Hi Angelica! Could you introduce yourself?

Hi, I’m Angelica, a native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, where I currently reside with my husband and son.  I am the creator of Financial Lioness, a platform dedicated to advocating generational wealth and bringing insight to the financial literacy platform. Having spent the last decade in banking and financial services, I created the platform to bring awareness to the wealth gap in America and the inequalities that come with systemic racism in the financial sector. 

What personality type did you get? Did you find the results to be accurate?

I’m an Explorer, which kind of shocks me lol. I definitely have a YOLO mentality, but I think with maturity I don’t spend based on the influence of others and definitely don’t go into debt trying to impress them as well. I will say in my younger days I think my spending was more out of control, but I don’t think I’ve ever had massive debt because of it. 

What inspired you to start a social media presence about personal finance? For completely new readers, what is the “tl;dr” of your brand?

As I mentioned in my bio, I created my platform for financial literacy to bring awareness to the wealth gap in America and educate people on the tools they need to be financially successful. I think it’s important to have a solid foundation in financial education accessible so everyone can be fiscally responsible and successful. 

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What is your relationship with personal finance? - If applicable, how has that defined your current pursuits? What changes have you made that have helped? How has it changed over time?

This is where I would say the quiz conflicts with my personal finance relationship. I’ve always had an emergency fund even if it was $500, I’ve always had extra money put away since I’ve been working. My father died at a young age and so I watched my mother take over the finances and become financially savvy. It inspired me to always have something put away, even if it wasn’t a whole lot, it was still something. I also watched her start to invest my father’s insurance money to bring more wealth into our family, so, we, her children wouldn’t have to worry. 

What’s the worst money advice you’ve ever received?

My mother told me not to buy property in the 2009 housing market crash and I had the money and should have. She didn’t understand real estate at the time, so she had no idea it was a good thing for me to build equity at a young age since real estate in our city has done nothing but appreciated. I had just graduated from college, so she didn’t know if it was a good idea for a 22-year-old to have that type of responsibility. 

What was it like when you started building your passive income? What advice would you give to those who want to do the same?  

For me, it was a slow but steady process to build passive income and it still is. My advice is consistency is the key. Without being consistent you won’t see the progress, sometimes we think that it takes too long but with compound interest and time you will watch your investments grow. 

Is there a specific financial goal you are working towards right now? What steps are you taking to achieve that goal?  

I want to own real estate in 2021. I’ve been dabbling in REITs for a while now, but I definitely want to get into owning my first property. 

What do you most enjoy spending on? Or any guilty pleasure you can share. 

Travel hands down! I recently came back from San Diego with my husband for a weekend getaway and we rented a Mustang since it was on sale for the weekend. My husband and I don’t do a lot of spending on a daily basis but when we travel, we go all out. We enjoy experiences a lot and like trying new things in new places. 

How often do you check your finances?

I check my finances everyday if not every other day. I budget at least weekly for things and track my spending and saving on a weekly basis. I do my investing automatically through my pay check cycles as well. 

For someone who is starting completely new to personal finance, how would they get started? What specific tips would you have for newbies?

I would tell someone to first start with their retirement accounts. If you get a company match, contribute at least until the match because it’s like leaving free money on the table. After that make sure to move into a ROTH and then a brokerage account. Never underestimate retirement accounts because they can come in handy. A Roth can be pulled out to use for first time homeowner money and that’s what I did.

What’s your stack? (Accounts, credit cards, apps or other tools) 

My stack is Personal Capital, Stockpile, Acorns and Delta SkyMiles. I love seeing my assets stay connected and having my brokerage apps on the tip of my fingers. 

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You can read Angie's blog at financiallioness.com