We're family. You should let us use that credit line. So, yeah,
Speaker:it's been hard. That's just one of many. Yes, I can
Speaker:imagine. And I have friends that are from Africa and
Speaker:places in the Caribbean and things like, you know,
Speaker:it's because you're in know, they feel like you
Speaker:just have it made, when in reality, most of us
Speaker:are just broke. Most of us don't really have the money.
Speaker:We have credit and we have debt, but as far
Speaker:as just cash laying around, it's usually not
Speaker:a thing. But that's just the facade that
Speaker:Americans have. But with that being said, you do
Speaker:have a book that recently came out. Can you tell us
Speaker:more about that and how this relates to your story? Yeah, of course.
Speaker:Thank you. The book is called Kultura and Cash, which means
Speaker:culture and cash. Lessons from the first gen
Speaker:mentor for managing finances and cultural expectations.
Speaker:And it's the book that I wish I would have had as a young
Speaker:adult, navigating money for the first time. I
Speaker:speak in jargon free terms because I know that's a big barrier
Speaker:to people learning financial literacy. And I also provide
Speaker:actual money tips. And my framework, called the first gen
Speaker:five, to have people have a roadmap to follow
Speaker:to really get into solid financial footing. Yes. So, first
Speaker:gen five, if you could just give us a brief
Speaker:overview of what that looks like or what the different
Speaker:steps or tips are. Sure. Of course. So I
Speaker:wanted to identify what pillars of the
Speaker:personal finance world would make the most sense
Speaker:for a first generation wealth builder. And the reason I wanted to do this is
Speaker:because I know, as somebody who was first learning about money, it
Speaker:can be very overwhelming. There's so much to learn at first, right,
Speaker:about real estate. And should I do crypto and should
Speaker:I try index funds? There's so many things going on.
Speaker:So I said, okay, let me package it into, like, a starter pack. Like,
Speaker:focus on these five things, and then you will get yourself into a
Speaker:solid foundation. So the five things are focus
Speaker:on building an emergency fund, learn how to budget, create
Speaker:a debt payoff strategy, learn how to build your
Speaker:credit, and start investing. And then I
Speaker:say, if you do those five things at the same time, you'll
Speaker:be taking care of past you, current you, and future
Speaker:you. So it's like a holistic approach to money. Oh, I
Speaker:love that, Gigi. I cannot wait to dive into this
Speaker:book. For sure. Now, if people were listening, they're like,
Speaker:oh, this really resonates with me. I know I have some listeners
Speaker:that are first gen wealth builders and even mexican.
Speaker:And so if they're like, this sounds like me, how could they
Speaker:get more information from you, whether that's social media or how can they
Speaker:even get the book. Yeah. So if you visit
Speaker:gulturaandcash.com, you will see the
Speaker:links to buy the book at all the online retailers like
Speaker:Amazon, bookshop.org, Barnes Noble, all that good stuff.
Speaker:And if you go to that same website, gurdurancash.com,
Speaker:you will also find the links to my socials. I'm active on
Speaker:TikTok, Instagram and awesome, awesome. And I'll make sure
Speaker:I have all of that information in the show notes for you all. And thank
Speaker:you so much, Gigi, for coming on the show today and sharing your story
Speaker:and learning more about you and your book. Thank you so
Speaker:much, Tiffany. I had a great time. Bye bye.
Speaker:Thank you for listening, joining and being a part of the Money Talk with TIFF
Speaker:podcast this week. You can check TIff out every Thursday for a new
Speaker:Money talk podcast. But if you just can't wait until next week, you
Speaker:can listen to previous podcast episodes at Money Talk
Speaker:with t.com or follow TIFF on all social
Speaker:media platforms at moneytalkwitht. Until next
Speaker:time, spend wise by spending less than you make a word
Speaker:to the moneywise is always sufficient.