About

I was fortunate enough to have parents who supported me financially in everything I did as a teenager and young adult.  As a result, I never had to think about money.  It also was a subject that was rarely brought up in conversation in my home.  My parents instead instilled core values into my brother and I that I believe are fundamental to world of finance and achieving financial independence.  My parents recognize what it means to find satisfaction in their present circumstances. They live life deliberately.  They know how to find value in a life outside of their own life, but aspire to make their own lives as meaningful as they can.  A phrase I hear in my head still today is “Do the best you can, that’s all anyone can ask of you.” My mom would tell me this as she dropped me off for school every morning. As I got older it was up to me to determine what my ‘best’ was.

Fast-forward to the Summer of 2017, as a sophomore in college, I began my first full time job as an engineering intern during the summer of 2017.  Before this time, I had only worked part time throughout high school in department stores loading mulch in the summer and folding clothes in the winter.  As a 20-year-old, with a low expense lifestyle, making $19/hr at an internship is eye-opening.  By the end of that 1-year internship I had amassed a sizeable sum of money that I had no idea what to do with.  Naturally as a young naive 20-year-old I went on what I thought was a spending spree and bought a new 60″ 4K TV, a brand-new top of the line smart phone, and purchased a very nice engagement ring. This was everything I could see myself needing in the next year or two.  Even after all this I still had a sizeable amount saved up. What in the world do I do with the rest? 

I gave it a google!  This is when my journey to financial independence began. I started passionately learning how I could use my money to work for me; to build a life more aligned with my own values so that I could be the best version of me.  Fortunately, I already know what my ‘best’ is.  I’ve been figuring that out ever since I got out of my mom’s car to go to school.  Now, I’m focused on getting you and I there.

Helping people to connect their values with finance is what I’m hoping to accomplish with FI-Tools.  I believe once your values are aligned with your finances most other things just seem to fall in place.