My Relationship with Money

Hi. I'm nervous. Really? Yes, girl. You are? It's okay. Don't be nervous. I don't want you to feel like you broke. No. I'm not going to say those things. Don't worry. I want to know about your relationship with money. But don't be nervous. Oh, boy. We're talking money. It's me, Julie. No, I'm Julie. Wait. No, I'm Julie. I'm Julie, too. So, which one's going to be Julie today? I guess I'll be Julissa today. And you can be Investing Latina. Yes. Hi. The madrina of finances. Is that correct? I see. Yes. I love it. Or also known as the J-Lo of investing. Yes. I mean, she's got many names. Yeah. I really do. So, I'm like, wait. Should I let you keep Julie since you got so many names? Isn't that the most Dominican thing ever, to have all these different names? Absolutely. Right? Of course. Shout out to all our Dominicans. Yay, yay, yay. And the ones that are investing, right? Yes. I am really nervous, you guys. Talking about money, I don't know. My hands get clammy. I start feeling like I'm, it's really warm. I'm hyperventilating. So, I really have been looking forward to sitting down with this extraordinary woman. Yes, she is Latina. She is Investing Latina. And she about to get me and my money right. I certainly didn't grow up talking about money. I guess generational was, oh, no, no, no, no. We don't answer that call. So, that was kind of like my relationship with money in a sense. Yeah. Just feeling as if when you have it, you have to hang on to it. And that's really the relationship. You can't be just spending. Right. Can you tell me what was the first memory that you have about money? Was it your first paycheck? Was it someone gave you a gift that you remember? What was your first memory with money? Okay. So, my first memory with money I would say was about 12 years old. I worked with my dad. He owned two ice cream trucks in New York. And that was my very first job ever. And he would pay us in cash. So, me and my brothers, we would fight because we would rotate days. I want to say it was like 40 bucks a day, which, you know, at that age. Yeah, that's a lot of money. A lot of money. Yes. So, that was my first relationship with money. And I remember always saying to my brother, like, the running joke was that he was Tacaño. So, he wouldn't spend the money. He wouldn't spend the money. But you would. So, Tacaño in Dominican slang means, like, he was, like, tight with his money. So, he had a box. Exactly. Cheap. Or frugal, if we want to say, since we're talking finances today. My brother would keep a box under his bed with all the money that he would make. Me, on the other hand, I'm rich. I'm making $40 a day. I just remember wanting to spend it on anything and everything. And to this day, when I have cash, it's the first thing that flies out of my purse. I might as well just be Oprah. Like, you get a dollar. You get a dollar. You know, that's what it is. And then another thing, when I don't have cash and I use my card, because I don't see the money being spent. How much you're spending, yeah. Oh, girl. We overspend. Absolutely. When you have cash, you are able to kind of see as it windows down, the money is gone. But when we're using our cards, it's like, wait, we got to check. How much is left again? Or the card declines. So, it's really... Not the decline. I know. Like, shh. Don't say it so loud, right? Right. That's why it's so important to build this sort of financial foundation. And the reason I asked about your first money memory is because it stays with us for a very long time. And so, just the fact that you were kind of competing with your brother for this job and to have this money. And when you did have it, you would spend it right away. It really does actually play a role in how we manage money. You want to always be improving that relationship. You want to be open about it. You want to understand that money flows. It's going to come in. It's going to go out, too. But it's going to come in. So, it's not something that we have to be afraid of. And that happens a lot in our community. I remember growing up, my mom would be like, save, save, save. Yeah, we taught you about money, especially being Latina. And I don't want to stereotype by any means. But I feel as if it's a real topic, especially within Latin families. Because essentially, if you are the quote-unquote breadwinner, there comes this unspoken obligation that you have to take care of everybody in your family. And this is no shade to my parents, because obviously I love them. And they are at an age where I feel so thankful that I can go and take care of them when we go out. When I go and visit them in DR, I mean, I don't even think my dad brings a wallet, to be honest. He's like, oh, you got this. He's like, not only do you got this, but you got U.S. dollars. You know what I mean? Flip that into pesos, I'm definitely looking like. Yeah, you're balling. Yeah, I'm balling. And that's definitely what it looks like when we go back home to our countries. It's this sense of we should be giving. We should be throwing money away in that way for people that may feel like they need it. But what's really important for us to first have a handle on is do we have control of it? And I know you asked, like, when I started investing. I started investing de chepa. That's like a word that us Dominicans use. That's like, luckily, when I was 19 years old. Wow. I just fell into it because I took on a job that offered a retirement plan. And I didn't know about that. And guess what? When I mentioned it to my family, they were like, oh, don't do that. That's a waste of money. Wow. And luckily, I know. Because they probably thought, pero tu estas tan joven, you're so young. What are you talking about retirement for? I mean, at 19? There's this thing in our community that there is a distrust with the financial systems. So they're like, don't put your money into those things. It's better that you save it. Ponlo abajo del cochón. You know, save it, save it, save it. And then buy a house. I have a brother that doesn't even have a bank account. Really? Yeah. And you'd be surprised, you know, so many people aqui mismo in America are unbanked. And it's a big issue for us because a lot of us in our community have our own business. You know, we do our own thing. We run cash businesses. Like, my dad was a bodeguero. So it was a cash business. And imagine what that's like trying to manage all of that, right? Why it's so important to me in the work that I do with Investing Latina is to empower people and let them know there are options. Even if you don't have citizenship here, you can still have your bank account. You know, you can still have your information protected. It's just a matter of doing the research and finding the right corporations, the right products that you can use to really make it happen. I just want to kind of backtrack when I ask you about who taught you about money? Because you say it is something that lingers or, you know, you hang on to your first memories with money. So for you to be as successful as you are and to literally have the title of Investing Latina, where did that come from? My first memory with money was when my dad gave me a credit card. And I was the same age as you. I was 12 years old. At 12 years old? Yes. Your dad gave you a credit card? Oh, you guys were rich. Well, that's what I thought. And then I realized we weren't. But my dad gave me the credit card and he said, listen, this is for emergencies. Which is how we should be using credit cards. Girl, at 12 years old, you have forever 21. It's like my emergency swipe. But that was truly my first money memory, him giving me the credit card and saying, okay, use this for emergencies just in case you need something. And I was really proud of that. A lot of trust. Yes. A lot of trust and responsibility really empowered me as a woman, as a person. You know, I was a young girl at the time and I just had it in my little purse. And I was like, I can handle things if something were to come up. And I think that that was a positive relationship, a positive first step in my money relationship. They are entrepreneurs, Papi Bodeguero and Mami joined him in the business. My whole family is like restaurant owners, bodegueros. And the reason they did that is because we basically had no option. When they came here, they didn't know the language. They didn't know about credit cards, opening bank accounts, none of those things. They just had to do what they could. And they figured it out. They figured it out. And they bootstrapped everything, you know. They did it with their own blood, sweat and tears. When I got a job at 19, they were like, oh yeah, if you put money into this account, you'll get free money. And I was like, wait, wait, wait. Free money? Yes. Whatever that means, sign me up. And I had no clue this happened to be during the recession, 2007, 2008. The market was all the way at the bottom. And I started putting money into the account, not understanding what was happening. When you say money into the account, meaning you would get a paycheck and they would automatically take the money out? Yes. Okay, see that's different. Because that's how I like to operate. That's actually how I got into debt in the first place. The first job I ever had in the entertainment business, I was 19 years old. Actually, I booked a commercial before booking a hosting job at 19. They did take out New York taxes, all the taxes. But my first 1099, which is what I had to learn. The 1099 is when you think you made all that money, but you really didn't. You haven't paid all your taxes. You haven't paid your taxes. So 1099, when you're an entertainer or an independent contractor is what they call it, right? They basically pay you everything. And it is your responsibility. To keep track. To keep track and take out the taxes that you think you owe the government. Yeah, who's teaching you this? First of all, I never had anybody famous in my family. So I didn't have anybody to talk to about a 1099, about the entertainment business, about how they pay you. So I was 1099 thinking this is all this money that is mine. Cut to, I get an IRS letter that I owe $25,000 in back taxes. $25,000 in back taxes. Yeah, that's rough. I didn't know what to do. El drama. Oh my God. No, major drama. That is so scary. What did you do? What did you do when you saw that big bill? Besides shitting my pants and trying to figure out, well, how am I going to pay this back? No one told me about having to set aside certain taxes. Whatever percentage that was. Especially when you're single and you don't have no kids to claim or businesses to claim. Or realizing that you are your own business. That you can be a S Corp, all these things. Yes, LLC, S Corp. LLC, all of that, right? We don't learn it in school. That's the first issue. So what do you do now when you have all this debt? Because a lot of people are getting this mail. It's called 1-800-INSTALLMENT-PLAN. So that's what I did. I definitely thought it was going to take forever to pay off. I did not know about installment plans. So I'm here thinking, well, I've got to pay this all in one shot. And mind you, now I'm actually on TV, kind of building a buzz. And this is one of the biggest misconceptions. Just because you are on TV does not mean you are rich. Again, no shade to my parents, but the minute I booked my first job on Telemundo, oh, they were like picking out a house for me to buy them. And I'm like, oh! They thought I made it. They're like, of course. I wasn't even on Telemundo. I was on Mundos, which, again, no shade. They confused it. But, you know, it was an up-and-coming network. Just like I was an up-and-coming host, just like I'm up-and-coming with the finances. Yes. And did you actually tell them that you owe $25,000? I had to because I was like, I need to move back in. Oh, there you go. Yeah. Which is actually very smart. Yeah. Listen, if you have debt, do what you got to do to get out of it. And that might mean pulling back on all of your expenses. And it might mean moving in with someone. Absolutely. Being an entertainer and, again, stressing the fact that just because you're on TV or just because you see people flossing and doing all these things, it does not mean that they have money, especially nowadays with social media. The perception is straight-up skewed. And even at the time when I was engaged, and I was engaged to a man that had money because he was an athlete and he was at the prime of his career, and I am spending my own money like a fool, como una pendeja, trying to keep up with the appearance because now I'm a whole football, you know, almost wife because I have a ring on my finger. And, of course, he would buy me things, but I still had that sense of independence. When I found out that I owed the IRS $25,000 and I was also breaking up my engagement, I was just like, I need to move back home. And start over. Like, this is the thing about money, too. Like, you can't pray for abundance and then hang on to it as well. Money comes and goes and it flows. But when you don't grow up with the mentality of money comes and goes, money, when it comes, you don't let it go. So I was in that position. I straight up was at one point broke on my knees praying that, and that's how I know the power of prayer because I would literally, the same bed that my brother would hide that box full of money, his money, I was on my knees like on that bed praying that I need to get out of his debt. What ended up happening was I did a movie, I did a dance movie. By the way, I had no idea, you know, residual income, meaning when you're an entertainer, if you are part of the union, which I became part of the union because the first job that I booked, my very first job ever was a Wendy's commercial. Now you're qualified to join the union. So you make residuals when you do commercials or when you're on TV, TV shows. On my knees praying one day and I get a check in the mail from the movie that I did that was straight to DVD for over $50,000. Oh my gosh. Talk about timing. Yes. And that's how I ended up paying off that $25,000 debt. Investing Latina. First of all, I love the name. I started investing Latina in 2019. I had this mix of money experience and I wanted to share that with the world. So I started a little YouTube channel. I put a couple of videos out there and I always focus on helping people with those three things. Building your credit, investing into the stock market and how to manage real estate, you know, because that's such a big thing for the Latin community. You have to buy a house, right? There's a lot of pressure with that, but it's also a great thing because we get to build wealth in that way. My goal was to teach 1,000 women to invest. And so far I've taught 7,000 women. 7,001. It's so exciting and it's so wonderful because it's so needed in our communities. Even though it's hard to have these conversations, sometimes it could be very emotional. It could be a little draining, especially if you're in a tough place where you have debt, you know, where you owe IRS money or you owe credit card debt. But it's important to just start and talk to your girlfriends about it because I think sometimes we're so concerned with how things look. We want to be perfect for everyone. But the reality is that nothing is perfect. Megan Good in Elle magazine was breaking down how expensive it is to be her. When you factor in all these entertainment expenses, I'm talking publicist, I'm talking hair, makeup, wardrobe, all the things that it takes to be in front of the camera to be you, right? You know, I was on a show where the person before me hosting, she was known for how fly she was. Oh, so I gave you that pressure. So I was like, well, I can't come in with, you know, nothing less than. And that meant designer tags and all this. And now I keep the tags on my elbows. This might be going back, but I'm doing better. This is Zara. Yeah, exactly. Even with all of this up and down, you still managed to invest in your own small business. Republica. What's next? And how did you even think, Oh, let me put all this money into this and, and go from there. I do have the echo of my mom and my parents in my ear. Mia, you have to invest in property. It's always there. And I have to be honest, I haven't even told my parents. You haven't told them? I didn't tell them how much I invested in Republica because the guilt, of thinking this amount of money, I know for a fact could probably buy them their dream. I don't know their dream home. And I have a lot of shame in it, but because I have the vision of this brand so strong, I'm just like, please give me a second because it's a market that makes a lot of money. And my goal is to flip it to where I can then not just buy myself a dream home, buy my entire family property. You know what I mean? That's what it is to be an investing Latina. You have to make choices and they're going to be hard. There's so many ways to go about it, but you have to definitely sit down and draw things out. That's why I bought you this book because I want you, I'm going to give you tarea. Okay. And I want you, and you want to be able to truly just write down what your goals are. And the reason for those goals, you already have them, you know, for yourself and for your family to build this vision that you have in your mind, make it a real thing. We're unstoppable. Wow. And you are unstoppable. Thank you. Right? So it's okay to talk about money. We want to normalize these conversations and you have to tell your parents at some point, you know, I'm so excited that I'm going to give you homework and that you're going to do some of these things. I'm not going to be the only one doing this homework. So you guys pay attention. Yes. Get your notebooks. Here's your to do list. Okay. Outline your net worth. That's where you know where you stand. Okay. Not what Wikipedia is saying. Having a list of all your assets and then your liabilities. But really your checking account, your savings account, your assets are also your investment accounts. So the IRA that you have, cars that you own, all those things are assets. Those are things that if need be, you can sell and you'll get cash for them. Right. And then liabilities are going to be things like student loan debt, credit card debt, the remaining balance on your car. And then once you do the math, plus, minus, you get that number. That makes it really easy for you because once a month you go into that net worth tracker and you'll be able to update it. And when you see it going up, you know you're doing the right thing. If you see it going down, I'm stressed. You know you got to budget a little bit more. Don't worry. I'm going to help you through this. This is only the beginning. Can I just give you like $50,000 and you flip it and then just be like, here girl. Listen, no. I can't do that for you. I cannot do that for you. But trust me, trust me that you have the capability to make it happen. We all do. We're not avoiding these things. We're having these conversations head on. We're paying off debt. So we can have all the things that we wish to have. You're going to figure out what your net worth is. You're going to tell me how much you're going to invest. And everybody needs to do this. I want you to actually drop it in the comments. Okay. Clearly because this homework is not going to get done in this one episode. You are my financial Madrina. So Julie, we'll be back. It'll be Julie, ex-Julie, Julie times Julie. Get the notebook, write down your net worth, what your financial goals are. Yes. Then your investment goals. And then your investment goals. Those two things. If you can write down those two things today, as you're watching this episode or right when you're done, you are already miles ahead. Thank you so much. Thank you. Oh my God, a big hug. I'm so excited. And let's all become financially powerful. I like that. Actually in the comments, let me know if you feel financially powerful or if you still have those generational financial moments and things that haunt you and that you want to work through. You guys can definitely all follow me, Investing Latina on all socials. I'll be down there responding to your comments. So if you have questions, just let us know. Make sure you subscribe. Subscribe. Can we still afford the Starbucks though? The real question. Yeah, let's make some of them at home. Okay.