BEHIND THE PICTURE

IT ALL STARTED WHEN…

From my earliest memory… I remember the joy of my family being together – mom, dad and brother. However, when I was 11 years old, my parents told me they were divorcing. No longer were we all together. As many of us do… we move forward and adjust to our new life.

In 2016, my life changed again when my father passed away…. It was horrific and painful… but what was special about it? He was at peace… we were in the hospital… all of us… mom, dad, and brother… all of us were together again. Waiting for my dad to pass on to another place without all the pain of this world. Yes it was and still is painful that my father is gone… but he no longer had to endure the pain he was feeling. (The picture is each of our hands holding my fathers while he was passing)

My father was a Certified Financial Planner… Growing up he told my brother and me that when people asked what we wanted to do – the answer was a Certified Financial Planner. What in the heck was that? I had no clue – but that is what I was going to be! I am now a Certified Financial Planner and I LOVE what I do. I was a statistics/math major in college – I graduated from UCI in 1997.

Soon after college, my father took on the role as my mentor… He taught me everything I knew to go out into this world and build my own financial planning practice… Yes, it was the hardest task of my life. I worked during the day as a financial advisor, cold called at night to get new clients, and worked as a waitress to supplement my income. My perseverance and love for helping others map out their financial future helped me push forward.

Long story short… I discovered the part of Financial Planning I loved the most was helping people protect what they have worked so hard for – their retirement and savings. Being a math major, it comes natural to help people figure out their financial puzzle. You can work hard your entire life… but is your family protected should you pass away unexpected? Do you want to give half of your estate to the government should you pass early? Do you want to spend all of your retirement assets should you need assistance with living as you get older? Do you want your family to suffer if you are the major income maker in the family and you become disabled? This has been my passion and my desire to help people protect themselves from these unforeseen situations.