15| What's Your Money Story? | Monica Rivera

 Connect with the Investor Mama Tribe Looking for ways to boost your income? Check out these resources to help you with your money journey. Monica’s Bio Monica Rivera, is a first-generation Latina from NYC who is a marketing professional by day and podcaster by passion. After 15 years in Corporate America, she was feeling stuck. She devoured self-help books and watched dozens of TED Talks looking for an answer, but every time an expert encouraged her to “follow her passion,” she felt worse. A self-proclaimed multi-potentialiate (just a fancy word for someone who has many interests), She used to think something must be wrong with her because she couldn’t settle on ONE thing. She created and launched the weekly podcast, YOU WANNA DO WHAT?! in 2017 after deciding that NO ONE is just one thing. We are layered and complex and fickle and creative. We are full of dreams, ideas, and goals. For years she had lost sight of mine, but now she wants to help others reconnect to the life they want.   Monica’s Questions to Help You Uncover Your Money Story * What’s your first memory of money? * Did your family talk openly about money? * Was it looked down upon to bring up the topic at all? * What lessons can you remember learning from your parents or the people who raised you about money? * What language did they use? * What did the energy feel like whenever money was addressed? * Did it feel casual and lighthearted or did the energy shift and feel tense? * What do you believe about earning money? * Do you earn money to pay bills? * Do you believe there is a ceiling on how much money you can make? * What do you believe about earning money? * What dollar amount makes you think, Woah, that’s a lot of money? * What do you believe about rich people? * Are you one yourself? * Do you admire someone who’s wealthy? * Are you resentful or skeptical?   Lightning Round 1. What is one fun fact about you that not that many people know? I visited 48 of the 50 States all by car. I’m only missing Hawai and Alaska.   2. Who inspires you the most and why? Oprah inspires me the most. When I was a teenager, I lost my parents and I’m also an only child. Growing up, especially at that age, being a teenager where it’s really tender and you’re sort of looking for any guidance. At four o’clock on ABC Oprah was there five days a week and I really needed that consistency in my life. At the time, she was someone who was older, wiser and was a person of color. She was a really important grounding person for me that was providing lessons and life stories at a time when I didn’t have anyone else to do that.   3. What books are you reading now or have read and loved that you’d recommend? Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forlio The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin   4. What is one actionable tip or piece of advice that you can tell our moms out there to help them on their financial independence journey? Don’t hide away from the truth. The truth can be scary and it can feel like crap to confront it. But I say this pretty much about everything don’t go around the problem, go through the problem.