I know I haven't been paying much attention to my blog: life, running my own business, school, friends has got me on the ropes. But like the great Ali, I'm bouncing back!
This is a story about how money and finance affected me during my childhood, and how those experiences shaped me to who I am today. I hope this will give both my clients and general observers a look into my life, to see what kind of person I am, and see if I am the right fit for you as professional.
How It All Began
My finance career today got started when I was three years old. My parents took me to the Daiei, the old local shopping mart in Pearl City Shopping Center. During our shopping, I soon realized how expensive certain items were. So my first thought was, how can I help my family save money?
So I started collecting coupons wherever I could find them. I went to each dispenser for the things we would buy and carefully read every coupon, without my parents knowing. M parents time was too valuable to bother messing around with coupons. But I believed that I would make a difference in this little shopping trip. I would present the coupons to my parents when we were in the checkout line. In my first day, I had saved $5.23. That meant I got to buy a bag of M&M's and still have money left over! At that point in my life, I learned that cutting costs is the first step to being a smart consumer.
When you're not making money, you have to cut costs to save!
And so I became a saver. I was a very frugal spender wherever I went, and always choose the most reasonable options when eat out with my family, I always choose water over spending money for soda(its a much healthier choice, anyway), I always got the same cheap Chicken Teriyaki plate every time (you cant beat 7$ for a plate!), and that is how I learned how to live by modest means. It truly is a skill that must be developed over time.
Although I was saving my parents money, I never got to keep any for myself. "This sucks!" I thought. I believed that I deserved some of the money that I was generating through saving. I wanted to buy things that I wanted. There was one day of my life that turned me from a bare bone saver, to someone who wanted to use my knowledge of finance to provide a comfortable lifestyle to myself and my family and friends.
I Want My Friends and Family to be Financially FREE
Another day, another trip to the Navy Exchange. I was with my parents and my grandma, and my grandma loved to spoil her grandchildren. There was a Gameboy Advance game called "Advanced Wars" and oh I wanted it so bad. I begged my mom, but she held strong. This is the time where a smart kid will turn to grandma, soften your face, and beg with everything you got. My grandma asked me, "Travis, do you really need this new game. Do you need it?" I really thought about it. "No, I dont need it" I admitted, with a big exhale. Just because you can buy something, doesn't mean you have to. It was then my grandma told me her story of growing up...My grandma Mendoza grew up in a poor town in the Philippines where people do not enjoy the things that you and I take for granted. I remember when I took a trip to visit my family in the Phillipines, I saw my grandma boiling water in a pot. I thought, great, were having ramen! When I went to take my pre-dinner bath, I noticed there was not knob for hot water. I called "Grandma, how do I turn on the hot water?" Before I knew it, she had the pot of hot water in her hands, and she said, "Why my dear, I have the hot water right here!"
The memories are fond to me now, but it was at this point I realized my grandmother had to live by modest means. My family really had to fight for everything they have, and I think that spirit is in me . As American's we earned our freedom by fighting the British in the Revolutionary War. As a financial planner, I want to give you and your family a chance to fight for your financial freedom. We have to make sound decisions based on information that we glean from the world around us. All this information about finance, retirement planning, tax planning, insurance, and banking would be a huge burden for even our most savvy citizens. I want to be a person that will educate you in the ever changing environment of today, to give you financial freedom, so that you never have to end up boiling your own water like my family had to.
The Day I Learned to Generate My Own Wealth
Now back to my predicament. The game was $30, for an 9 year old boy with no allowance, I would have to wait until the next birthday or Christmas to even think about having that kind of cash. So I did what any aspiring entrepreneur would do: I found a way to make the cash:
Just like any kid, I found extra chores to do around the house. This gave me a great work ethic, and taught me that if I worked hard, I could earn what I wanted. I began to monitor my cash flows and record accounts of cash I put in my piggy bank, I learned the value of saving money, and also had to learn how to sacrifice certain things like snacks after school. I learned how to make smart choices financially. I save up, bought my game, and boy did it feel good to buy it by myself. I wondered, what else do I want?
Look How Far We Have Come, and Where I Want to Go!
Now as a college student, I pay for my school, my dorm, my car and phone, basically anything that I do, I support with my own money I am very content and comfortable with where I am, and I want to help other people find their financial footing so they can confidently and comfortably live out their lives.
What I think sets me apart from other advisers is not just my ability to get things done, but also the challenges I have faced in life and the experienced I have gained dealing with them.
Financial planning is not just for those of us with a significant nest egg. On the contrary, families who are facing financial hardships due to a lack of cash inflow and assets are the people who have a special place in my heart. Just like my grandma endured through her hard times, I want to help give you the spirit and tools you need in order to achieve your financial FREEDOM.
The reason I do financial planning is simple: I want to help people who want a better life for themselves and their families. No matter if you have over $1,000,000 in assets or as little as $100 in your checking account, I want to be someone you can turn to when you need it most. Follow me on my journey, as I prepare to enter the professional world as an audit accountant in Honolulu, Hawaii, and work towards getting my CPA and CFP!
You can check me out at:
Oh, and I also do private sports coaching! If you want to find out how you can sign up your athlete with a college student athlete mentor, check out VarsityPrep!
